65220 Pet groomers and animal care workers

What this occupation covers

Animal care workers feed, handle, train and groom animals and assist veterinarians, animal health technologists and technicians and animal breeders. Pet groomers clip coats, bathe and otherwise groom pets. They are employed by animal hospitals and clinics, animal shelters, breeding and boarding kennels, zoos, laboratories, retail pet shops, dog training schools, pet grooming establishments, or may be self-employed.

Official main duties

The NOC profile lists 8 main duties for this code.

• Prepare food and feed animals, fish or birds at scheduled intervals
• Clean and disinfect cages, pens and surrounding areas
• Shampoo, clip and groom animals
• Assist veterinarians and animal health technologists and technicians to inoculate and treat animals
• Assist animal breeders to handle and nurture animals
• Assist scientists and researchers in conducting laboratory tests with animals
• Monitor and document animal behaviour
• Train dogs to obey commands and perform specific duties in response to signals.

Do not copy these lines into your reference letter. The letter has to describe what you actually did, in your employer’s words. DUTYPROOF flags wording lifted from the NOC as something to review, and an officer reading a letter that mirrors the NOC reads it the same way.

What DUTYPROOF screens for

This is DUTYPROOF’s screening threshold, not IRCC’s decision. For this NOC, screening requires at least 2 of its 8 official duties to be evidenced in your own words, plus the required letter elements. IRCC asks that you performed the actions in the occupation’s lead statement and a substantial number of its main duties — so treat the duty coverage as the number that matters, not the badge.

Codes this one is confused with

The NOC profile names these itself. Choosing the wrong code of a look-alike pair is the most common way genuine work experience fails to establish eligibility.

• 32104 Animal health technologists and veterinary technicians
• 21110 Biologists and related scientists
• 72999 Other technical trades and related occupations
• 84120 Specialized livestock workers and farm machinery operators

Excluded from this code

• Animal health technologists and veterinary technicians (See 32104 Animal health technologists and veterinary technicians)
• Animal nutritionist (See 21110 Biologists and related scientists)
• Horseshoer (See 72999 Other technical trades and related occupations)
• Marine mammal trainer (See 21110 Biologists and related scientists)
• Sheep shearer (See 84120 Specialized livestock workers and farm machinery operators)

Job titles filed under this code

A title on this list does not by itself put your experience in this code — the duties in your letter decide that.

animal attendant · animal attendants supervisor · animal care worker (except farm) · animal groomer (except horses) · animal health care assistant · animal trainer (except horses or marine mammals) · aquarist · certified dog master · dog groomer · dog handler · dog master · dog master trainer · dog trainer · groom - horse race track · horse hot-walker · kennel attendant · kennel keeper · kennelman/woman · laboratory animal attendant · laboratory animal care worker · pet groomer · pet master groomer · pet shop attendant · pet-sitter

Employment requirements

• Completion of secondary school is usually required.
• Depending on the type of work performed, training courses in animal handling, grooming or dog training are usually required. Animal health or veterinary assistant college courses may be required for animal care workers.