Training requirements must be fulfilled before individuals are granted the privilege of working with and caring for animals through their activities or employment with the University of Guelph. The purpose of the training is to foster a philosophy of compassion and respect for the animals and for all individuals to develop competency in handling and procedural practices. For all training-related inquiries, please contact the training office at training@uoguelph.ca.
Here is a breakdown of our offered courses, listed from the most basic to the most advanced:
- ‘A’ workshop – species-specific handling.
- ‘B’ workshop – training in protocol-specific procedures (note. preceded by ‘A’).
- Facility orientation – an introduction to your facility and provision of key-card access.
-
Advanced procedures, if applicable:
-
Rodent Surgery – Rat or Mouse
- Skill Certification required after hands-on workshop.
- Rodent Anesthesia – Rat or Mouse
- Mouse Breeding – Breeding techniques for mouse colonies.
- Mentor-Facilitated Training (MFT) – invasive procedures that are not covered in the workshop curriculum, to be done with a qualified instructor (may be principal investigators, veterinarians, senior researchers, or experienced facility technicians). Other personnel with expertise in the species and the methodology to be trained may provide MFT however all mentors should be confirmed by ACS before training occurs.
-
Rodent Surgery – Rat or Mouse
Rodent workshops (i.e., A, B, Anesthesia, Surgery) are accompanied by a recorded online lecture available on their respective Courselink sites. All recorded online lectures and courselink content must be reviewed prior to the hands-on workshop.
Skill Certification by a certified instructor. For final sign-off to use your surgical skills, you must schedule a separate date/time for Skill Certification with an ACS veterinarian. This can be done by emailing acsvets@uoguelph.ca.
Before you are registered for any training workshop, please ensure that you have completed the Animal User Training Core Modules, have logged into the AUP system, and are listed under relevant procedures on your AUP. Once you have completed these tasks, send the training office (training@uoguelph.ca) a registration email answering the following questions:
- Have you completed the compulsory Core Modules? If so, provide a cohort number.
- Under which AUP are you listed? If you are unsure, please inquire with your supervisor.
- What are the specific procedures you will be doing, and what is your experience in performing them?
- What is your level of study at the University of Guelph (undergraduate student, graduate student, postdoctoral student, other)?
- When will your research project start? When will you begin working with live animals?
- Which facility will you work at? Have you received facility orientation?
Your PI should be copied on this email.
Please find the scheduled workshops for this semester below. Note that dates are subject to change based on student needs and research demands.
| Workshop Name | Date (2025) | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Orientation – Animal Biosciences (ABSc) |
|
2:30 – 3:30 |
| Orientation – Central Animal Facility (CAF) |
|
9:30 – 11:00 |
| Orientation – Human Health and Nutritional Sciences (HHNS) |
|
1:00 – 2:30 |
| Orientation – Production Animal Isolation Facility (ISO) |
|
10:30 – 12:00 |
| Mouse A – Handling & Restraint |
|
Tues. 1:30 – 3:00 Thurs. 10:30 – 12:00 |
| Mouse B – Procedures, IP & SQ Injections |
|
Tues. 1:30 – 3:00 Thurs. 10:30 – 12:00 |
| Rat A – Handling & Restraint |
|
Tues. 1:30 – 3:00 Thurs. 10:30 – 12:00 |
| Rat B – Procedures, IP & SQ Injections |
|
Tues. 1:30 – 3:00 Thurs. 10:30 – 12:00 |
|
Anesthesia Asynchronous lecture to be completed before practical. Available via Courselink. |
|
10:00 – 1:00 |
|
Surgery Asynchronous lecture to be completed before practical. Available via Courselink. |
|
10:30 – 12:30 |
| Stereotaxic Surgery | Training is offered on an ‘as needed’ basis. Please contact training@uoguelph.ca for more details. | N/A |
| Poultry A – Handling & Orientation to Arkell Poultry Unit | Please contact training@uoguelph.ca for more details. | N/A |
| Poultry B – Procedures (blood collection, injections, and/or administration by gavage) | Please contact training@uoguelph.ca for more details. | N/A |
| Swine A – Handling & Orientation to Arkell Swine Unit |
Scheduled workshop dates TBC. Please contact training@uoguelph.ca for more details. |
N/A |
| Swine B – Procedures | Training is offered on an ‘as needed’ basis. Please contact training@uoguelph.ca for more details. | N/A |
| Cattle Workshop and Orientation to Elora Dairy Research and Innovation Centre | Training is offered on an ‘as needed’ basis. Please contact training@uoguelph.ca for more details. | N/A |
| Sheep Workshop and Orientation to Ponsonby Sheep Unit | Training is offered on an ‘as needed’ basis. Please contact training@uoguelph.ca for more details. | N/A |
| Horse Workshop | Training is offered on an ‘as needed’ basis. Please contact training@uoguelph.ca for more details. | N/A |
| Workshop Name | Date (2025) | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Orientation – Animal Biosciences (ABSc) | Please contact training@uoguelph.ca for more details. | TBA |
| Orientation – Central Animal Facility (CAF) |
|
9:30 – 11:00 |
| Orientation – Human Health and Nutritional Sciences (HHNS) |
|
1:00 – 2:30 |
| Orientation – Production Animal Isolation Facility (ISO) |
|
10:30 – 12:00 |
| Mouse A – Handling & Restraint |
|
Tues. 1:30 – 3:00 Wed. 10:30 – 12:00 Thurs. 10:30 – 12:00 |
| Mouse B – Procedures, IP & SQ Injections |
|
Tues. 1:30 – 3:00 Wed. 10:30 – 12:00 Thurs. 10:30 – 12:00 |
| Rat A – Handling & Restraint |
|
Tues. 1:30 – 3:00 Thurs. 10:30 – 12:00 |
| Rat B – Procedures, IP & SQ Injections |
|
Tues. 1:30 – 3:00 Thurs. 10:30 – 12:00 |
|
Rodent – Inhalant Anesthesia Asynchronous lecture to be completed before practical. Available via Courselink. |
|
10:30 – 1:00 |
|
Rodent – Surgical Principles Asynchronous lecture to be completed before practical. Available via Courselink. |
|
10:30 – 12:30 |
| Poultry A – Handling & Orientation to Arkell Poultry Unit | Please contact training@uoguelph.ca for more details. | N/A |
| Poultry B – Procedures (blood collection, injections, and/or administration by gavage) | Please contact training@uoguelph.ca for more details. | N/A |
| Swine A – Handling & Orientation to Elora Swine Research Centre | Please contact training@uoguelph.ca for more details. | N/A |
| Swine B – Procedures | Training is offered on an ‘as needed’ basis. Please contact training@uoguelph.ca for more details. | N/A |
| Cattle Workshop and Orientation to Elora Dairy Research and Innovation Centre | Training is offered on an ‘as needed’ basis. Please contact training@uoguelph.ca for more details. | N/A |
| Sheep Workshop and Orientation to Ponsonby Sheep Unit | Training is offered on an ‘as needed’ basis. Please contact training@uoguelph.ca for more details. | N/A |
| Horse Workshop | Training is offered on an ‘as needed’ basis. Please contact training@uoguelph.ca for more details. | N/A |
| Workshop Name | Date (2024) | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Orientation – Animal Biosciences (ABSc) | Please contact training@uoguelph.ca for more details. | TBA |
| Orientation – Central Animal Facility (CAF) |
|
9:30 – 11:00 |
| Orientation – Human Health and Nutritional Sciences (HHNS) |
|
1:00 – 2:30 |
| Orientation – Production Animal Isolation Facility (ISO) |
|
10:30 – 12:00 |
| Mouse A – Handling & Restraint |
|
Tues. 1:30 – 3:00 Wed. 10:30 – 12:00 Thurs. 10:30 – 12:00 |
| Mouse B – Procedures, IP & SQ Injections |
|
Tues. 1:30 – 3:00 Wed. 10:30 – 12:00 Thurs. 10:30 – 12:00 |
| Rat A – Handling & Restraint |
|
Tues. 1:30 – 3:00 Thurs. 10:30 – 12:00 |
| Rat B – Procedures, IP & SQ Injections |
|
Tues. 1:30 – 3:00 Thurs. 10:30 – 12:00 |
|
Anesthesia Asynchronous lecture to be completed before practical. Available via Courselink. |
|
10:00 – 1:00 |
|
Surgery Asynchronous lecture to be completed before practical. Available via Courselink. |
|
10:30 – 12:30 |
| Poultry A – Handling & Orientation to Arkell Poultry Unit |
|
9:00 – 11:00 |
| Poultry B – Procedures (blood collection, injections, and/or administration by gavage) |
|
9:00 – 11:00 |
| Swine A – Handling & Orientation to Arkell Swine Unit | Scheduled workshop dates TBC training@uoguelph.ca for more details. | N/A |
| Swine B – Procedures | Training is offered on an ‘as needed’ basis. Please contact training@uoguelph.ca for more details. | N/A |
| Cattle Workshop and Orientation to Elora Dairy Research and Innovation Centre | Training is offered on an ‘as needed’ basis. Please contact training@uoguelph.ca for more details. | N/A |
| Cattle Workshop and Orientation to Elora Beef Research and Innovation Centre | Training is offered on an ‘as needed’ basis. Please contact training@uoguelph.ca for more details. | N/A |
| Sheep Workshop and Orientation to Ponsonby Sheep Unit | Training is offered on an ‘as needed’ basis. Please contact training@uoguelph.ca for more details. | N/A |
| Horse Workshop | Training is offered on an ‘as needed’ basis. Please contact training@uoguelph.ca for more details. | N/A |