Professional Dog Grooming Spa Terms and Conditions

POSH PAWS PROFESSIONAL DOG GROOMING SPA TERMS AND CONDITIONS

HEALTH AND WELFARE

When your dog is with us, its health and welfare is our main concern at all stages of the grooming process. Should we believe your dog is experiencing any fear or stress at any time, we will, where possible, employ alternative strategies to alleviate this. This may require extra time or sessions to overcome this problem.

By using our services, owners verify their dogs are up to date with vaccinations for canine parvovirus, canine distemper virus, Leptospirosis, and Infectious canine hepatitis. Proof of Vaccination shall be provided to Posh Paws Professional Dog Grooming Spa on request as well as current Veterinarian information. Any health conditions the owner’s dog is currently suffering from should be disclosed to Posh Paws Professional Dog Grooming Spa prior to the start of the groom.

Grooming procedures can sometimes be stressful, especially for a senior dog or dog with health problems and can expose hidden medical problems or aggravate a current one during or after the groom. In the best interest of your pet this contract/agreement will give Posh Paws Dog Grooming Spa permission to obtain immediate Veterinary treatment for your pet should it be deemed necessary by us. We will do our best to contact you first, then take your pet to our authorised Veterinarian, or to the nearest Veterinarian that is available. It is agreed that all expenses for Veterinary care will be covered by the pet’s owner.

Posh Paws Professional Dog Grooming Spa strives to be a flea/tick-free salon. If your dog has a flea or tick infestation, we will ask that you reschedule your grooming appointment once the flea or tick problem is under control. Dogs with a flea or tick infestation carry a risk of anaemia, infections, tapeworms, and other health problems. We recommend that you contact your veterinarian for advice on the best treatment for your situation. A topical monthly flea preventative may be the most effective choice. Treating all pets in the family, as well as treating your home will help in keeping fleas and ticks under control for the long term. If fleas are found on your dog, we will bathe your dog in a flea shampoo and must treat the salon, this will incur a £10 charge on your grooming bill. We will not remove ticks within our salon and will advise this to be done at the vets.

There is always the possibility an accident could occur. Grooming equipment is sharp, even though we use extreme caution and care in all situations. Possible problems that could occur include cuts, nicks, scratches and quicking of the nails. In most cases this can happen when a dog is wiggling or moving around. We make every effort to ensure your dog is groomed as safely as possible, but if your dog does not accept the process it can be dangerous to continue the groom and the groom may need to be stopped to prevent any accidents occurring.

MATTED COAT DISCLAIMER

Dogs with severely matted coats need extra attention. Mats in a dog’s coat grow tight, and can strangle the dog’s skin, or eventually tear it open. Posh Paws Professional Dog Grooming Spa will not cause serious or undue stress to your dog by de-matting for more than 15 minutes as specified by the Animal Welfare Act 2006. Mats can be exceedingly difficult to remove and may require the pet to be shaved. When necessary, removing a heavily matted coat includes risks of nicks, cuts or abrasions due to warts, moles or skin folds trapped in the mats. Heavy matting can also trap moisture and urine near the dog’s skin allowing mould, fungus or bacteria to grow, causing skin irritations that existed prior to the grooming process. Torn skin from mats can even harbour maggots. After effects of mat removal procedures can include itchiness, skin redness, self-inflicted irritations or abrasions and failure of the hair to regrow. Shaved dogs are also prone to sunburn and should either have sunscreen applied daily or should be kept out of the sun until the hair grows sufficiently to protect the skin. In some cases, dogs may also exhibit brief behavioural changes. Prevention is the best defence against matting and can be combatted by brushing your dog at home and scheduling regular grooming appointments.

Double coated breeds will not be shaved if they are matted as this can permanently damage the coat and cause issues such as alopecia. Double coated breeds will only ever be clipped if a letter from a veterinary professional is provided by the owner.

 

AGGRESSIVE OR DANGEROUS DOGS

Owners MUST inform us if your dog bites, has bitten or is aggressive to people, other pets or specific grooming procedures. We reserve the right to refuse or stop services of your dog at any time before or during the grooming process and/or charge an Aggressive Dog Fee in addition to the regular grooming charge. Your attention should also be drawn to the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 which holds owners responsible for bites and injuries.  If your dog should bite, the owner agrees to be responsible for all related medical bills, recovery costs, loss of income and equipment damage.

TIME KEEPING

Our appointment slots are timed to each individual dog, with a period to try and prevent any overlap. This ensures we are not rushing to complete your dog. The appointment time given, is the time we expect to admit you to the salon. If you are early for your appointment, we may not be able to grant you immediate access. Likewise, if you are late, we may have to refuse to groom on welfare grounds. This will incur a fee. Customers who are 30 minutes or more late will be deemed to be a ‘no show’ and charged the full appointment fee. If you leave your dog with us, and are late collecting, this will also incur a fee, as it will impact on the next customer. We ask that everyone shows the same courtesy afforded to you to others.

 

CANCELLATION POLICY

It is appreciated that sometimes you may need to rearrange your dog’s appointment. If this is done with more than 24 hours’ notice, there will be no charge. Any failure to show or cancellation with less than 24 hours’ notice (except in extreme circumstances) will result in half of the grooming fee to be payable and the full fee if you fail to show without any notice, and no further appointments may be booked until the account is settled. 

GROOMING SCHEDULE POLICY

As pet owners, it is your responsibility to keep your dogs on a regular grooming schedule as recommended by Posh Paws in order to maintain your dogs coat health and skin. We will recommend a schedule for you to stick to (breed depending) If your dog is overdue its recommended grooming schedule, we will charge a fee as the coat will be longer and potentially matted. The cost will increase by £5 per every two weeks over the recommended grooming time.

GDPR STATEMENT

Any record that the salon has including: grooming diaries and client records, that identifies a living person or animal is covered by the Data Protection Act (GDPR 2018). Any information that you as the client provides including yout name and address is covered and needs to be protected. In the event of photographic data and the sharing of such data on social media platforms, the client must give written consent. When handling personal data, it should be stored correctly, this can be done properly by ensuring that:

- Any copies of personal data are stored in a separate location from the original and copies are kept to a minimum in order to reduce the risk of disclosure or unauthorised access. Ideally there should only be one copy of personal information as well as the master copy.

- Any personal data that is stored on a portable or personable device should be password/passcode protected and securely encrypted. This includes data held on USBs, Smartphones, Laptops, Computers and External servers.

- Personal devices which store personal data should be kept in a secure location overnight and safely encrypted.

- A plan for the timely and necessary deletion of personal information should be put together at the start of any project and included in your data management plan.

- Do not collect and store any unnecessary personal information.

After 6 months, if we do not hear from you, your personal data will be deleted from our system and new data will have to be taken if you’d like to use our services again.

FEEDBACK

After each session we will inform you of any problems we have encountered, or any concerns we have regarding your dog. This is the time to inform us of any concerns you have in relation to the groom. Most of our business is repeat custom, and we wish to maintain our standards and reputation. We often take pictures to show examples of before and after work and to use for training and information. Should you not wish photos of your dog to appear on social media please inform us at the time of the groom. We also ask that should you have a problem; we are approached prior to any negative reviews been left on social media.