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About Certification

There are approximately 500 breeds of dogs in the world. The size of the breeds varies from 6 inches to 42 inches in height. The weight of the breeds ranges from 2 pounds to over 200 pounds. From the tiny Chihuahua to the massive Mastiff, the basic anatomy and physiology of man's best friend are very similar. Anatomy is defined as the art of separating the parts of an organism in order to ascertain its position, relations, structure, and function. Physiology is the study of the functions and activities of life or of living matters and the chemical and physical processes involved. Because the dog cannot communicate verbally with us, knowing and understanding how the body of the canine functions and what it is made of is important information for you, the dog lover to better take care of man's best friend.

 

Over the years, man has created many variations of man's best friend through selective breeding. There are different coats, body, head, ear, eye, and foot types, and different tail types. Dogs were bred by man for different purposes, and the variations of dogs that exist are due to the different needs of man. As a dog lover, this is very interesting and intriguing information, but as an individual specializing in the art of dog grooming and styling, this is a must!

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Knowledge of the dog's body, from an anatomical and physiological standpoint, is essential for all pet care professionals and useful for dog owners, and learning the vocabulary for clearly communicating about the dog's body allows you to converse on an accurate and lucid level about both health and grooming issues. Knowing about the form of the dog's body and the function of all portions of the dog's body is information that will be useful to you for your entire career in the pet care profession. Included in this information, you need to know:

 

The understanding of dog conformation and what differentiates the breeds from one another in terms of body types is important information to master. Coat types you find in the various breeds of dogs, coat color, and the natural and man-made coat patterns are also essential information as well as what breed standards call for in terms of coat color. Understand what the dog's forehand, backhand, tuck-up, chest type, front, and rear type tell us about the "geometry" of the dog.

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Prerequisite: N/A

Time To Complete: 3 - 6 months, depending on the number of online courses taken per month

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Certification Objective

Knowledge of the dog's body, from an anatomical and physiological standpoint, the form of the dog's body, and the function of all portions of the dog's body is information that will be useful in the pet care professions. Learn and understand the dog conformation and what differentiates the breeds from one another in terms of body types, coat types, coat color, and natural and man-made coat patterns.  Understand what the dog's forehand, backhand, tuck-up, chest type, front, and rear type tell us about the "geometry" of the dog.