As a pet care professional you will be providing pet care service by way of visits to a client’s home or you may be providing pet care along with house sitting.

These roles may at first seem to be relatively easy ones to undertake. In most cases they are, however as with any workplace related activity precautions should always be taken to ensure for your own safety and the safety and security of the clients home and pet.

In most situations, from speaking with other professional pet carers, the majority of pet carers will visit a home alone. The visit may be a simple “meet n greet” with a potential client or to undertake the actual pet care service and to ensure the security of a client’s home.

The unfortunate fact is in today’s society people who work alone in the community have a higher risk of workplace violence and this risk increases when working alone at night.

It is important therefore that these visits are conducted in the safest way possible to minimise the risk to you as the pet carer, to ensure that a full check has been made of the person’s home to ensure its security and that you know what to do in the event that criminal activity, be it historical (prior to your visit) or in progress, is discovered.

SCENE SAFETY:  Are you (as a pet carer) aware of the appropriate precautions you are to take and of potential hazards on every visit to a home?

Any person’s home has a potential for violence, and many have not-so-obvious indicators of danger. In most cases the potential client has asked you to come to their home to discuss their pets’ needs; however there is always the possibility that a person is attempting to lure you to a house for some other reason.

Personal (thus professional) safety should be your primary concern on every home visit, regardless of who the person is or the reason for the visit. Safety awareness is important.

This training provided by Five Star Security Training will focus on applying safety awareness to each and every visit.

The program will cover four areas:

• LEGAL ASPECTS

• legal limitations and powers relating to self defence and removal of trespassers

• IDENTIFY THE NEED TO USE AND HOW TO APPLY DEFENSIVE TECHNIQUES

• personal limitations
• defensive techniques
• response options
• isolating areas of potential risk
• avoidance techniques
• body positioning
• body safety
• using everyday objects to provide protection

• SECURITY OF PREMISES

• what areas you should be checking for in a building check
• what to do in the event that a criminal offence is detected

• PERSONAL SECURITY

• How to make a threat assessment prior to a visit to a person’s home
• Identifying danger warning signs
• Understanding the fight/ flight principle

The mission of this training course is to assist professional pet carers in providing a safe and healthy workplace. 

This certificate (and course) is not a nationally recognised or “official” certificate (or course). The certificate will show you have completed all the subjects that have been covered in the training in a satisfactory manner.

Disclaimer: This training course will not prevent criminal activity and is not a new standard or regulation. This training course is advisory in nature and informational in content as its intention is to assist in providing a safe and healthy workplace for professional pet carers. 

TO PLACE AN ORDER OR INQUIRY:

Send an email to info@queenslandpetcarers.com.au with your postal address which we will forward to Five Star Security Training.

Michael, from Five Star Security Training, will contact you shortly there-after to have the course posted to you to introduce himself to you and provide support.

Costs:

Booklet only $80 including postage

Booklet and “Certification” $120 including postage

This covers the customisation of the booklet for your location, production of the materials (book and/or certificate) as well as personal on-going support from Five Star Security Training.