Veterinary Care & Grooming
The most thoroughly self-regulated part of a dog’s life.
The Practice Standards Scheme is the RCVS’s voluntary accreditation for veterinary practices in the UK. It assesses them against detailed requirements covering hygiene, staffing, equipment, medicines handling and out-of-hours cover, verified by periodic inspection. Optional but widely held, it gives owners independent assurance about premises they could never check themselves.
The AAHA runs North America’s leading voluntary accreditation for companion-animal practices. Hospitals are evaluated on-site against several hundred standards spanning anaesthesia, surgery, dentistry, pain management, imaging and pharmacy. Because it is earned rather than required, the AAHA mark is treated as a premier quality signal across the continent.
The WSAVA is the global body for companion-animal vets, federating associations from dozens of countries. Rather than certify practices, it issues clinical guidelines that harmonise care worldwide, covering vaccination, nutrition, dental health and pain management. In regions without strong national schemes these guidelines often serve as the working standard, raising the floor of veterinary care for dogs internationally.
The iPET Network is an awarding body whose dog-grooming qualifications are regulated in the UK by Ofqual, within the national framework of recognized vocational standards. Its diplomas cover health checking, biosecurity, safe handling and canine first aid as well as styling, reflecting grooming’s shift toward welfare. Holding one is a baseline many salons and insurers now expect.
City & Guilds is a long-established vocational awarding organization whose dog-grooming diplomas have certified competence for decades. Their qualifications combine written theory with assessed practical work in coat care, handling and styling, and are widely recognized. As grooming has no statutory license, these voluntary diplomas serve as the trade’s own measure of skill.