Dog Care Merit Badge

Start the badge the right way Milestone

Meet your unit leader, get a counselor and a signed blue card before working with them. That process is the same for every badge and is set out on its own page.

Work to the requirements in force when you start Document

These requirements are republished yearly. A Scout who has already begun may finish under the ones they started with.

Usually comes after Start the badge the right way.

Merit badge requirements are republished annually. A Scout beginning work uses the requirements as they stand then; a Scout already working may finish under the ones they started with. Guide to Advancement 7.0.4.3 governs which applies. This page records the date its copy was read. Check it against the official page before relying on it.

1. Where dogs came from, the seven groups, and breeds Requirement

Three parts, and the third offers seven breeds or one breed's history: a real difference in effort inside a single lettered item.

Usually comes after Work to the requirements in force when you start.

THIS BADGE NEEDS A DOG, AND ONLY MENTIONS IT IN PASSING. Requirement 4 says "your dog" for two months, requirement 5 says "your dog" for the commands, and requirement 7(d) says "your dog" for the bandaging. Requirement 2 is the only one that offers an alternative, and it explicitly allows a sketch. If the dog is not yours, settle that with whoever it belongs to before the two months start.

1(a). The historical origin and domestication of the dog Task

Briefly discussed. The shortest part of the badge.

1(b). Common characteristics of each of the seven major dog groups Task

Seven groups, and what the dogs in each have in common. This is the framework requirement 3(c) uses when it asks what to consider in choosing a family dog.

1(c). Seven breeds, one from each group, OR the history of one breed Task

Specific characteristics of seven breeds, one from each major group, or a short history of a single breed. Seven against one is a real difference; the badge treats them as equivalent.

2. Ten body parts, named, on a dog or a sketch Requirement

At least ten, correctly named. This is the one requirement that explicitly lets you use a sketch instead of an animal.

3. Training, responsible ownership, and choosing a breed Requirement

Three explanations. 3(a) is the theory that requirement 5 demonstrates, and 3(c) is the practical use of everything in requirement 1.

3(a). Why house-training, obedience training and socialisation matter Task

All three for your dog, explained. Requirement 5 is where the obedience part gets demonstrated.

3(b). What "responsible pet ownership" means Task

Explained. It is the phrase the whole badge is arranged around, and requirement 9 (the laws and ordinances where you live) is one concrete half of the answer.

3(c). What to consider when choosing a family dog, temperament included Task

The issues that must be considered, with temperament named explicitly. Requirement 1(b) and 1(c) are what you draw on to answer it.

4. Two months of keeping and caring for your dog, with a log Often forgotten Requirement

The clock on this badge. Nine things logged throughout: feeding schedule, types of food, amount fed, exercise, training schedule, A WEEKLY BODY WEIGHT RECORD, grooming and bathing schedules, veterinary care and costs, plus a description of the housing or shelter arrangements.

Usually comes after Work to the requirements in force when you start.

THIS IS THE BADGE. Two months, and a log of nine things kept throughout, including A WEEKLY BODY WEIGHT RECORD, which is eight or nine entries taken a week apart and cannot be produced at the end from memory. It is requirement 4 of ten and every other requirement is a conversation. Start it first. A reader who works through the requirements in order starts this clock after three discussions and finishes the badge two months from THERE rather than two months from now.

READ REQUIREMENTS 6 AND 8 BEFORE YOU START THIS LOG. The log asks for a feeding schedule, types and amounts of food, grooming and bathing schedules and veterinary care, and requirement 6 is where vaccination, parasite control, dental care and grooming are explained, while requirement 8 is a visit to a veterinary hospital or animal shelter. Both are numbered AFTER this one. The plan cannot draw an arrow backwards from 6 to 4 without closing a loop, so this notice is the arrow.

WORK DONE FOR THIS BADGE CANNOT COUNT TOWARDS ANOTHER ONE. A note above requirement 1 says so for the whole badge. It is worth knowing that the 2025 requirements book printed that rule as a parenthesis inside this requirement alone, and the current page has lifted it out and widened it to all ten. The badge it collides with most obviously is PETS, whose requirement 1 is four months of caring for a pet and which carries the same restriction from its own side, so two months of dog care and four months of pet care are two separate clocks, and one dog cannot run both.

5. Obedience training explained, and three commands shown with your dog Often forgotten Requirement

The correct way to obedience train and the equipment needed, then any three of eight commands demonstrated: come, sit, down, heel, stay, fetch, get it, drop it. The requirements page links two free videos on basic commands.

This needs your dog in front of you and three commands it will actually do. "Show with your dog any three": come, sit, down, heel, stay, fetch, get it, drop it. If the dog does not yet know three of them, that training happens during requirement 4's two months, not on the day you meet your counselor. The requirements page links two free videos on teaching the basics.

6. Six discussions about keeping a dog healthy Often forgotten Requirement

Vaccination, parasites, teeth, coat and nails, your local seasons, and spaying or neutering. Almost all of it is about what should be happening during requirement 4's two months, and it is numbered after them.

6(a). The vaccination schedule for a dog in your area Task

Puppyhood through adulthood, and it varies by where you live, which is why the requirement says "in your area".

6(b). Preventing fleas, ticks, heartworms and intestinal parasites Task

Control methods for a dog in your area, puppyhood through adulthood. Four different problems with four different answers.

6(c). Why dental care and tooth brushing matter Task

Explained. The part of routine care most owners skip.

6(d). The benefits of regular grooming, coat and nails Task

Discussed. Requirement 4's log asks for grooming and bathing schedules, so this is what that column is for.

6(e). The seasonal conditions where you live Task

Hot summers, cold winters, extreme humidity: whatever your own area actually does, discussed with your counselor.

6(f). The considerations and advantages of spaying or neutering Task

Discussed with your counselor.

7. First aid for a dog: eight parts, three of them demonstrated Often forgotten Requirement

The largest requirement by count. 7(b) and 7(d) are things you do rather than say, and 7(d) is done on your own dog.

7(a). Precautions when handling a hurt dog Task

Explained. A hurt dog is not the dog you know, which is what the rest of this requirement is built on.

7(b). Put on an emergency muzzle Task

Shown, not explained. It needs a dog and something to make a muzzle from.

7(c). Treating wounds, and first aid for a dog bite Task

Two different things in one part: wounds on the dog, and first aid for a person the dog has bitten.

7(d). Dressing and bandaging the foot, body or head of your dog Task

Shown, on your own dog. Three possible sites, and a simple dressing under the bandage.

7(e). What to do if a dog is hit by a car Task

Explained.

7(f). What belongs in a dog owner's first-aid kit Task

Listed. A useful thing to assemble during requirement 4's two months rather than to recite.

7(g). The dangers of treating a serious ailment at home Task

Told. This is the requirement that draws the line the rest of requirement 7 stops at.

7(h). Rabies, parvovirus, distemper and heartworms Task

Cause, method of spread, signs and symptoms, and prevention: four diseases and four questions about each, briefly discussed. Prevention here is requirement 6(a) and 6(b) from the other side.

8. Visit a veterinary hospital or an animal shelter, and report on it Often forgotten Requirement

One visit, and a report to your counselor. Made early with requirement 6's questions written down, it answers most of requirement 6 as well.

9. The dog laws and ordinances in force in your community Requirement

Know them: leash rules, licensing, numbers, barking, waste, dangerous-dog provisions, whatever your own community has. It is the concrete half of the "responsible pet ownership" answer at 3(b).

10. A career, or a hobby or healthy lifestyle. Do ONE Requirement

The badge states the choice itself. Both routes are research and a discussion with your counselor.

10(a). Three careers working with dogs, and one researched properly Optional May not apply Task

Identify three, pick one, and research training, education, certification requirements, experience and expenses, then employment prospects, starting salary, advancement opportunities and career goals: discussed with your counselor.

You have not answered "Requirement 10: a career, or a hobby or healthy lifestyle?" yet.

10(b). A personal hobby or healthy lifestyle using dog skills Optional May not apply Task

The additional training required, the expenses, and the organisations that would help you get the most from it, plus your own short-term and long-term goals.

You have not answered "Requirement 10: a career, or a hobby or healthy lifestyle?" yet.

Counselor signs it off Milestone

The completion date is the date you met the requirements, not the date of the signature.

Usually comes after 10. A career, or a hobby or healthy lifestyle. Do ONE.