Client agreements. Please read through these before your appointment.

 

1 - Matting: If your dog is too matted to have the haircut of choice, you agree to having them clipped short for their comfort under the animal welfare act 2006 and acknowledge that you will be charged up to £20 on top of the groom price in accordance with our matting policy. This is to cover re-sharpening costs and to cover the extra time spent. You will be informed of this extra cost and change in haircut before we begin the groom or as soon as we find the matting and reserve the right to take the dog home instead. If your dog needs to be clipped off all over due to matting, you will be asked to sign a matting release form.                                                       

Minor matting will incur extra charges depending on the amount of time it takes to remove it from the dog. 

 

Up to 5 minutes: £1-5 (Matting in ears and face)

Up to 10 minutes: £5-10 (Matting in ears, face and tail)

Up to 15 minutes: £10-15 (Matting on ears, muzzle, tail and one or two small sections on the body)

Up to 20 minutes: £15-20 (fully matted legs, chest, full body etc - this will result in a very short clip off.)

1b - Severe matting: For what we call “pelted”, “cast” or “severly matted” dogs, we must make you aware that nicks, cuts, scratches, redness, or hematoma can happen and we cannot be held liable for any costs resulting in this as it is directly caused by the neglect of the dogs coat. Hematoma presents as bleeding from the tips of the ears, and can happen when the dogs ears are shaved because they feel odd, itchy or tingly after having the fur removed, resulting in the dog shaking its head. The slapping of the ears on the dogs head and neck causes hematoma, which can then split and bleed with further impact. We cannot be held liable for any veterinary fees that occur due to this.

 

We will ALWAYS let you know if the dog is being taken shorter than planned and advise you of your options. For dogs who get distressed or show any redness of skin, we will always practice humanity over vanity and cut or shave their matting out, and then come up with a plan to help you maintain your dog's coat in future. Charges apply whether the knotted/matted areas are brushed out or clipped out.

 

2 - Photography: You acknowledge that photos and videos of your dog may be posted on our social media, website or used in our advertising and that you are not entitled to any profit gained from said videos, pictures or advertising. 

 

3 - Restraints: We try to use restraints as minimally as possible, however we would like to mention that we will use appropriately fitted belly straps, grooming collars, elizabethan collars, muzzles and hammocks if necessary either to keep us and the dog safe, or to assist them to stand comfortably. We will not use them if they begin to cause your dog significant distress.

 

4 - Drop off/Collection: You MUST arrive on time to drop off your dog, if you are more than 10 minutes late we may only have time to complete a bath and tidy service rather than a full groom. You will still be charged for the service that you booked in for. You must also be prompt to collect your dog. We are a crate free salon and avoid overlapping dogs. If you arrive early to drop your dog off, please text us before coming into the salon to make sure our previous dogs are gone. We will give you an estimated time that your dog will be ready, and then will text you at least 15 minutes before they’re done to make sure you have time to come back in case they take any longer than expected. If you arrive to collect your dog before the quoted time, please text to make sure your dog is finished. Obviously your pup will be very happy to see you, and an excited, wiggly dog is almost impossible to finish grooming, and we would have to send them home unfinished if they wouldn't calm down.

 

5 - Waiting with your dog: We do not allow owners to stay with their dogs unless there are exceptional circumstances such as a medical condition the dog has (E.g - seizure or heart disorders, dog being a banned breed, or with prior agreement.) and it must be discussed when the groom is booked.

 

6 - Pre-existing conditions: We cannot be held liable for anything that occurs due to a pre-existing condition, and you must disclose them prior to the groom. This can be anything from food allergies, medication allergies (so this can be told to the vet in case of emergency), sensitive skin, heart murmurs, luxating patella, seizures etc. You also must agree that we may take your dog to the veterinarian of our choice in case of a severe flare up of these conditions where we think your dog's life may be at risk, and that you the owner will be liable for all the associated costs.   

 

7 - Fleas: If your dog is found to have a flea infestation you agree to have your dog bathed in natural flea shampoo, there will be a £20 flea fee to cover the cost of flea treating the salon and cost of the flea shampoo - this is not treatment, you will have to get flea treatment and advice from your vet after the groom at your own expense. 

 

8 - Behaviour: You must disclose any known aggressive behaviour from your dog. This could be at the vet, with previous groomers, with men, children, people in general or other dogs. We need to know so we can stay as safe as possible and can use appropriate caution/restraints. We no longer accept dogs who attempt to bite for any reason, and if you are found to have withheld important information as stated above we may take legal action should any bites or injuries occur. By initialling below, you confirm that your dog has no known bite history or any history of major aggression that has not been disclosed in writing. We do understand there is a first time for everything, and if an attempted bite occurs here we may decide we can continue the groom and grooming the dog in future, but we may also refer you to a different salon with multiple groomers or to a behaviourist. If we must end the groom due to safety concerns, you will still be charged.

 

8b - Dog on dog aggression: If your dog is highly aggressive to other dogs you MUST let us know. Whilst we try to avoid overlap, sometimes it just happens due to traffic, other owners being delayed etc. If your dog will attack other dogs or re-direct onto people, please let us know so we can make sure to leave a buffer between grooms to ensure there is absolutely no overlap. There is also sometimes a small, friendly dog in here with us in the back office and always separated by at least one baby gate so no physical contact happens between dogs. If your dog is very aggressive and will get distressed just by hearing her (out of sight), please let us know so we can leave her at home.

 

9 - Emergencies: In the event of an emergency, you authorise this establishment to immediately seek professional veterinary attention for your dog at the veterinarian of our choice. You the owner will be responsible for any associated costs, other than where we have been found to be negligent. We will attempt to contact you in every way possible in the case of an emergency.

 

10 - Cancellations: We do try to be fair and flexible, however we have had to implement a cancellation policy as follows: 

 

•  No shows or same day cancellations will be charged at the full price of the service booked and you will be asked to pay a booking fee to secure their next appointment. This booking fee will be deducted from the total price of their next appointment. New customers will be removed from our client list if the first booking they make is cancelled with less than 24 hours.

 

• You must give us at least 24 hours notice to cancel your dog's groom, although please note we usually book at least 6 weeks ahead, so you may have to wait a while to get them back in again, or go on our cancellation list. Giving less than 24 hours notice will incur a 50% charge (see above for charges for same day cancellations) 

 

• We appreciate your understanding, we work hard to accommodate everybody and last minute cancellations are extremely hard to fill. We reserve the time slot specifically for your dog, and our cancellation policy ensures fairness.

 

11 - Hours: Please note our hours are 9.30am - 7.30pm Monday - Friday, and whilst we try and get back to you asap, it may take up to 48 hours to get back to appointment requests. If we don’t respond to your email, text, whatsapp or social media message within 48 hours, please send a follow up message via another platform, just in case something has malfunctioned on the one you had tried. Sometimes messages go to spam, or texts don’t go through. We will never just ignore a message.

12 - Pricing: We have our guide prices listed on our website - we generally do a yearly price increase around the start of April to stay in line with the national living wage, utilities and products. You will be made aware of your dogs new pricing well in advance of their next groom.

13 - Collars and leads: Please make sure your dogs collar or harness is appropriately fitted before and after a groom, if you feel your dog may slip their collar, please call us and we will bring a slip lead out to you. We are in a rural location and are close to fields with ponies, sheep, chickens etc. Your dog/s MUST be on a lead from the car to the salon, and from the salon back to the car. NO EXCEPTIONS. The car park is getting busier and we cannot be held liable for any accidents that occur due to loose fitting equipment.