Animal Health and Welfare - Short Course

Sneak Peek

LEARN TO CARE FOR ALL TYPES OF ANIMALS

Animal Health and Welfare Short Course

Revised and expanded in 2018 

This Self Paced 20-hour course will help you to understand more about the fundamentals of animal illnesses and disorders. Your perspective on what can go wrong with an animal will expand.

Animals can become injured or ill, but they are not humans. Their nutritional, and psychological needs are often different to ours. They suffer diseases; but often different diseases to what we suffer. There may be some similarities between human health and animal health; but there are also many significant differences. If you wish to care for animals appropriately and effectively, you must understand animal health and welfare in a different way to how you understand human health and welfare. This is not to say one is more or less important than another; but it is both a disservice to animals, and an ineffective way of caring for animals, if you don’t have an appropriate appreciation of differences between people and animals.

Our 20 hour courses are self paced and will help you understand a topic in a short amount of time. You can work through the course when you like - test yourself with mini-tests along the way. There are extra case studies or research you can undertake if you would really like to get into the topic. Once you have completed the lessons and self assessment tasks, there is a final exam undertaken online- you can then download your personalised certificate.


What do you learn?

This course covers the following lessons:

LESSON 1 INTRODUCTION
Considering Animal Ethics
Animal Rights
Animal Welfare
Health And Welfare
Providing Animal Health Care 
Routine Health Treatments 

LESSON 2 PREVENTING DISEASE AND INJURY
Health Checks And Observations
The Importance Of Good Nutrition
Watering
Exercise And Stimulation 
Appropriate And Safe Environment
Controlling Pests And Diseases
Veterinary Prevention

LESSON 3 UNDERSTANDING & INSPECTING HEALTH ISSUES
Pathogens 
Inspecting The Health Of Animals
Signs Of Ill Health 
Differential Diagnosis

LESSON 4 ANIMAL FIRST AID
Types Of Wounds
Treating Wounds
Fly Control
Bone & Joint Problems
Poisoning
First Aid For Wildlife

LESSON 5 SOME COMMON ILLNESSES IN ANIMALS A-F
African Swine Fever
Allergies 
Anaplasmosis 
Anthrax
Aspergillosis
Arthritis
Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)
Bacterial Infections
Bile Duct Obstruction
Bladder Stones
Blastomycosis
Bloat
Blue Tongue
Botulism
Bordetella (Respiratory Infection)
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (Bse)
Brucellosis
BVD (Bovine Viral Diarrhoea)
Camel Pox
Cancer
Cancer Eye
Candida
Canine Distemper
Cataracts
Chlamydiosis
Cholera
Chronic Murine Pneumonia (Murine Mycoplasmosis)
Coccidiosis
Colitis
Congestive Heart Failure
Conjunctivitis
Cryptococcosis
Cryptosporidiosis
Cystitis
Dermatitis
Diabetes Insipidus
Diabetes Mellitus
Dermatophilosis
Dropsy (Fish)
E-Coli 0157
Ear Mites
Eczema
Egg Binding
Encephalitis
Enteritis
Epilepsy
Equine Encephalomyelitis
Equine Herpesvirus (Ehv)
Equine Infectious Anemia Virus (Eia)
Equine Influenza
Erysipelas (Swine)
External Parasites
Feline Asthma
Feline Immunodeficiency Virus
Feline Infectious Peritonitis
Feline Leukaemia Virus (Felv)
Fibrosis
Fish Fungus
Flea Anemia
Foot And Mouth Disease
Foot Rot 
 
LESSON 6 SOME COMMON ILLNESSES IN ANIMALS G-N
Gastroenteritis
Giardia
Glaucoma
Grass Tetany
Heartworm
Heat Stress
Hip Dysplasia
Hookworm
Hendra Virus (Equine Morbillivirus Pneumonia)
Hydatid Disease
Hymenolepiasis
Hypertension
Hypothyroidism
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Ibd)
Internal Parasites
Intestinal Impaction (Snakes)
Kennel Cough
Laryngitis
Legionellosis (Pneumonia Or Mild Respiratory Illness)
Leptospiriosis
Leukaemia
Liverfluke (Fasciola Hepatica)
Listeriosis
Lumpy Jaw
Lyme Disease
Lymphocystis
Lymphoma
Malaria
Mange
Mastitis
Melioidosis
Metabolic Bone Disease (Reptiles)
Mouth Canker (Stomatis)
Mrsa Infection
Muscular Dystrophy
Mycotic Infection (Reptiles) 
Myiasis
Necrotic Dermatitits (Scale Rot)
Newcastle Disease
Nipah Virus
Nitrate Poisoning
Nutritional Secondary Hyperparathyroidism 

LESSON 7 SOME COMMON ILLNESSES IN ANIMALS O-Z
Obesity
Overgrown Teeth
Ovine Johne’s Disease (Ojd)
Pancreatic Disorders
Parvovirus
Pediculosis (Lice)
Peritonitis
Pneumonia
Poisoning
Polyomavirus
Pox Virus
Proventricular Dilation Disease (Pdd)
Psittacosis
Q Fever
Rabbit Calicivirus Disease 
Rabies
Rhinitis 
Rift Valley Fever (Rvf)
Ringworm
Scabies (Sarcoptic Mange)
Salmonellosis
Scours
Sendai Virus
Screw-Worm Fly
Streptococcal Infection
Surra
Swine Influenza (Hog Cholera)
Taeniasis
Tail And Fin Rot
Tetanus
Ticks
Toxic Plants
Toxoplasmosis
Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (Tse)
Tuberculosis
Varroa Mite
Vesicular Stomatitis
Visceral Larval Migrans
West Nile Virus (Wnv)
White Spot (Ichthyophtirius Multifiliis)
Woody Tongue
 
FINAL ASSESSMENT

A COURSE FOR ANYONE WHO KEEPS OR CARES FOR ANIMALS

Human beings keep animals for a variety of reasons including; as pets, companionship, therapeutic reasons, working animals, and farmed animals for food and even animals for sport. Sometimes wild animals may be kept temporarily in a shelter, or permanently in a zoo or reserve, for their own protection.

Whatever the reason; this course can help you to better understand and practice animal care.

It is important that we understand the health of the animal which we choose to keep, and know when veterinary attention is required.  We should also follow health programs available including health checks, vaccinations and parasitic control to decrease the outbreaks of illness or disease.  

Alongside our veterinary health checks and treatments, we can also perform our own frequent health check on the animal.  Performing regular health checks is beneficial as it allows the animal to become familiar with hands on checks, as well as detecting any possible health problem sooner, rather as later.  

A health check consist of both physical examination and observing the animal’s reaction and behaviour. To perform a physical health check follow these easy steps outlined below;

• To perform a health check, you will examine the animal from nose to tail (if present).  
• Start by examining the nasal area, eyes, mouth and the ears.  Inspect for any discharge, foreign objects, dryness, obstructions, balding, damaged areas or painful spots.  
• Check the skull, nape, throat and shoulders for any lumps, bumps, fractures or painful areas.  Also check for any parasites, fur matting or hair loss.
• Run hands down the fore legs inspecting for any lumps, balding, fractures or injuries.  Check the fore feet, paying attention for any sores or cuts and also spread the digits to ensure no foreign objects or painful spots.
• Now run hands down spine, ensuring no injuries or painful areas.  Inspect rib cage and ventral body, ensuring no bloating, lumps or discomfort.  Pay particular attention here to the size of the animal.  Is this normal for this species, or is it over or under weight.
• Examine hips and hind legs for any bumps, lumps, injuries or discomfort.  Assess the hind feet and spread each digit checking for any foreign object or painful area.
• If a tail is present then examine from base to tip for any lumps, bumps, fractures or discomfort.  Also examine the anal and genital regions.  

You can perform these simple steps on any animal from dog to horse to chicken.   Just change the forefeet to wings, feet to hooves and nose to beak!!  Whether the animal has feathers or fur, it is important whilst performing a physical health check that you check all areas for any possible sign of parasites.  This allows early diagnosis and prevents any severe outbreaks.  
Other important health checks could also be performed alongside a physical ‘nose to tail’ examination.  The capillary refill time could be assessed, the temperature, respirations and pulse rate.