You might be the person friends ring about their dog. This pathway was made for turning that into work. You learn how dogs think and train, how to look after animals well, and how to set up on your own.
You do not need a degree to work with animals. Kennels, daycares, shelters and pet retail all hire on handling, care knowledge and how you are around an animal.
Canine senses, communication, behavioural development and disorders. The difference between managing a dog and knowing what it is telling you.
A whole course on starting a business is built in, covering business plans, structures, bookkeeping and Xero. Dog training and daycare are businesses people run from home.
Animal work is one of the few fields people move into for love and stay in for good. The day is easy to picture: dogs walked and settled, a nervous one brought around, feeds and meds done, and owners who trust you with the animal they care most about.
Husbandry, handling, feeding and spotting health problems across dogs and other species. Covered directly here.
Running a boarding kennel day to day, where care knowledge and safe handling do the heavy lifting.
Reading a room full of dogs before it goes wrong. The behaviour and communication topics are the whole job.
Obedience, movement control and working dogs, plus the business course if you want your own clients.
Behavioural disorders, first aid and handling matter most where animals arrive stressed and unknown.
Roles where these skills are useful, not promised outcomes. Every role is different, and some need more study or experience. Veterinary nursing and animal welfare inspection run through their own accredited training.
Three courses in one pathway, from canine behaviour through to running your own business.
Here is what stands out in this pathway.
You get canine psychology and animal husbandry in the same pathway. Understanding a dog and caring for one are different skills, and most jobs ask for both.
Anatomy and physiology, common diseases, first aid, accidents and emergencies. The knowledge that matters when something goes wrong on your watch.
Business plans, structures, bookkeeping and Xero, with a digital marketing module that unlocks after the core work. Set up right from the start.
Certificate of Achievement · The Career Academy
Finish the pathway and you receive the college's Certificate of Achievement, covering all three courses.
The business course leaves you with a plan, a structure and the bookkeeping set up in Xero.
Support for the job search, including a review of your LinkedIn profile.
Send an enquiry and a course advisor gets back to you with the course guide and straight answers on whether it fits.
Start anytime. Pay weekly, fortnightly or monthly with no deposit and no credit check, or pay upfront in one payment.
Work through the three courses online, with unlimited tutor support by phone and email in business hours.
Complete the pathway and receive your Certificate of Achievement, with a business plan ready to go if you want one.
None needed. The pathway starts with the nature and scope of canine psychology and an introduction to animal care, so it builds from the ground up.
The payment plan is $29 a week, with no deposit and no credit check. You can pay weekly, fortnightly or monthly, or pay upfront. Enquire for the full options.
Around 400 hours at your own pace, with 18 months of access. There are no set class times, so it fits around work and family.
That is what the third course is for. You cover business types and structures, a business plan, bookkeeping and Xero, so the setup side is handled alongside the dog knowledge.
There are none, ever. You are assessed on practical understanding, with tutor support behind you.
It is accredited by ICOES and the CPD Standards Office, which is accreditation for professional development. It is not NZQA accredited, so it is not a national qualification. That is a different thing. For kennels, daycares and dog training it is no barrier: what people judge you on is how animals respond to you.
Yes. There is a 10-day money back guarantee. If it is not right, you get your money back.
This course is delivered by The Career Academy, an online course provider in New Zealand.
Courses run fully online and self paced, with unlimited tutor support by phone and email in business hours. Career coaching comes with your enrolment, including CV help, interview preparation and a LinkedIn profile review.
Picture the afternoon a dog nobody could settle sits down for you, and the owner asks what you did. This pathway is how you learn the answer.