1. All clients accept the following terms and conditions for Dogs On Go Dog Walking Services and have read and understood these fully.
2. All pre-booked walks and visits will be paid for in advance for the following week, any additional extra walks will be paid for within 7 days of the invoice by cash, direct debit or bank transfer.
3. All clients will receive a free consultation which may include an accompanied walk (if required) with Dogs On Go prior to booking, all relevant paperwork will be completed and signed during the consultation. These must take place before any Dog or Puppy can be walked with Dogs On Go.
4. Any keys held by Dogs On Go will be held in a lockable cabinet whilst not in use. Any lost keys will be reported immediately, it is therefore the owners responsibility to ensure appropriate measures are then put in place to prevent burglaries and theft.
5. All veterinary bills will be paid in full by the owner on arrival at the vets, regardless of how the Dog or Puppy was injured. Whilst we will do our upmost to ensure your Dog or Puppy returns home safe and well, accidents may occur. I therefore reserve the right to ensure your Dog or Puppy receives appropriate treatment as I deem necessary whilst your Dog or Puppy is in our care.
6. I will always seek to contact you or your emergency contact before any decision is made regarding veterinary treatment, please ensure your emergency contact is a person you trust and feel is suitable to make the right decision for you. If I can not make contact with you or your emergency contact within an appropriate timescale I will make a decision with the advice of a trusted vet in the best interests of your Dog or Puppy.
7. Puppy visits are only bookable for Puppies up to 12 months old.
8. Dogs On Go holds full business insurance including Public Liability insurance. We do however recommend all Dogs or Puppies are fully insured for your own peace of mind. Dogs On Go reserves the right to refuse Dogs or Puppies onto walks if uninsured.
9. Whilst Dogs On Go will always strive to offer the best possible service for your Dog or Puppy, ensuring they are well looked after and cared for we cannot be held responsible, for any loss, injury or death whilst your Dog or Puppy is in our care either inside or outside the home.
10. Cancellation Fees – all block bookings that are to be cancelled require a notice period of one month, daily bookings made on a weekly basis require a notice period of one week. Any customer cancelling with immediate effect, therefore not giving the appropriate notice period, will be charged for the relevant notice period as previously stated.
11. Emergency cancellations due to illness will require a 24 hour notice period, these cancellations will be charged at full cost and credited to your account.
12. Any changes to pre-booked visits, i.e. changes of walk times or days during the same week require a 48 hour notice period
13. Any cancellations or changes with less notice period than specified will be charged at full cost and no refund or credit will be given.
14. We reserve the right to cancel, rearrange or complete home visits only during extreme weather. If suitable rearrangements or home visits cannot be made/are unsuitable for your needs this will be credited to your account. Please see my Weather Policy for further details on this.
15. We reserve the right to terminate a contract immediately, at any time, with any Dog that becomes unmanageable due to signs of aggression or other training requirements, if no other alternative is viable.
16. We reserve the right to cut short any walk at our discretion for reasons beyond our control, i.e. Weather, Injury, a Dogs behaviour or otherwise, if this becomes necessary.
17. All dogs that are being left in the care of Dogs On Go must be fully vaccinated and immunisations up to date.
18. Any equipment provided by yourself such as collars and leads must be checked by you before each walk booked and confirmed to be of a safe and efficient nature. Any equipment deemed unsuitable by Dogs On Go will not be used and may result in a walk not being offered.
19. All Dogs being walked with Dogs On Go must wear a tag, with relevant contact details required by law, at all times. Dogs On Go reserve the right to refuse walks if an appropriate tag is not provided. All dogs must be microchipped and your microchip number provided to Dogs On Go. We reserve the right to refuse walks to any Dog that is not microchipped.
20. Prior consent must be given by the owner before any off lead time will be allowed whilst your Dog is in the care of Dogs On Go. Please note this will only take place after initial assessments and a period of one month consisting of at least four visits and will be done so at our discretion.
21. Dogs On Go will make every effort and take all precautions to ensure your home is safe and secure in your absence however we cannot be held accountable for any theft/burglaries or any accidental damage caused by your Dog/Pets.
22. Dogs On Go reserve the right to update our terms and conditions at any time. Clients will be made aware of any changes that are to be made before they come into effect.
Dogs On Go will require the information of customers in order to provide its services to you, this data is to be used inline with the service you require and the contact details we will need to be able to contact you where necessary or in the event of an emergency.
Dogs On Go may use collected information in a variety of ways in regards to our service for purposes such as, improving customer service, improving our website and social media, emailing customers or website users inline with enquiries/questions or to provide updates of our services or providing a more personal service to our clients.
Dogs On Go will not share clients information with any third parties without the prior consent of our customers.
All clients personal information will be securely stored in a locked cabinet. This information will only be used by Dogs On Go for the purpose of providing a service.
As contact details will be held on mobile phones for the purpose of contacting you by telephone, the mobiles in use will be secure with pass codes or finger print recognition, in the event the mobile is lost or stolen to provide added security. Dogs On Go will not willingly share this information to unauthorised parties.
Photos of your Dogs, puppies or pets may be used inline with my website or social media pages, however the clients prior consent will always be gained before doing so.
Any information held will be destroyed or deleted once it is no longer required, paper records such as application forms will be shredded on termination of any contract and mobile contacts deleted.
Any forms such as accident or incident records will be kept for a longer period dependant on the age of your dog.
Please note information may be held for a longer period with regards to any dispute of our service or payment, at our discretion, once any disputes are settled information will be destroyed as previously stated.
By agreeing to any terms and conditions it will be understood by Dogs On Go that the client accepts and understands the Data Protection Policy.
Dogs On Go reserves the right to update our Data Protection Policy at any time, all clients will be notified of any changes. If you have any questions regarding this policy please contact Dogs On GO.
Dogs On Go will provide walks to Dogs of all breeds and sizes, we will initially walk all Dogs on a solo basis, to enable us to understand your dog fully and get to know them. We will concentrate on building up a relationship with your Dog so they fully trust us and respond to our commands accordingly. We will learn about your dogs temperament, training level, their body language and what this may signify.
During those initial stages your dog will be kept on a lead at all times, regardless of consent for off lead time, we will gradually introduce off lead time in areas where we feel it is safe to do so and practice their recall skills. If at any stage I feel your dogs recall abilities are not fully developed with us at Dogs On GO we will return to on lead walks only.
We will walk your dogs in areas they are familiar with, close to home to begin with, again building on your dogs trust. During your initial consultation we will discuss your local walks and take an accompanied walk together so Dogs On Go can assess your dog and start the getting to know each other process.
When we have established a relationship with your dog we will offer walks in other areas to provide the stimulation of different smells, sites and sounds. This may include off lead walks, with permission, in open countryside, parks (where allowed) or other areas as requested.
On understanding your dogs temperament we will introduce them to group walks, if these are requested by yourselves, we will match them to dogs of a similar size and temperament to ensure we all get along, as far as is reasonably practicable. If at any time your dog shows signs of aggression we will place them back on solo walks or if possible rematch them to other dogs, it may be some dogs just simply don’t get along.
If you are providing your own leads these are to be checked before any walk by yourself and confirmed to be of a good quality, this includes the snap of your lead and the full length of the lead and handle. We will check leads ourselves on arrival, any leads we deem unsuitable will not be used and therefore could result in cancellation of the walk.
Leads should be of a simple, flat type in either leather or woven nylon with an optimum length of 6ft long and 5 ~ 8 inches wide, dependant on the size and strength of your dog. The snap on your lead should be duty steel or brass and a bull snap for large or giant breeds.
Please note we will not use retractable leads under any circumstances. These leads can cause injury to your dog or other dogs on the walk, they can cause injury to the person using them and can also result in out of control or lost dogs.
If you wish to allow your dog the freedom of a longer lead without off lead time we can use a training lead if provided, these will however be allowed on solo walks only to prevent potential injury to other dogs.
We will have some leads available for use if you would prefer, we also have double leads for group walks.
All collars must be provided by yourselves with a tag attached with your contact details, as required by law. These again must be checked before each walk by yourselves and confirmed to be of a safe and secure quality, no tears or loose buckles to be used. We will check all collars on arrival, any collars we deem unsuitable will not be used and will result in the cancellation of the walk. Please note in these circumstances you will still be charged in full.
Dogs On Go will provide all towels, wipes and other products necessary for cleaning and drying your dogs before we return them home.
Dogs On Go will provide all poo bags whilst your dog is out walking with us, we will also provide them with toys and treats with your permission and water during walks.
Dogs On Go will carry a first aid kit with them at all times for the event of an emergency. We will have a dog whistle and clicker for any dogs using these methods during walks and training. Please note we are not Dog trainers, this is only done to assist you, please ask if you require a dog trainer and we will try to assist in locating a professional Dog trainer.
Dogs On Go will have access to muzzles if we feel it becomes necessary to use them we will do so at our discretion. You will always be informed if it has become necessary for us to apply these and the reason for their use. If your dog uses a muzzle regularly please keep Dogs On Go informed of this and supply us with your muzzle during walks.
We will refill your water bowls at home before leaving and return them to your requested area in the home.
Dogs On Go aim to offer walks to your pets under all weather conditions, whether it be glorious sunshine, rain, sleet or snow, however there may exceptional circumstances that arise due to extreme weather.
Extreme heat.
Squish faced dogs should not be walked in temperatures above 22 degrees, therefore during the summer months I will be monitoring temperatures regularly and rearranging the walking schedules accordingly.
In extreme heat it is always necessary to use caution and where possible dogs will be walked in the early morning or late evening for their own safety. Walks will be shorter than usual on such days at my discretion. I will contact all clients in advance to discuss rearrangements of times and length of walks. Please note these walks will be provided on a first come first served basis, whilst also taking customer needs into account.
Any dogs that cannot be walked early morning or late afternoon will be offered Hone visits only during extreme heat conditions, throughout the middle of the day (approximately between the hours of 10am & 3pm) Times may vary dependent on weather and will be reassessed daily.
Whilst a walk in extreme weather may not always be possible I would always recommend a home visit if your dog is left alone during the day to enable Dogs On Go to assist in checking on your dog’s well-being and refill water bowls ~ much needed in such heat.
Walks that are being rearranged or where home visits are made will be charged at your usual rates. Where it is not possible to rearrange due to exceptional circumstances any charges will be credited back to your account for future walks or visits.
Snow or other extreme weather conditions.
Dogs On Go will be monitoring the weather regularly, checking for weather warnings and expected conditions for the next day and week ahead. Dogs On GO will contact all clients in advance if we feel there may be extreme weather that will affect our services to you.
Whilst we will make every effort to attend to your dog in all weather’s this may not be possible in extreme weather, if we feel the safety of ourselves or your dog is at risk we reserve the right to cancel walks, or look to arrange a Home visit. Any cancellations will be credited back to your account for future walks if Home visits are not suitable. We will aim to give a 24 hour notice period for any such changes.
We reserve the right to make changes and provide short walks to allow extra time for delays if this becomes necessary, whilst I will always aim to give adequate notice on such changes please be aware that weather conditions can often catch us off guard and result in unexpected delays.
Booked walk or visit times will be subject to change during extreme weather, due to road conditions, traffic and unexpected road closures. In such circumstances it may become difficult to give a specific time of arrival. I will however do my upmost to keep you informed and every effort will be made to arrive within a reasonable timescale.
As the weather can on occasion catch us off guard this may result in cancellations being made on the day of your booked visits, in these circumstances you will be given a full refund. Please note this will be an absolute last resort and one we hope never occurs.
As we continue to live with Covid-19 we are learning to live with it and keep the spread low. I have updated this policy accordingly, I will refer back to my previous policy if the spread of Covid -19 increases and this becomes necessary.
If ourselves or any member of our household display symptoms or becomes unwell we will notify you the customer immediately. Covid – 19 tests will be taken when necessary to keep you informed. Decisions can then be made as to whether walks should be cancelled or rearranged dependant on the vulnerability of customers.
Where walks are to continue hygiene routines when entering your home will be implemented and masks will be worn in the home.
If any member of your household becomes unwell or displays symptoms of Covid -19 please keep us informed to allow us to implement measures to prevent the spread of infection.
