Certificate of Animal Grooming

Unit 1 – Scope and nature of grooming

• Introduction to grooming behaviour
• Why do humans groom animals?
• What animals are groomed?
• Generic grooming tasks
• Common tools and equipment
• Combs, brushes, rakes, blades and other equipment
• Confidently handling animals Introduction
• The industry and workplace opportunities
• Workplace skills
• Accessing the right information online

Unit 2 – Animal biology

• Skin – epidermis and dermis
• Claws, nails and spurs
• Hair
• Horns
• Hooves
• Physiological control – Homeostasis
• Thermoregulation

Unit 3 – Caring for the skin and coat

• Animal nutrition
• General nutrition
• Micronutrition
• Water requirements
• Common skin problems in dogs and cats
• Ringworm – fungal infection
• Flea and flea control
• Ticks and tick control
• Lice and control
• Mites (mange) and control
• Treating skins problems in dogs and cats
• Common skin problems in equines
• Caring for the coat – brushing, bathing, blowdrying, dematting, clipping, trimming
• Removing burrs from fur
• Caring for cats – combing, brushing and bathing

Unit 4 – Specialised grooming tasks

• Risks of working with animals
• Selecting a suitable grooming location
• Understanding animal psychology and behaviour
• The flight or fight response
• Environmental Influence on behaviour in zoo animals
• General considerations when handling animals
• Pre-restraint techniques
• Physical restraint
• Medical restraint – sedation
• Safely handling different animals when grooming: dogs, cats, cattle, poultry, rabbits, captive wildlife
• Handling Horses: Safe and Respectful
• Catching, releasing, leading, tying up and working around the horse
• Indicators of pain, mild fear and extreme fear
• Transporting horses

Unit 5 – Handling animals

• Risks of working with animals
• Selecting a suitable grooming location
• Understanding animal psychology and behaviour
• The flight or fight response
• Environmental Influence on behaviour in zoo animals
• General considerations when handling animals
• Pre-restraint techniques
• Physical restraint
• Medical restraint – sedation
• Safely handling different animals when grooming dogs, cats, cattle, poultry, rabbits, captive wildlife
• Handling Horses: Safe and Respectful
• Catching, releasing, leading, tying up and working around the horse
• Indicators of pain, mild fear and extreme fear
• Transporting horses

Unit 6 – Grooming dogs

• Communication in dogs
• Use of scent
• Barking & body language
• Grooming different types of dogs
• Long Coat types
• Short coat types
• Single coat types
• Double coat types
• Smooth coat types
• Wire haired coat types
• Woolly or wavy coat types
• Corded coat types
• Bald or hairless coat types
• Brushing and bathing care
• Clipping and styling
• Grooming procedures that can go wrong
• Cutting toenails too short
• Cuts or nicks when clipping
• Overheating
• Water trapped in the ear canal

Unit 7 – Grooming exotic animals

• Grooming birds
• Handling birds
• Beaks
• Feathers
• Bathing birds
• Grooming rabbits
• Handling
• Moulting
• Transporting
• Grooming captive wildlife
• Bathing small and large mammals
• Handling large animals and exotics
• Dangerous animals
• Fear of humans
• Issues with handling animals
• Psychological effects of different handling techniques
• Grooming areas

Unit 8 – Safety in grooming workplace

• Safety for people and staff – workplace health and safety
• First aid
• Legislation and duty of care
• Safety of animal owners and visitors to the premises
• Protective equipment
• A groomer’s personal protection
• Equipment and workplace safety
• Storage and disposal of chemicals
• Handling Tools and Machinery
• Safety with tools and equipment
• Safety audit
• Example of an audit checklist
• Safety for animals and people
• Transportation
• Safety of the animal at the salon
• Electrical safety – at home and the groomers
• Slip risk – wet surfaces
• Cat and dog allergies

Unit 9 – Preparing for showing

• What is animal showing?
• Why do people show pets?
• Showing dogs
• Training your show puppy
• Preparing for show – dogs
• Days and evening before the show
• The day of the show and in the ring
• Showing – dress to impress
• Showing poultry
• Getting started – selecting your breed and buying your birds
• Preparing birds for show
• The day before the show
• The day of the show
• Showing cattle
• Preparing cattle for show
• In the show ring on the day

Unit 10 – The business of grooming planning a new grooming business

• The business plan
• Financial planning
• Long term goals
• Medium term goals
• Annual financial plan
• Financial records
• Commonly used finance related terminology
• Cash flow
• Make the business a success – know your market
• Insurance and risks – risk analysis and managing risk
• Groomers insurance