Pet Care AAG100

Learn all about caring for your pets. A course for pet owners or anyone working with pets. Develop an understanding of how to care for a wide variety of different pets including dogs, cats, fish, birds, rabbits, rodents, reptiles and amphibians Course Structure There are 8 lessons in this course:

1. Introduction to Animal Care
   • Laws and licenses
   • Animal Charities and Societies (eg. RSPCA, WSPA, Blue Cross)
   • Pet Care Needs (Feeding, Watering, Shelter, Containment, Fencing, Caging, Protection)
   • Maintaining Health
   • Hygiene
2. Cats
   • Breeds (Long Haired, Semi Long Haired, Short Haired, Oriental etc)
   • Selection
   • Allergies
   • Containment
   • Sexing
   • Desexing
   • Breeding
   • Newborn Kittens
   • Exercise
   • Behaviour
   • Hygiene
   • Feed and nutrition
   • Amount of food, Watering
   • Grooming
   • Traveling
   • Care for a sick cat (Signs of illness, Temperature, Common ailments, Skin disorders, Ticks)
   • Cats and wildlife
3. Dogs
   • Selection
   • Breeds (Pure and mixed)
   • Varying size and temperament
   • Grooming
   • Skin care
   • Inherited traits (aggression, deafness)
   • Containment
   • Breeding
   • Desexing
   • Exercise
   • Behaviour
   • Feeding
   • Canine Nutrition
   • Bones
   • Watering
   • Training
   • Travelling
   • Identifying sickness
4. Birds
   • Selection, Breeds (eg. Canaries, Finches, Budgerigars, Small Parrots etc)
   • Sexing
   • Desexing
   • Containment (Aviaries, selection, design, size, management)
   • Feed
   • Feeding
   • Watering
   • Grooming (Wing trim, Beak Trim, Nail Trim)
   • Hygiene
   • Catching and Restraining
   • Travelling
   • Caring for the Sick Bird
   • Signs of illness
   • Temperature
   • Supportive therapy
   • Common Ailments (eg. Abscesses, Alopecia, Apoplexy, Aspergillosis, Breathlessness, Constipation, Parasites)
   • Safety in the Home
5. Fish
   • Selection
   • Inside or Outside
   • Warm or Cold water
   • Number of fish
   • Types of fish (Tropical, Marine, Cold Water)
   • Costs, Size, Equipment
   • Tanks, Ponds, Pumps, Aquariums, Night lights
   • Water quality
   • Changing Water
   • Feed (Pelleted, Live feed, Daphnia, Brine Shrimp)
   • Illnesses (Fungal, Bacterial, Parasites, Environmental)
6. Rabbits
   • Breeds (Large, Small and Dwarf)
   • Selection
   • Legality (Illegal in some areas)
   • Containment (Hutch or Cage)
   • Environment (temperature etc)
   • Feeding and Nutrition
   • Watering
   • Feed quantities and routine
   • Grooming and Handling
   • Moulting
   • Transporting
   • Sexing
   • Breeding
   • Identifying illness
   • Care of sick rabbits
7. Reptiles and Amphibians
   • Types (eg. Salamander, Frogs, Venomous snakes, Non-venomous snakes, Shingle-backed lizard, Tortoises, Terrapins, Axolotls, etc)
   • Selection
   • Legal Issues
   • Housing
   • Environmental requirements (Moisture, Humidity, Warmth, etc)
   • Terrariums
   • Problems (eg. Dehydration, Stress, External and internal parasites, Blisters, Scale Rot, Mouth Rot or Canker, Colds/pneumonia, Constipation and diarrhea, Cannibalism,Incomplete sloughing of the skin -shedding of the skin)
   • Feed and feeding
   • General Care
8. Rodents, Guinea Pigs, Hamsters, Mice
   • Varieties
   • Selection
   • Containment
   • Sexing
   • Breeding
   • Grooming
   • Feeding
   • Watering
   • Illness (eg. Skin Problems, Abscesses, Mites, Ringworm, Fleas, Respiratory Infection, Vitamin C Deficiency, Otitis, Salmonella, Stripping etc)

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school\'s tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

Aims

• Discuss the general principles of pet care, as they relate to a wide range of different types of pets.
• Describe routine care for cats.
• Compare the characteristics of different cat breeds.
• Describe routine care for dogs.
• Compare the characteristics of different dog breeds.
• Describe routine care for birds as pets.
• Describe routine care for fish
• Describe routine care for rabbits as pets.
• Describe routine care for reptiles and amphibians.
• Describe routine care for rodent pets.

What You Will Do

• Develop timetables for husbandry tasks to be undertaken over a typical week, caring for a specific breeds of animals (several, but your choice).
• Recognize things that indicate a dog is sick
• Develop a checklist of things which should be done regularly to ensure the good health for pets
• Determine things a person should consider when trying to decide what type of pet to acquire.
• Compare the requirements & restrictions for keeping different types of animals as pets in your locality.
• Discuss the advantages/disadvantages of keeping different types of cats.
• Understand why is it particularly important to have cats desexed; and when should desexing be carried out?
• Discuss the nutritional requirements of a cat, and identify the cause of N.S.H., and its early signs.
• Describe problems associated with long haired dogs.
• Discuss a dogs sleeping requirements if it lives in a temperate climate.
• Explain problems can arise through over feeding a dog.
• Identify ideal diet for a dog.
• Explain why puppies under 6 months should be allowed to exercise themselves.
• Determine common signs of a general disease condition in a dog.
• Explain why birds moult.
• Discuss the characteristics of large, open aviaries, and all their requirements.
• Discuss how should a small bird be caught in its cage.
• Explain what breathlessness indicates in a bird.
• Discuss factors are common in the care of all fish.
• Explain why it is important to maintain the correct level of oxygen in water for fish.
• Discuss the differences in requirements for caring for salt water fish compared with freshwater fish.
• Explain the handling, caging, feeding and other aspects of rabbit care.
• Discuss different colours & breeds of rabbits.
• Discuss the environmental/caging needs of all reptiles.
• Discuss the feeding requirements of reptiles.
• Explain the handling of reptiles.
• Discuss the care of both sick & healthy amphibians and reptiles.
• Explain how you determine the sex of a guinea pig, and at what age do they reach sexual maturity.
• Explain the temperature guinea pigs should be kept at, and what happens if the temperature drops.
• Explain the feed & nutritional needs of rodents.
• Discuss what can happen if a female hamster with a litter is disturbed.
• Explain how many litters a year could a female mouse produce if not prevented from doing so.
• Explain health & disease problems associated with mice.