As a caring, responsible and ethical dog breeder, I have completed the Animal Care College "Dog Breeding Diploma" and I am pleased to say that I passed with Distinction (the highest grade obtainable).

Subjects covered are:

Ethics, the interpretation of breed standards, principles of breed "type", anatomy, structure, conformation, balance, movement, abnormalities, genetics, genes, chromosomes, transmission of genetic material, recessive and dominant genes, pedigrees, "prepotence", line breeding, out-crossing, genetic controls, genetic and environmental influences, breeding better dogs, mating, whelping, weaning, rearing, nutrition and conditioning.

"All of this students work was extremely well written in an articulate and informed manner, and were a great source of pleasure to read. Essay format was used and was easy to read in style, articulate and extremely informative demonstrating a student who really knows what they are talking about and makes use of this in breeding practice.

Pedigree selection was excellent for those units where they were required and all associated illustrations were well above average. The student demonstrated an aptitude and style for synthesising the content and backgrounds in a well thought out reflective analysis, which will be extremely useful to her for future use. In some instances where critical analysis of standards had to be made the student proved to have a questioning mind, which lent itself well to the concept of choice of breeding stock for future development of the lines with which she is involved.

Units were particularly well presented with photos, graphs and drawings, which together with the supporting written material, gave a very clear indication of the student's ability not only to seek out evidence, but also to understand the theory and learn from what she read.

It was quite clear that a lot of research and reading about the relevant topics had been done and this was always reflected in the units. References were always present and correctly identified.

The work was exceptionally good; it included both current literature and original research, together with evidence of extensive study and reflection on the content matter. The work would make a worthy paper for a dissertation." - Sara John - Course Tutor.

To see the courses available visit the Animal Care College website.