Canine Care, Behaviour & Welfare

Introduction

Learning objectives

Unit 1 Canine behaviour                                                                         

• Understand canine body language.
• Know about common canine behavioural issues.
• Know common signs and causes of stress and aggression in canines.
• Understand how stress can escalate into aggression in canines.

Unit 2 Care of Dogs in Kennels, Day Care and Home Boarding

• Understand the causes, transmission and prevention of canine disease in kennel and canine care settings.
• Know about appropriate welfare and feeding of canines in kennel settings.
• Know about safe kennel exit and entry management.
• Know about PPE for canine handling.
• Know the importance of environmental enrichment in kennels, day care and home boarding settings.
• Recognise safe canine play.
• Know how to safely manage canines in the home environment.
• Know how to safely manage canines in day care environments.

Qualification information

(This regulated qualification meets the requirements of Defra and the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018.)

Get your AIM Qualifications Level 3 Award in Canine Care, Behaviour and Welfare to meet Defra’s requirements for running a regulated dog business (eg dog home boarding, day care, kennels, dog breeding).

This Ofqual regulated qualification covers the fundamentals of canine welfare, behaviour, and handling.

You’ll learn how to identify and mitigate pain, suffering, and disease in dogs, as well as how to provide them with the best possible care.

The licence criteria stipulates that the licence holder or designated manager is required to be suitably qualified, and any staff employed to care for the animals must have the 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. 

Staff must “hold a formal qualification such as, a Level 2 qualification regulated by the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) appropriate for their role or to demonstrate they have relevant and sufficient knowledge and experience.”

‘To meet the “Higher Standard”, one option requires that a member of permanent, full-time staff has an appropriate Ofqual regulated Level 3 qualification.’

Here’s a link to Defra’s statutory guidance for dog day care as an example.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/animal-activities-licensing-guidance-for-local-authorities/dog-day-care-licensing-statutory-guidance-for-local-authorities

With this qualification, you’ll be well on your way to starting your own regulated dog business or working as a canine care professional.

Who is this course for?

This regulated qualification is for anyone who works with dogs – particularly as a:

• Dog boarder
• Dog day carer
• Dog breeder
• Dog walker
• Dog trainer/behaviourist
• Dog groomer
• Pet sitter

You do not need any prior knowledge or qualifications to study for this qualification, although some experience or related knowledge will be advantageous.

Assignments and assessments

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 (if you require additional learning support it is essential you advise us when you complete and submit your course registration form).

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 200-500 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.

Some of the course 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 course is taught against a prescriptive syllabus and the learner is required to evidence their understanding and application of the syllabus.

Passing the course

To achieve your qualification 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 course within the stipulated time frame, an extension may be granted but this will incur a re-registration fee.

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. To manage expectations, this can take approximately 10 weeks.

Non-accredited modules

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.

Why Choose Our Course

The course offers the potential for an Industry-accredited and Ofqual regulated qualification that is a bedrock for any canine professional.

We provide experienced and knowledgeable tutors – education professionals who are also licensed canine practitioners.

The comprehensive course content includes a range of mixed media to keep your learning journey interesting and to cater for different learning styles.                                                                                                                             

Our convenient online training platform lets you study anywhere, any place.

 Unleashing Your Potential: Expert-led Training by Licensed Pet Care Professionals

Course overview

Level: Level 3 Award
Credit Value: 13 Credits
Guided Learning Hours: 91 hours
Total Qualification Time: 130 hours
Course: Online, 2 Units, 14 Assignments
Course starts: Immediate online access
Access: 2-year access including 6 months to complete the course from your course registration
Entry requirements: Learners should be aged 16 or above and be working at Level 2 or above and be comfortable working with dogs of all breeds and sizes.
Assessment methods: Assessment is through a Portfolio of Evidence/ Workbook. Mostly a series of short essays ranging from 250-600 words plus a few multiple answer style assignments with short reasonings.

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.