Terms & Conditions
Our terms and conditions allow us to offer you the best possible service for your pet and help us to maintain a professional, reliable business for all of our customers.
Day Care/ Home Boarding
All dogs will be required to have a familiarisation session prior to them joining our daycare services. This familiarisation will last for at least 6 hours. This is to make sure dogs do not have underlying aggression or anxiety issues. If we feel that your dog isn’t right for daycare or boarding we will look at other services, which we could provide to meet you and your dog's requirements.
We require all dogs that are within daycare or on residential to have current vaccinations against Canine Distemper, Infectious Canine Hepatitis (Canine adenovirus), Leptospirosis (L. canicola and L. icterohaemorrhagicae) and Canine Parvovirus and other relevant diseases. The course of vaccination must have been completed at least four weeks before the first date of boarding or in accordance with manufacturer instructions. We require a record of these vaccinations for the duration of their stay. It is the owners' responsibility to make sure we are provided with up to date records.
Precautions must be taken to prevent the spread of fleas, ticks, intestinal parasites and other parasites in both boarded and resident dogs. We ask all dogs to be regularly treated as directed by your vet.
Dogs who are not in a fit state to attend due to disease or illness should not be brought to daycare until they have been given the all-clear from their vet.
We require all owners to provide their own food and bowl for their dog(s) is required to be fed while in the care of the company. All food must be provided within plastic sealed containers so it can be stored accordingly.
Bank Holiday Bookings
We will assume that all our regular dogs on daycare do not require their usual weekday services on UK Bank Holidays. Dogs on home boarding over the bank holidays are charged at time and a half.
Weekend and Out of Hours Bookings
At weekends we offer home boarding only. Our usual business hours for drop-offs and pickups are between are 7.30am – 6.00pm Monday to Friday and 9.00am - 6.00pm at weekends, outside of these times all services are charged at a time and a half, except dog training which is a flat rate.
Payment Terms
Our regular customers can pay by bank transfer or cash.
When paying by cash it is your responsibility to have the correct change. If you do not have the correct change and we have none either, then we will ask you to overpay and we will deduct this amount from your next booking.
All our services must be paid for in advance on the following basis:
Booking for regular daily or weekly daycare and home boarding are payable monthly in advance and are due on the first day of the service for that Month.
Ad hoc daycare and new clients must be paid on or before the day of the service.
Dog training is to be on or before the consultation.
As we get to know our customers, alternative payment terms can be negotiated, however as a small business cash flow is critical, so any deviation from the above terms is by mutual agreement which must be discussed and agreed in advance. Non-payment for our services for over a week will result in the agreed service being suspended until your account is brought up to date, which may mean that you will lose a regular slot.
Cancellations & Rescheduling
We make every effort to be flexible around our customers. Our bookings can be cancelled without charge provided the following minimum notice periods are adhered to:
Weekday services can be cancelled up to 7 pm on the day before they are due.
Weekend or bank holiday booking cancellations will be charged at 50% if cancelled less than 2 working days in advance, but before 7 pm on the last working day before the weekend or bank holiday.
If you need to reschedule a booking we have for you, we will make every effort to do so, however, if this is at short notice we may be unable to do this. If this results in the booking being cancelled without the notice outlined above, we will charge as a cancellation. Alternatively, if this results in the booking being moved to another day then we will charge as a cancellation if we have not received the minimum notice.
Payment for cancellations must be paid before your next booking can be confirmed.
Regular bookings
If you have booked a regular day place with us we will keep this open for you unless:
You tell us that you wish to cancel or change this permanently.
You will not require our service for 3 weeks or more.
You fail to pay for a service and your account is in arrears for a week or more.
You continually cancel the slot on a daily basis for 1 week or more without good reason or an approximate idea of when you would expect service to resume.
We feel that you are frivolously cancelling or changing our services.
You insist that we use positive punishment training methods on your dog.
If you tell us you wish to permanently cancel a regular slot we will work out a mutually agreeable date to change or end the service, this can be immediately (our cancellation terms will apply, however) or a longer notice period if you would prefer.
If your account falls into arrears for a week or more, or you continually cancel your slot daily for 1 week or more, we will inform you that the service has been withdrawn immediately. You can request another regular booking slot; however, we may not be able to give you the same time slot as before. If you pay us on the day that we inform you service has been withdrawn, we will reinstate your slot immediately. However, you are responsible for ensuring that we are paid on that day. We will not make additional journeys to pick up payments on accounts that have fallen into arrears.
If we feel that you are frivolously cancelling or changing our services, we may withdraw your regular slot with immediate effect. In the event of this happening, it is unlikely that we would reconsider you for a slot in the future.
If you insist that we use positive punishment training methods on your dog, then we will give you a minimum of 3 days’ notice that we will be withdrawing service. Before doing this, we will advise you of alternative methods that we would propose using with your dog, but if you continue to insist that you wish us to walk or care for your dog in a way that we feel constitutes positive punishment, we have no option but to withdraw our service. We will never use positive punishment methods on any of the animals in our care. Positive punishment methods include e-collars, smacking, kicking, etc.
If we feel that you are not meeting the Animal Welfare Act 2006 towards your animals, we will advise you on how to improve this. However, if we feel there is no significant improvement, it is our duty to report you to the RSPCA, immediately terminating your contract.
Any behaviour or act by a dog/owner which renders Muddy Paws Dog Training liable under The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, The Control of Dogs Order 1992 or The Animal Welfare Act 2006 may lead to termination of services without notice.
Holidays
If you are going away, you can cancel our regular services for up to 3 weeks and keep your regular slot. If you need a break for a longer period of time, then we reserve the right to allocate your place to another customer and offer you an alternative when you return to us.
Currently, we do not have any holiday cover, so we will give you plenty of advance notice if we will be closed for any period of time and help you find a temporary replacement if needs be.
During the Bank Holidays, Christmas and New Year period, all services will be postponed during this time unless a prior arrangement has been arranged.
Dog Walks
Our usual dog walks are all conducted off lead or on a long line, dogs are generally kept on a lead near roads and car parks for their own safety. If your dog cannot be walked off lead, then you must let us know and note this in your contract with us. In the contract, you must also include details of any behavioural and/or health issues that your dog has.
Health and well-Being Dog Walks
If any pet becomes injured or ill or suffers an accident whilst in our care, we may feel it is necessary to take it to your vets. As per the contract you sign, you are responsible for all costs incurred at the vets and you will need to settle these directly. We will make every effort to contact you in this event, however, if we cannot contact you, then we will proceed with any course of action or treatment recommended by the vet as necessary.
We would recommend that all our customers ensure that their pets are adequately insured for veterinary fees and for dogs, third party liability.
If your pet is ill or injured and temporarily needs separate care or area, then do let us know and we will do everything that we can to accommodate this. We can also take your pet to the vet on your behalf if needed.
We will let you know by text or email if we notice any changes in your pets’ behaviour, toileting, feeding or drinking or general demeanour.
Refunds
In the event that you are owed a refund, we will do our best to process this within 48 hours although it may take up to 72 hours in busy periods. Please note that if you request a refund during or shortly before a weekend, bank holiday or a time period that we have advised you were are away on holiday, we will not be able to process this until the first working day after the weekend or bank holiday, or on our return.
In order to refund you, we will need your bank sort code and account number. If you do not wish to inform us of your bank account details, then we will provide you with a cheque.
121 and Group Class Rules
Dogs must be kept leads (unless instructed by the trainer) and under your control at all times.
You are responsible for your dog's actions whilst within the training premises.
Dogs must be on a harness or collar and lead or a Halti where appropriate.
Please always bag up and remove your dog's faeces or place them in the designated bin.
Please close all gates behind you.
No smoking during the class or within the training area.
Family members and children are welcome to attend but if they are under the age of 16 then they will need to remain under the control of a parent or guardian.
One of our training fields is held on a working farm with livestock. We ask that all dog owners take due care when parking and walking to the training field
We ask that no vehicles obstruct or block buildings and barns within the farmyard or training areas.
Within the training field please be aware of rabbit holes, ruts and uneven ground. Although all due care and attention is taken, we accept no responsibility for injury or loss.