Commercial Daycare
inc AIM Qualifications Level 3 Award in Canine Care, Behaviour and Welfare
Commercial Daycare inc AIM Qualifications Level 3 Award in Canine Care, Behaviour & Welfare
This course is regulated and the qualification is officially recognised by the Government’s Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation.
Qualification– Approval Number: 603/4536/6
This Qualification meets the requirements of Defra and the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018.
Many people dream of running their own doggy DayCare. Covering essential information on canine care, behaviour and welfare, this self-contained course provides you with the necessary knowledge, know-how and qualification* to make that dream a reality. The wrap-over immersion in the DayCare regulations, guidance and application ensures you have a good understanding of the key regulations and guidance for providing DayCare services. It doesn’t make you an expert and there is still lots to learn, if this is your first course, but together with the AIM Qualifications Level 3 Award in Canine Care, Behaviour and Welfare, you’ll definitely be at the front of the pack!
When you have completed the course and passed the assessments, you will receive an AIM Qualifications Level 3 Award certificate in Canine Care, Behaviour and Welfare certificate, and a Dog Business School certificate of achievement in Animal Welfare Regulations 2018 – Commercial Day Care
*As of 1st October 2018, it is a Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) requirement for those wishing to run a DayCare establishment that the licence holder or a designated manager and any staff employed to care for the animals must have competence to identify the normal behaviour of the species for which they are caring and to recognise signs of, and take appropriate measures to mitigate or prevent, pain, suffering, injury, disease or abnormal behaviour.
Guidance includes suitable and sufficient training of people responsible for the care of the animals must be demonstrated to have been carried out in the following areas:
- Dog welfare, including recognising poor welfare and understanding the 5 welfare needs;
- Dog handling;
- Dog behaviour;
- Cleanliness and hygiene;
- Feeding and food preparation;
- Disease control
- Recognition and first aid treatment of sick animals.
“Training must be a minimum of an OFQUAL level 2 qualification in a relevant subject, or clear evidence of knowledge and experience”.
To meet the “Higher Standard”, one option is for the person responsible for the care of dogs to have “a relevant OFQUAL Level 3 qualification”.
Introduction
Our DayCare course has two course pathway options:
FOUNDATION course:
Part 1 – AIM Qualifications Level 3 Award course in Canine Care, Behaviour & Welfare – Approval Number: 603/4536/6
Part 2 – Animal Welfare Regulations 2018 + Commercial DayCare Guidance inc 1-2-1 Tutorial
PRACTITIONER course:
The Practitioner option includes the Foundation course (shown above)
PLUS…
2 supplementary modules:-
- The Canine Legal Landscape & Mastering Licensing Guidance
- COVID-19 Safer Pet Care
Who is this course for?
Existing or aspiring
- Day Care professional
- Home boarder
- Dog walker building their service portfolio
You do not need any prior knowledge or qualifications to study this qualification. Of course experience helps, but you can read around the subject and still pass.
What You Will Learn
The Commercial Daycare Level 3 Foundation’s course consists of 2 related units and a Commercial Daycare unit with a 1-2-1 live tutorial
Unit 1: Canine Behaviour
- Common canine body language signs and signals
- Terms used to describe a range of emotional states in canines
- How to assess canines from their body language
- Common canine behavioural issues
- Methods used to modify canine behaviour
- How to work with common canine behavioural problems
- Potential causes of canine stress
- Signs of stress in canines
- Potential causes of aggression in canines
- The signs of aggression in canines
- How stress can lead to aggressive behaviour in canines
- The ladder of aggression in canines
Unit 2: Care of Dogs in Home Boarding, Day Care & Kennels
- The causes of canine diseases
- Methods of disease prevention.
- How a range of canine diseases are transmitted
- Risk assessments for the prevention of disease transmission in canines.
- The welfare of canines in home boarding and day care settings
- Potential welfare issues in home boarding and day care settings
- Feeding of canines in home boarding and day care settings
- How welfare issues can be prevented in home boarding and day care settings
- Feeding requirements for canines in home boarding and day care settings.
- Common eating and dietary issues in canines
- Techniques for dealing with eating and dietary issues in canines in home boarding and day care settings.
- Different ways to enter dog enclosures
- Different ways to exit dog enclosures
- Potential problems with exit and entry to dog enclosures
- Essential personal protection equipment for canine handling
- The importance of personal protection equipment for canine handling
- Ways to provide environmental enrichment in home boarding and day care settings
- The impact of correct environmental stimulation in home boarding and day care settings
- Safe and unsafe play in canines
- Safe management of canine interactions
Unit 3: Animal Welfare Regulations 2018 + Commercial Day Care Guidance inc 1-2-1 Tutorial
Module 1 : Introduction
- What is in and out of the scope: Providing day care for dogs
- In Scope Criteria
- Out of Scope Criteria
- Criteria Quiz
Module 2 : General Conditions
- License Display
- Records
- Use, Number and Type of Animal
- Staffing
- Suitable Environment
- Suitable Diet
- Monitoring of Behaviour and Training of Animals
- Animal Handling and Interactions
- Protection from Pain, Suffering, Injury and Disease
- Emergencies
- General Conditions Quiz
Module 3 : Specific Conditions
- No Overnight Stay
- Suitable Environment
- Suitable Diet
- Monitoring of Behaviour & Training
- Housing apart from other dogs
- Records
- Protection from Pain, Injury, Suffering and Disease
- Higher Standards
- Specific Conditions Quiz
Live 1-2-1 ‘Zoom’ tutorials
The ‘learner’ has the option of a 1-2-1 (45 mins) personal tutorial, at the outset or midway and the end of this Day Care Regulations & Guidance unit, or as required by the Learner. There is a lot to absorb – 39 pages of guidance before you even think about all the policies, processes and documentation you might need. All of which are available through our ‘sister’ website at DogBusiness.co.uk
Additional Practitioner Course Unit
If you enrol in the Practitioner course, you have access to all of the Foundation units (shown above) and you also get the following unit.
Mastering Canine & Small Business Law
The course comes in 2 parts, Part 1 lists the broader legislation that applies to canines and their care. Part 2 looks at specific legislation relating to canine business such as home boarding, day care and breeding, plus laws that apply to business e.g. health and safety.
Typical legal questions you may encounter as a dog care pro
Here are some questions you may quickly encounter as an aspiring or actual dog care business owner. How many can you answer right now?
- Is it an offence to fail to look after pets properly?
- Can I lose my licence because neighbours are complaining about barking allegedly coming from my home?
- Can my Local Authority revoke my licence because a dog I was walking bit a walker?
- Can I get sued for £50,000 because a dog I was caring for ran in front of a cyclist? https://road.cc/content/news/cyclist-injured-crash-dog-chasing-ball-sues-owner-277777
- If I breed and advertise a business selling puppies, can I get fined?
- If I fail to see a dog in my care has allegedly done a poo, can I be fined for failing to pick it up?
- If I pick up dog poo and then leave the bag to pick up on my return, can I be fined?
- Can I be fined if I let a dog off the lead?
- Can a Local Authority impose a PSPO and stop me walking more than 3 dogs at a time?
- What is the maximum Fixed Penalty Notice for breaching a PSPO, and what is the maximum fine if prosecuted?
- Can a Local Authority require the dogs in my care to take a DNA test if they are believed to be responsible for defecting on council land?
- What’s the maximum I could be sentenced for an offence under the Dangerous Dogs Act?
- Am I committing a criminal offence if I operate a home boarding business in England without a licence, and how much can I be fined and/or imprisoned?
- Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, how much can I be fined and/or imprisoned for an offence?
- What’s the penalty for being distracted by a dog in my care whilst driving my car?
- When must I pay tax as a sole trader?
- What’s the VAT threshold for my business?
- I want to start offering doggy treats, will I break any laws?
You can see how important it is to have a working knowledge of the legislation that applies to your business. Financial and reputational consequences of breaking the law can be huge.
This course strives to keep you on the right side of the legal line.
Additional Information
Learning style and content
This course is a blend of self-paced online learning, self-study recommended resources and research, video seminars, videos, ‘podcasts’, elearning, Graphics/diagrams multiple answers and short essay assignments.
Special consideration is provided for those requiring additional learning support.
Assessments
Successful achievement is by a Learner presenting a portfolio of evidence that meets the assessment criteria.
Assessments require desk research from the study resources provided to assist the Learner in writing 200-400-word responses including diagrams, illustrations, tables and bullet points as necessary. An assessment might typically ask the Learner to ‘Explain’ or ‘Describe’ a specific topic or situation, to avoid plagiarism and to provide citation references in order to support the Learner’s response.
A few assessments require the Learner to select the correct options from multiple possible answers including True or False statements.
Self-Evaluation
At the end of the course, each learner is asked to complete a reflective self-evaluation of their learning experience and personal growth.
Pass/Refer
The AIM Qualifications course is taught against a prescriptive syllabus and the learner is required to evidence their understanding and application of the syllabus.
To achieve a certificate, the Learner must successfully pass all of the course modules.
Every assignment submitted is assessed as either a Pass or Refer. A Learner is required to ultimately achieve a Pass for every assignment. Refers – or ‘Passes in Waiting’ as we like to call them, are hopefully few and far between. If an assignment receives a ‘Refer’, the learner has two complimentary ‘resits’ across the course. Additional ‘resits’ are charged at £25 per resit to cover the additional admin costs. If a Learner is unable to complete the
Certification
Once all of the course modules have been successfully completed, the Learner’s assessment profiles are submitted for independent quality validation against the regulatory framework. And once validated, a certificate is issued to the learner.
For non-accredited modules, the Learner is required to achieve at least an 80% pass threshold. On achievement, an online certificate is made available for download.
Frequently Asked Questions
Please find a list of questions and answers below. If your question is not listed, feel free to chat to us by clicking the live chat button to the bottom left of your screen.
Is this course online?
You have access to an online tutor and there recorded seminars, as well as flashcards, quizzes, ‘podcasts’, a research and reading list, together with a workbook and in-course exercises.
You need access to half decent Internet and email. The course is a blend of different learning content and styles.
Some Level 3 course providers just send you a pdf workbook, a reading list and tell you to get on with it. Which is what got us going in the first place thinking we could do better than that.
I see there are different options, how does that work?
There are a choice of 2 complementary learning pathways. Each with different levels of content (and prices). You choose what works for you.
Both options give you an AIM Qualifications Level 3 Award qualification, and you don’t have to do the most expensive unless you want to do so, because the content meets your needs, and because you can afford it. So you choose.
What do I need to tick the DEFRA box (both options do that), what do I want to learn and what can I afford?
How long do I have to complete my course?
Others are very likely already dog professionals who have dog needs and customer demands to meet, before they wash off all the mud, do the household stuff, put their feet up and start thinking about studying.
We have to have a finite timeline, to keep everybody focused. But if you can complete and pass your course in 2 to 3 months, Brilliant!
Does this course meet the DEFRA Ofqual requirements thingy?
Yes.
Successful candidates will receive the following:
AIM Qualifications Level 3 Award in Canine Care, Behaviour and Welfare
Qualification Number: 603/4536/6
Foundation
- (Don’t forget some organisations show you the price excluding VAT)
- The course can be paid in one go, or two equal payments over two months. Payment must be made in full before the course can be completed and prior to a certificate being issued.
- This contains all the Foundation course content
- Successful qualification receives the AIM Qualifications Level 3 Award in Canine Care, Behaviour & Welfare (Qualification No. 603/4536/6) certificate.
Practitioner
- (Don’t forget some organisations show you the price excluding VAT)
- The course can be paid in one go, or two equal payments over two months. Payment must be made in full before the course can be completed and a certificate issued.
- This contains all the Foundation and Practitioner course content
- Successful qualification receives the AIM Qualifications Level 3 Award in Canine Care, Behaviour & Welfare (Qualification No. 603/4536/6) certificate.