Pet Boarding & Daycare

Barkleigh Productions and Outstanding Pet Care Collaborate to Form PPBC

Barkleigh Productions and Outstanding Pet Care Collaborate to Form PPBC

Answering the Need for Education & Certification

By Staff

Like many industries, the pet care industry experiences constant change and evolution. With so many moving parts to juggle, it’s important for pet care professionals to continually seek information to help them adapt, prepare, and succeed.

As an organization, for over 40 years Barkleigh Productions has witnessed and supplemented the growth of today’s pet care industry. Between their publications, trade shows and educational platforms, Barkleigh is a leader in professional pet care education, specifically for grooming and boarding/daycare professionals. Barkleigh recognizes the need for more regulation in the education of pet care professionals and already has several certification programs in place for the grooming industry, including international certifications.

The original trade organization for the pet boarding and daycare industry was the American Boarding and Kennel Association. During its early years, ABKA saw a need to provide pet care professionals with a standardized educational platform to ensure the ongoing growth & success of the industry. The organization underwent changes and the association shut down. The assets were eventually purchased by Outstanding Pet Care (OPC) in an effort to keep its important educational platform available to the industry.

OPC’s network of trusted pet care operators and leading veterinarians reviewed the certification material and discovered it to be outdated. Together, OPC and its contemporaries spent a great deal of time, energy and resources to meticulously screen, update and add necessary courses to the curriculums. The result is the industry’s most powerful and comprehensive collection of information ready to be tapped into by today’s pet care professionals.

Together the two organizations, Barkleigh and OPC, have collaborated to form an educational platform to certify pet boarding/daycare owners, managers and employees called Professional Pet Boarding Certification (PPBC). This certification model will utilize the material owned OPC to educate and provide some regulation to this otherwise unregulated industry. And while the industry is constantly changing, PPBC promises to have the most current information and educational materials available.

Canine Flu, Cough & More

Barkleigh and OPC both firmly believe it’s important for pet care professionals to stay educated on significant topics. Our two organizations agreed that Barkleigh’s Pet Boarding & Daycare Expos would be an ideal place to provide in–person certification courses for the pet care industry.

One very timely issue is Canine Infectious Respiratory Diseases, including canine influenza, canine parainfluenza and others. The first certification course that PPBC will offer is Professional Pet Boarding Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease Certification, which will equip pet care professionals with the understanding needed to reduce, recognize and respond to outbreaks of canine infectious diseases.

Pet care facilities see many different dogs every day, so facility owners need to be informed. When not handled properly, an outbreak can be ruinous to a facility’s financial stability, reputation and employee morale.

Dog flu has been confirmed in 46 of the mainland US States, most recently ravaging California in the areas between Sacramento and Los Angeles. Since February 22, 2018, almost 500 cases of dog flu have been confirmed between Nevada and California.

An outbreak of canine cough in your facility not only means sick pets, but it can have potentially devastating effects on your business.

The Solution is Knowledge

This certification course arms pet care professionals with everything they need to understand about the disease. The following will be covered:

Additionally, this valuable course includes a wealth of resources including printable materials to help you communicate with your staff and client base. These valuable documents include:

Obtaining this certification will arm owners, managers and staff with the most up to date information to promote the best care possible.

The Future of PPBC

The Canine Infectious Disease Certification is only the beginning of what PPBC plans to offer. In the near future, they will have two levels of general Pet Boarding Certification available, which can be completed in person, at the Pet Boarding & Daycare Expos or online. Level one will offer a general understanding of what pet care involves on a day–to–day basis. Level one is best used as a proactive training tool to assure comprehensive and consistent information to all pet care staff. Level two will provide even more detailed, comprehensive and advanced information for senior staff, supervisors and managers. 

PPBC also plans to offer more specific courses, similar to the Canine Infectious Disease Certification, as the need arises, as well develop continuing education courses to be sure all of the certified professionals stay current with what is going on in their industry.

www.PetBoardingCertification.com