If you are pet parent like me, you want know as much as you reasonably can about your pet and important need to know information. One of the best resources on the web for pet parents on pet topics is PetMD. They have thousands of articles, tips, videos and more for pet parents of all types and issues. To say it’s a resource library really doesn’t do it justice. The best part about it is that it is free for everyone to use and learn from.
I recently decided to p
ut my knowledge to test on the PetMD University courses. They have fifteen courses available for dog and cat owners. Since I am a pet parent of two dogs, Sugar and Zoey, I decided I would start with the dog courses. For dog parents, they have the following courses: Dog Emergency Preparedness, Puppy Nutrition, Puppy’s First Few Weeks, Dog Training Basics, Dog Fleas 101, Exercising With Your Dog 101, Dogs: Being Social and Alone, Dog Skin Care, Heartworms and Your Dog. Cat Parents, they have the following available to you: Cat Emergency Preparedness, Cat Health 101, Kitten Nutrition, Kitten’s First Few Weeks, Cat Fleas 101, Heartworms and Your Cat.
To take the courses you need to register for the site which is free. Once you are registered, let the learning begin. As a long time pet parent and someone active in the pet world I have a good foundation of pet knowledge. Still, there were things that I learned that were either great refreshers or things that I had grown fuzzy on. One of the great things about technology, and PetMD does this so well, is that there is a lot of depth of information available to us pet parents that did not exist in one spot previously. I know I have shelves of books on pet topics that can attest to the convenience of technology bringing it together in one place. The university topics really allow you to go beyond and focus in with additional articles and information on the main site.
The courses, and I took several of the courses for both Dogs and Cats, were informative and fun. There are videos, articles and nuggets of information that every pet parent will benefit from. They don’t take a long time to complete, but they give you a wonderful foundation for you to build your pet knowledge from. While I learned from the dog series, I really enjoyed the cat series a lot since I don’t have a cat and it was something new for me.
One of the fun things is that you earn points as you complete tasks and courses. I enjoy seeing my knowledge and retention put to the test, so I also enjoyed the tests. You do have to past the quizzes, which are not difficult if you’ve read and listened to the materials, to continue through the courses. Don’t worry; if you miss some or want to retake the test over and over, you are certainly welcome too. On a few, to test my retention I went back after working on another topic and retook the test to see how much I retained.
They have achievement awards, virtual trophies, the ability to share your progress and successes through your social media networks. They also have a leader board, which normally I ignore, but I must admit I enjoyed seeing my name on that leader board.
So, to the bottom line, is it worth your time to review the courses? Absolutely. It’s fun and informative. From beginners to experts, it’s a great way to review and learn information about Dogs and Cats on a variety of topics. There is no cost to do it, so you’ve got nothing to lose and a lot of knowledge to gain. A better informed pet parent makes for a happy and healthier pet.
I plan on taking all of the courses and look forward to my virtual cap and gown ceremony.
