New York State Small Animal Contest

Revision 4
01/08

REQUIRED EQUIPMENT AND SAFETY APPAREL

Teams must provide the following:
Teams shall consist of 4 students
Scrubs, lab coat, or chapter shirt
No open toed shoes
Clipboards, pens or pencils (black or blue point)

CONTEST FORMAT
1) All students will do the Dog/Cat Breed Identification, Parasitological, and Objective test
portion of the contest.

2) Communication Skills- Each team will choose one member to compete in each of the four
Communication Skill options:
Member A- Phone interview
Member B- Puppy/ Kitten scenario
Member C- Grooming scenario
Member D- Pet Store

3) Hands On- Each team will choose one member to compete in each of the four Hands On
options:
Option #1 Grooming
Option #2 Vet Clinic
Option #3 Lab Animal
Option #4 Pet Store/ Feed Nutrition

4) Scoring will be done as follows:

• Students will be ranked individually.
• Teams will consist of combined scores of 4 FFA members. Schools may have no
more than 3 teams or 12 individuals entered.
• Team score will be based on 1400 possible points, each member can earn up to
350 points.

5) Registration will begin at 12:30 a.m. The competition for ALL teams will begin at 1:00. NO
EXCEPTIONS!!
Competition begins promptly for all contestants to begin the breed and parasitology
identification. This will be done with a power point presentation.
DOG/CAT BREED IDENIFICATION: 80 POINTS

A. I.D. 35 dog breeds recognized by American Kennel Club with their group
classification.
• Dogs from
each of the 7 classifications will be represented.

B. I.D. 5 cat breeds (from either long hair or short hair classifications) as recognized by
the Cat Fanciers of America

C. Each Identification will have a 15 second time allotment to be used for the breed and
group I.D.

SCORE CARD FOR DOG AND CAT I.D.

1pt. I.D. of breed

1pt. Classification of breed

PARISITOLOGY 80 POINTS

A. Scientific names of: 32 points

• Hookworm
• Tapeworm
(rabbit or flea)
• Roundworm
• Whipworm
• Heartworm
• Mites (sarcoptic
or demodetic)
• Flea
• Tick(deer tick
associated with lyme disease)

B. I.D. Slides of: 32 points

• Mite
• Flea
• Tick
• Hookworm
• Whipworm
• Tapeworm
• Roundworm
• Heartworm

B. Skin Scraping 16 Points

List the 8 steps of a skin scraping
OBJECTIVE TEST 60 POINTS
COMMUNICATION SKILLS 100 POINTS

Member A: Phone
One team member will receive a telephone call from a customer to be handled on an
extemporaneous basis. Suggested calls might be from a customer inquiring about one of
the following:

a. Spay
b. Neuter
c. Declaw
d. Teeth cleaning
e. Worming

The telephone call should be 3-5 minutes in length

Member B: Puppy/ Kitten Scenario

One team member will demonstrate his/ her knowledge with puppy or kitten care by
performing as a veterinary assistant or a veterinary receptionist, when a client stops by
requesting information on a new pet.

Knowledge of puppy care expected to be known:

a. Puppy shot series
b. Rabies vaccination
c. Worming schedule
d. heartworm
e. Spay & neutering
f. Nutritional care

Knowledge of kitten care expected to be known:

a. kitten shot series
b. rabies vaccination
c. feline leukemia
d. declawing
e. spay & neutering
f. worming schedule
g. nutritional care
 Member C: Grooming Scenario
One team member will demonstrate his/her knowledge of grooming acting as a groomer
setting up an appointment for one of the following grooming situations:

1) A new client coming in with a dog that is badly matted. Points to be covered or asked
about:
a. Introduction
b. Breed of the dog
c. Age of the dog
d. Temperament of the dog
e. Skin problems or moles
f. Any bad behaviors
g. Requested services
h. State possible services
i. Make an appointment

2) A new client comes in with an elderly dog. Points to be covered or asked about:
a. Introduction
b. Breed of dog
c. Age of dog
d. Temperament 0f the dog
e. Any bad behaviors or habits
f. Arthritis, moles or other age related problems
g. Requested services
h. Other concerns
i. Make an appointment

3) A new client comes in to make an appointment for a dog that has recently had surgery
or diagnosed with some condition. Points to be covered or ask about:
a. Introduction
b. Breed
c. Age of dog
d. Temperament of dog
e. Changes in temperament
f. Condition or wound to be considered
g. Services requested
h. Make an appointment

Member D: Pet Store

A Customer enters your Pet Store and would like to purchase a specific item from
your store. Product to be purchased may include but not limited to:
a. pocket pets
b. pet toys
c. housing/ caging
d. dog training tools
e. tropical fish and equipment
f. reptiles and equipment
HANDS ON 40 POINTS

OPTION 1: GROOMING
A. I.D. Grooming Equipment 10 points
1. Slicker brushes
2. Combs
a. Fine, medium, and coarse tooth
b. Dematting
c. Flea
d. Greyhound
3. Rake
4. Shedding blade
5. Toenail trimmer (Must be specific)
a. Scissors
b. Guillotine
c. Pliers
6. Shears
a. Blunt end curved
b. Straight
c. Thinning
7. Hemostat
8. Pin Brush
9. Clipper Blades
a. Skip tooth
b. Full tooth
c. Snap- on blade
10. Curry Comb

B. Restraint 4 points
1. Restrain a dog properly to have nails clipped

C. Apply a gauze muzzle properly 4 points

D. External Anatomy of Dog 12 points

E. Apply Grooming Noose 4 points

F. Shampoos/ rinses 6 points

1. Mix shampoo correctly according to label
2. Mix crème rinse correctly according to label
OPTION 2: VETERINARY CLINIC
1. Properly read a glass thermometer within 10 seconds 6 points

2. ID surgical instruments 10 points

a. Thumb Forceps
b. Tissue Forceps
c. Spay Hook
d. Mayo- Hegar Needle holder
e. Towel clamp
f. Scalpel Handle
g. Bandage Scissors
h. Stitch Removal Scissors
i. Carmalt Forceps
j. Kelly Forceps
k. Dental scaler
l. Dental inspection mirror
m. Ferguson forceps
n. Holstead Mosquito forceps

3. Medical terminology 10 points

4. Properly calculate dosage rate 6 points

5. Critical analysis of a technical article from a Vet Tech magazine 8 points

OPTION 3: LABORATORY ANIMAL

1. Rabbit ID 6 points
a. Mini lop
b. Rex
c. New Zealand White
d. Angora
e. Netherland Dwarf
f. Dutch

2. Restraint and Sexing 14 points

a. rabbits
b. rats
c. mice
d. gerbils
e. guinea pigs
f. hamster

3. Genus and species of the above animals- correctly spelled 6 points

4. Gestation and weaning age of animals 8 points

5. Guinea pig ID 6 points

a. American
b. Peruvian
c. Abyssinian
Option 4: PET STORE/ FEED NUTRITION
1. Tropical Fish- accessories and supplies 10 points
a. Whisper air pump
b. Air line tubing
c. Filter
d. Gravel
e. Heater
f. Hood
g. Siphon hose
h. Thermometer
i. Algae scraper
j. Carbon
k. Aerator
l. Check valve
m. Artificial plants
n. Feeding blocks
o. Fish net
p. Baby nursery

2. Pocket Pets - accessories and supplies 10 points

a. Ferret harness
b. Exercise wheel
c. Salt lick
d. Nail trimmers
e. Habit trail
f. Ferret hammock
g. Chewing sticks
h. Habi hut
i. Rabbit harness
j. Exercise ball
k. Dust bath
l. Lab chow/ pellets/ mix
m. Alfalfa hay

3. Training Tools - accessories and supplies 10 points

a. Gentle leader
b. Nylon colloar
c. Choker collar
d. Harness
e. Clicker
f. 6’lead
g. Treat bag
h. Doody bag
i. Slip lead
j. Citronella bark collar
k. Invisible fence
 l. 30’lead
m. Crate dumb bell
n. Kong
o. Coupler
p. Whistle

4. Feeds 10 points
a. Feed Comparison/ From label
 COMMUNICATIONS SCORE CARDS

MEMBER A: TELEPHONE INTERVIEW

FFA Chapter _______________

Team # _______________
Member (A) _______________

Possible Contestant
Points Points
Telephone usage

Telephone Etiquette 10 _________

Introduction 10 _________
Voice 10 _________
Personality 20 _________
Information Gathered 15 _________
Evidence of Knowledge 15 _________
Closing 20 _________

Total Points 100 _________

MEMBER B: PUPPY/ KITTEN SCENARIO

FFA Chapter _______________

Team # _______________
Member (B) _______________

Conversation Possible Contestant

points points

Voice tone, empathy, grammar 10 ________

Personality-pleasant, friendly 10 ________

Skills information:
Info gathered from customer 20 ________
Info provided to customer 20 ________

Closing:
Review, closure 40 ________
Total Points 100 ________
MEMBER C: GROOMING

FFA Chapter _______________

Team # _______________
Member(C) _______________

Possible Contestant
Points Points

Conversation

Voice-tone, empathy, grammar 10 ______

Personality-pleasant, friendly 10 ______

Skills Information

Information gathered from customer 20 ______

Information provided to the customer 20 ______

Closing

Review, closure 40 ______

Total Points 100 ______

MEMBER D: PET STORE
FFA Chapter _______________
Team # _______________
Member(D) _______________

Possible Contestant
Points Points

Conversation:

Voice-tone, empathy, grammar 10 ______

Personality-pleasant, friendly 10 ______

Skills Information:

Information gathered from customer 20 ______

Information provided to the customer 20 ______

Closing:

Review, closure 40 ______

Total Points 100 ______