The mobile pet care franchise, Petpals, reports that its franchisees across the UK are successfully completing the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) Level 3 Professional Day Care and Boarding course.
Petpals says that this new qualification will enable its franchisees to achieve the ‘Higher Standard’ in the Animal Activity Licensing Regulations, updated by the UK government Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs in 2018.
Licensing now requires that to meet the ‘Higher Standard’, a member of staff with a relevant Ofqual regulated Level 3 qualification must be present during the working day at the day care or boarding establishment.
Kevin Thackrah, managing director of Petpals, said: “As an industry we are overrun with people starting up dog walking and dog boarding businesses on a whim, with no previous experience or qualifications and we embrace and welcome any and all efforts to raise the standards in our industry.
“Even before the new regulations, all of our franchises were, and always have been CRB checked, insured and have taken a Dog Handling Skills and Pet First Aid course.”
Petpals Buxton, Darlington West, Hendon, Leeds North and Sefton have successfully completed the course and a further 15 franchisees are currently on the course.
‘What a great course’
Sharren Redmond (pictured) who started her Petpals Sefton in November last year, said: “What a great course; I feel so much more confident and professional in running my Petpals business now. It was a huge amount of work requiring large amounts of research, reading and writing but I loved it.
“I am now qualified to the ‘Higher Standard’ for the benefit of my clients and their dogs. I will of course be sharing my new knowledge, passing on the relevant information to my team so we can all benefit from the course.
“Although I have been a dog owner myself for many years and thought I knew everything there was to know about caring for a dog, the course makes you look at things from a very different perspective.
“I had to learn about a wide variety of dog care subjects, from what different breeds of dog are like, how they play and interact with other dogs, to warning signs from a behavioural point of view. The course has really sparked my desire to know more and I wouldn’t rule out doing a dog behaviourist qualification in the future,” continued Redmond.
Thackrah added: “We are delighted that Sharren, Deborah, Lisa, Mike, Chrissy and Sallyann have completed their Ofqual qualification and we are pleased that Petpals Sefton, Buxton, Leeds North, Hendon and Darlington West will now be qualified to the ‘Higher Standard’ for boarding and dog care, with many others following on in the next few weeks.”
Petpals offers animal care ranging from dogs and cats to small pets, such as rabbits, gerbils, birds and exotics. Its services include pet sitting, dog walking, cat visits, pet taxi service and home boarding for dogs and small pets.
ukoffice@petpals.com www.petpals.com