Become an Animal Health Technician

Why ICS Canada?

  • DEAC Accredited
  • Self-Paced
  • Supportive
  • Low monthly payments

Animal Science Program Overview

If you love working with animals, take the first step towards a new career with ICS Canada’s online Animal Sciences Career Diploma courses. Learn animal anatomy and physiology, animal care, and advanced assisting procedures for both large and small animals, including cats, dogs, and horses! With ICS Canada, you can train at home and at a pace that's right for you, and you can complete this program in as little as six months.

If you are interested in a Veterinary Technician Associate Degree program through our partner, Penn Foster College, call 1-888-427-2400 for more information.

Curriculum Details

Program Goal and Outcomes

Program Goal

The Animal Science career diploma program prepares students for a career as an entry-level animal care and service worker.

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:

  • Recognize, write, and pronounce medical terms used in a veterinary practice
  • Identify the major categories of animal behaviour and identify the restraint techniques and equipment used to restrain small and large animals
  • Use correct language in both spoken and written business communication and create professional business correspondence
  • Know the office functions within a veterinary practice as well as how to keep financial records for the practice
  • Identify the parts of the animal skeletal systems and know the functions of the integumentary, circulatory, respiratory, digestive, reproductive, urinary, nervous, and endocrine systems, as well as the sensory organs
  • Discuss how to care for animals nutritional needs, know how to tend to animals emergency situations, and identify the proper ways to maintain, change, and remove bandages, splints, casts, and slings
  • Discuss the animal care worker's role in biomedical research and explain the laws, regulations and guidelines governing animal use in biomedical research
  • Know the animal care worker's role before, during and after surgery and how to function as a part of a surgical team
  • Describe dog, cat, and horse shows and summarize the process for finding, purchasing, caring for, and training show animals
  • Discuss genetics and the stages of dog, cat, and horse breeding from mating to birth as well as growth and development, and explain how to manage a kennel, cattery, and stable

Instruction Set 1

Learning Strategies

The advantages of learning at home; types of study materials; types of examinations; accessing and using the features of our website; determining what kind of learner you are; establishing a study schedule; using study tips; preparing for and taking examinations.

Introduction to Animal Care

Career opportunities in animal care; certification; animal care skills.

Instruction Set 2

Behaviour

Types of animal behavior; behavior counseling; and common animal behavior problems.

Handling and Restraint

Handling and restraint of dogs, cats, birds, horses, and other animals; transporting animals.

Instruction Set 3

Interpersonal Communication

Basic elements of communication; essential personality traits; professional interactions with clients; prejudice, insensitivity, and discrimination; barriers to effective communication; improving your speech; stress and defense mechanisms.

Veterinary Practice and Administration

Veterinary staff roles; procedure and personnel manuals; facility cleanliness and safety; inventory and supplies; records and logs; admission and discharge; records retrieval and protection; basic filing systems and equipment; screening and processing mail.

Instruction Set 4

Written Communication 1

Parts of speech; sentence structure; sentence sense; common grammatical problems; punctuation; capitalization.

Written Communication 2

Qualities of effective correspondence; writing with style; shaping paragraphs; conveying an impression; kinds of business correspondence; parts of a letter; letter styles; selecting and addressing envelopes; common business letters; reports; checking your work.

Written Communication 3

The importance of a good vocabulary; developing your reading recognition vocabulary; developing your writing and speaking vocabularies; making nouns plural; making nouns possessive; using a spell checker; homonyms as misspelled words.

Additional Material

Learning Aid: Dictionary

Instruction Set 5

Natural Remedies for Your Pet

The role of the immune sysstem; The causes of poor pet health and animals' ability to maintain their health; The positive aspects of natural healing for pets; The signs of a healing crisis; Effective training methods and equipment; Food and meat preparation methods for pet meals.

Hands-on Therapies for Your Pet

Six important acupuncture points in dogs and cats; Methods of preparation for flower essences; Benefits and risks of vaccinations; Cancer remedies; Components of a healthful environment.

Ailments in Small Animals

Caring for birds and rabbits; Ailments that affect cats, dogs, birds and rabbits; Emotional and spiritual aspects of owning companion animals; End-of-life issues faced by pet owners.

Instruction Set 6

Filing Techniques

Alphabetical and numerical filing systems; confidential files; financial files; filing equipment.

Math for the Office Professional

Whole numbers, fractions, decimals; percents and percentages; calculating income; gross pay versus net pay; hourly wages.

General Accounting Practices

Fee collection procedures; banking; accounts payable; computerized accounting.

Instruction Set 7

Introduction to Veterinary Terminology

Anatomical and veterinary procedure terminology; Metric terms and abbreviations.

Skeletal and Muscular Systems

Orientation and location of animal body parts; Cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems; Classes of joints.

Integumentary, Circulatory, and Respiratory Systems

Structure and function of skin and the animal’s fur; The glands and their secretions; The structural and functional differences between the organs of the upper and lower respiratory system, The lungs and the parts of the respiratory system.

Digestive and Reproductive and Urinary Systems

The organs of the digestive system; The stomach and large intestine of carnivores and herbivores; Male and female reproductive systems; Anatomy and functions of the urinary system.

Nervous System, Sensory Organs, and Endocrine System

How the nervous system receives and interprets stimuli; The four senses and their primary function; The endocrine system; The major glands and hormones that maintain body homeostasis.

Instruction Set 8

Nutrition

Nutrients; animal foods; methods of feeding; developing the diet for different species; managing the anorexic animal; nutrition and therapy.

Emergency Care

Triage and readiness; common emergency presentations; chemical and physical disorders; client communication and grief management.

Wound Care and Management

Types of wounds and wound healing; wound care; bandages and bandaging techniques; special bandages; casts and slings; caring for bandages, casts and slings.

Laboratory Animal Procedures

Importance of animals in biomedical research; the animal care worker’s role in biomedical research; laws, regulations and guidelines governing animal use in biomedical research; animals that contribute to biomedical research; surgery; animal facility operations.

Instruction Set 9

Veterinary Pharmacology

History of veterinary pharmacology; routes and techniques of drug administration; systems of measurement in veterinary pharmacology; dose calculations; anti-infectives, anticancer, corticosteroid veterinary drugs; vaccines; gastrointestinal and respiratory drugs; cardiovascular drugs, diuretics and fluid therapy; hormonal, reproductive and growth drugs; drugs affecting the central nervous system; drugs affecting muscle function and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents.

Surgical and Anesthetic Preparation

Commonly performed surgeries; preparing for surgery; assisting in the operating room; anesthetic procedures and equipment; anesthetic drugs; monitoring anesthesia; anesthetic emergencies and recovery; postsurgical procedure.

Instruction Set 10

Dog Shows and Training

Dog shows; buying a puppy to show; caring for your new puppy; training your puppy; your puppy’s first show.

Kennel Management

Ethical dog breeding; canine genetics; breeding your bitch; growth and development; essentials of kennel management.

Cat Shows and Training

Cat shows; getting ready for your cat show; training your show cat; your cat's first show; traveling with your cat; at the show.

Breeding and Cattery Management

Responsible versus irresponsible cat breeders; basic genetics; understanding breeding theory; making breeding arrangements; mating and pregnancy; the birth; growth and development; cattery management.

Instruction Set 11

Horse Breeds

Horse classifications and breed registries; light horse breeds; draft horse breeds; pony breeds; finding a horse; selecting a horse; purchasing and owning a horse.

Horse Shows and Training

How horse shows operate; English horse shows; western horse shows; other types of horse shows; selecting and caring for a show horse; training a show horse; participating in horse shows.

Stable Management

Horse breeding; basic genetics; reproductive anatomy and physiology; stable management; types of farms and stables; the business of stable management; stable requirements and routines; diet and nutrition; maintaining health and combating disease.


Computer Specifications
As you know this is an online academic program. This means you will need access to high-speed internet to begin your program. In addition, you will need access to a Microsoft® Windows® based computer running Windows 10® or later or an Apple® Mac® computer running macOS® or later, and an email account to complete your program.

We reserve the right to change program content and materials when it becomes necessary.

Sample Lesson

To view an Animal Sciences sample lesson, click here.

Animal Sciences Course Details

In the ICS Canada Sciences online program, you’ll cover topics such as:

  • Animal anatomy and physiology
  • Veterinary care and animal diseases
  • Advanced assisting procedures
  • Animal restraints and first aid
Online animal sciences courses

Here are a few qualities that are common among those that work with animals:

  • Compassionate: You care about others and animals hold a special place in your heart.
  • Strong under pressure: Animal care workers must manage stress and keep their emotions out of difficult situations to best help their animal patients.
  • Detail oriented: It’s important to have a sharp eye and check things twice.
  • Investigative: The challenge that comes with helping animals is incredibly rewarding for those that are curious and eager to learn.

"I chose to further my education and accounting knowledge with ICS Canada while working as an accounting clerk, which allowed me to move up within the company at which I am currently working. Studying with ICS Canada was a great experience, and the instructors were very helpful when it came to resolving any issues I had while studying."

- Sean S., ICS Canada graduate

"I have taken three diploma courses with ICS Canada. It has been very rewarding and challenging. I love to increase my knowledge level and share experiences. ICS Canada is great. Enrol! The contact with them is always very pleasant. You feel like a part of the ICS team."

- Connie K., ICS Canada graduate

Your program includes:

  • Customized payment plans with 0% interest
  • Books and learning aids
  • Study Planner App to keep track of your progress
  • Instructional support from our experienced faculty
  • Your personalized online student homepage and learning portal
  • Exclusive access to ICS Canada’s Student and Alumni Facebook Group
  • Additional resources such as our online library and career guidance from Career Cruising

Does ICS Canada offer career services to its students?

Yes, students have access to career services through Career Cruising as soon as they are enrolled with ICS Canada. Career Cruising offers students with tips on setting up a career portfolio, learning assessments to find the right job fit, and employment guides with interview do’s and don’ts, resume writing tips and more.

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