Do you want to work with animals?
Animal service is one of the most popular and sought after types of employment.
Give yourself an edge over the competition with our comprehensive animal health care course. This course has been designed to help you understand animal health care and basic veterinarian procedures, and by studying with us you will gain invaluable knowledge and experience in understanding the many different aspects of Animal Health Care and their application.
Use this course to improve your employment prospects, form part of a career pathway towards becoming a qualified Veterinary Nurse or Animal Technician, or simply to provide better health care to your less human family or business enterprise members.
This is an experiential learning-based course. Throughout your studies you will have the opportunity to network with and learn from a variety of industry professionals. Establishing real-world relationships and confidence is key to career success.
Lesson Structure
There are 12 lessons in this course:
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Introduction to Animal Health Care
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Nature and scope of veterinary services
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Private veterinary practices
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Other veterinary services; laboratories, quarantine, agriculture departments, pharmaceutical companies, educational, etc.
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Other animal services; breeders, holiday care, etc.
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Animal welfare and control
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Veterinary services
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Code of practice
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Terminology
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Transporting animals
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Common Health Problems in farm animals and pets
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Causes of ill health
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Injury
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Conditions
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Nutritional problems
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Living organisms
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Parasites
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Family pets common conditions
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Dogs
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Cats
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Caged birds
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Aquarium fish
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Mice
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Wild animals common conditions
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Reptiles
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Animal Behaviour
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Communication in dogs
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Scent
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Barking
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Body language
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Handling cats
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Bird language
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Types of behaviour
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Time orientation
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Space orientation
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Territorial behaviour
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Aggression
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Horse psychology
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Signs of Ill Health
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Vital signs
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The healthy animal
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Signs & symptoms of diseases
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Recognising ill health
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Diagnosis of diseases
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Taking smears
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Taking tissue samples
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Diagnosis and control of different types of diseases including
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Viruses
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Bacteria
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Protozoa
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Parasites
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Mites
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Fleas
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Veterinary Facilities
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Types of facilities; clinic, hospital, mobile facility, emergency facility, etc
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First aid kit; aids for diagnosis, instruments, medicines, preparations, etc
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Record management
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Enclosure for animals
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Environmental requirements
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Safety Procedures
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Duty of care
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Lifting heavy weights
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Reducing back injury
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Protective equipment
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Dealing with chemicals
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Skin penetrating injuries
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Risk categories
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Separating animals
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Disposal of dead/infected tissues
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Dangerous non-animal wastes
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Storage and handling of medicines
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Handling larger animals
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Administration of Animal Health
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Animal insurance
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Quarantine
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Importing animals
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Managing a veterinary office
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Telephone usage
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Record keeping
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Filing information
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Animal First Aid
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Types of wounds
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Cuts
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Punctures
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Tears
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Treating and cleaning wounds
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Granulating wounds
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Stitching a wound
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Bone and joint problems
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Broken bones
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Tendon injury
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Poisoning
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Restraining animals during first aid
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Restraining cats
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Restraining dogs
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Restraining horses
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Restraining cattle
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Restraining sheep
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Preventative Health Care
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Preventing ill health
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Balanced diet
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Insect control
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Dip
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Vaccination
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Comparing natural active immunity, artificial active immunity, natural passive immunity, and artificial active immunity
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Tetanus antiserum
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Types of vaccines
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Alternatives to vaccination
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Avoid stressing livestock
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Routine Health Treatments
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De-sexing
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Castration
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Vasectomy
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Spaying
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Tubal ligation
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Castration of cats
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Dogs
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Pregnancy
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Gestation periods
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Euthanasia
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Anaesthesia and analgesia
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Preparing an animal for surgery
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Sterilising equipment
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Castrating a colt
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Health Problems in Domestic Pets
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Burns
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Urinary tract infections;
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Shock
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Electrolytes
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Ticks
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Reptiles
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Fish problems
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Rehabilitation Care
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Scope of rehabilitation
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Planning a recovery
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Animal nursing
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The hospital pen
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Monitoring temperature, pulse, respiration
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Enclosures
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
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Describe the scope of services offered by animal care services.
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Describe common health problems in various animals.
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Explain the natural behaviour of different types of domestic animals in different situations.
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Identify common signs of ill health in a variety of animals.
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Describe purposes of a range of facilities in a veterinary practice.
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Determine safety procedures for a veterinary practice.
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Describe a range of administrative tasks carried out in veterinary practices.
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Describe first aid procedures and treatments for different animals.
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Describe requirements for maintaining good health in domestic animals.
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Develop an understanding of routine treatments for healthy animals.
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Develop broader awareness of health issues and treatments in domestic pets.
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Develop skills in caring for animals prior to, during or after treatment.
SIGNS & SYMPTOMS OF DISEASES
Recognising Ill Health
There are degrees of ill health ranging from the animal that is merely "off-colour" to one that is desperately ill.
The animal that looks "not quite right" should be observed closely until it appears fully recovered. If it is incubating a serious disease, an early diagnosis could save the animal. By checking the vital signs of the animal, the farmer can receive early warning that something is amiss. Seriously ill animals must receive immediate and urgent veterinary attention.
The first sign that an animal is becoming sick is that it picks at or refuses food. It may drink more or less water than normal, depending on the illness. The eyes will be dull, and on closer inspection, the mucous membranes may have changed colour. Deep red membranes indicate fever; pale membranes show anaemia; yellow membranes indicate a liver disorder, while blue-red membranes show heart and circulatory problems, or pneumonia.
The coat will look dull and dry, and the hairs may stand up (on cattle and goats). The animal might be sweating. A cold sweat indicates pain while a hot sweat indicates fever. If the animal is in pain, it will probably be restless (getting up and down and pacing about) and it might even be groaning.
The animal will either scour (e.g., pass very loose droppings), or will become constipated and pass no droppings at all. The passing of urine might also cease. A very sick animal will lie down for long periods and will not get up when approached.
The vital signs of a sick animal will change. The temperature may go up or down. A rise in temperature of one or two degrees usually indicates pain, while a rise of more usually indicates infection.
The rate of respiration, and the way the animal breathes could also slow changes. With pain or infection, breathing becomes more rapid. In a very sick animal, breathing can be laboured and shallow.
A slightly increased pulse rate suggests pain, while a rapid pulse suggests fever. An irregular pulse can indicate heart trouble. In a very sick animal, the pulse is weak and feeble.
DIAGNOSIS OF DISEASES
In the case of infectious diseases, early and accurate diagnosis is most important.
The early stages of a disease are more easily treated as the germ causing the disease has not gained a strong foothold in the body of the animal, and it is less likely to have produced tissue damage which may be difficult to repair. Moreover, as a disease develops in an infected animal, the longer it is left untreated the greater the risk of the disease spreading to other animals on the farm.
Diagnosis of disease depends to a large extent on the skill and experience of the farmer or the veterinary surgeon. Quite often an accurate diagnosis can only be made by taking samples of blood, mucous, sputum, milk or dung from the animal, and sending these to a veterinary laboratory for examination. For example, dung samples will often show the presence of worms and other internal parasites inside the animal. Blood from an aborted calf might show the presence of bacteria causing spontaneous abortion.
Learning from this course can support those wishing to enter into:
- Animal welfare and care
- Local government animal management
- Animal breeding
- Animal holiday care and sitting
- Animal transportation
- Veterinary services
Why Study with ACS?
Design your own learning pathway.
Study at your own pace, from anywhere, at any time.
Receive prompt, expert support from our team of committed and friendly tutors.
Your learning is our priority. We are flexible and adaptable to meet your educational needs!
ACS student comments:
"Very happy with how my work is being marked. I am enjoying my course, and have learnt a lot of new things that are valuable to know considering I have a lot of animals and is useful information for me to know." -- Michelle Rottenberry, Australia, Animal Health Care course.
"I cannot praise the animal health care course highly enough. I have learned a great deal, far beyond my expectations." --G. Kite, Australia, Animal Health Care course.
"I have found the course to be a great deal of help with trying to get into the animal industry. I have also found my tutors comments of great help. Would highly recommend this course for anyone wanting to get into the animal industry or for anyone wanting to learn more about our furry friends." -- Dyane Haubus, Australia, Animal Health Care course.
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