Animal Health Technicians
Job description
These individuals provide technical assistance to veterinarians in animal health care. They contribute to the diagnosis and treatment of health problems in animals. They work for:
- Veterinary clinics and hospitals
- Pet shops
- Breeding farms
- Zoological gardens
- Laboratories and research centres
- The public service
- The pharmaceutical industry
Environment
- Controlled ambient temperature
- Equipment, machinery, tools
- Biological agents
- Odours
- Radiation
- Uncontrolled ambient temperature
Main tasks
- Provide animal care and rehabilitation.
- Handle, immobilize, and care for animals during treatment and surgery.
- Administer treatments prescribed by the veterinarian.
- Take X-rays, collect and analyze samples, and perform other laboratory tests.
- Prepare surgical equipment and administer anesthetics to animals.
- Prepare and administer medications and vaccines, under the direction of the veterinarian.
- Treat and dress wounds.
- Provide clients with training and advice on animal health care.
- Perform routine dental procedures and assist veterinary dentists.
- Collect physiological data.
Advancement and mobility
- Experience leads to supervisory positions.
Training and requirements
Formation
Most training programs are offered in French only.
College
DCS in animal Health Technology
Placement rate: 87.4%
11.3% of graduates pursue further studies
Main skills and characteristics
Skills
- Data collection
- Information processing
- Active listening
- Critical thought
- Reading comprehension
- Oral expression
- Result evaluation
- Judgment and decision-making
- Active learning
- Coordination
- Written expression
- Service oriented
- Solving complex problems
- Time management
- Social perception
- Science
Abilities
- Verbal skills
- Oral comprehension
- Deductive reasoning
- Awareness of issues
- Written comprehension
- Information organization
- Speech recognition
- Near vision
- Inductive reasoning
- Speech clarity
- Classification
- Digital dexterity
- Written expression
- Processing flexibility
- Manual dexterity
- Core strength
- Hand-arm stability
- Auditory attention
- Selective attention
- Basic numeracy
- Static muscle power
- Time sharing
- Mathematical reasoning
- Perception speed
- Physical flexibility in extension
Knowledge and attributes
- Autonomy
- Sense of responsibility
- Spoken and written bilingualism (French and English)
- Knowledge of customer and personalized services
- Capacity to work in a team
- Rigour
- Vitality
- Assiduity and punctuality
- Sense of observation
- Knowledge of biology
Interests
- Draft, communicate, and inform
- Work in contact with nature and animals
- Conduct tests and trials, control processes
Personality profiles (RIASEC)
- Investigative
- People with this profile prefer relying on theoretical knowledge before acting. They like observation, analysis and problem solving.
- Realistic
- People with this profile prefer carrying out concrete tasks and being physically involved in what they do.
- Conventional
- People with this profile prefer specific, well-defined tasks. They like to respect the order of things and follow established rules.
Appellation d’emploi liée (à traduire)
Animal health technologists and veterinary technicians (CNP 32104)
Skill type
Health
Last update: January 29, 2026