
Service Agreement
Policies, Terms & Conditions
Please read the following carefully. Any sessions booked, paid for and/or completed assumes your agreement of the following terms.
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"You" refers to you, the client, and any other caregivers that will be taking part in the care and training of the named dog.
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"Your dog" refers to the specific dog named on your original booking form.
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"We/Us" refers to Canine Counseling LLC, our trainers and admin team.
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Training & Handling
We use methods based on the principles of positive reinforcement and, as such, are kind, humane and rewards-based. These methods produce long-lasting results without the use of harsh corrections, physical force or punitive methods that may cause your dog to experience fear, pain or anxiety.
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We can not guarantee behavioral change from our sessions alone. In order for your dog to succeed you must be committed to constant and consistent practice of the methods described and demonstrated to you. We will provide written notes with further guidance on how to help your dog progress. We do not take responsibility for lack of progress if you are not practicing our advised training methods outside of our sessions.
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The use of punitive methods/punishment/harsh corrections and any equipment designed to be aversive (including, but not limited to, choke/check chains, pinch collars, prong collars and e-collars) are not permitted in training sessions and should not be used in training your dog.
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Payment, Refunds & Cancellations
Payment for your session, or package, must be made in full upon completion of your first session.
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We can not refund completed sessions, however if you are unable to complete a package due to genuine emergency, conflict of interest or the death or rehoming of your dog we will pro-rate and refund any balance based on the number of sessions contracted versus the number of sessions realized.
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The rescheduling or cancelling of a session more than 48 hours in advance is permitted without penalty. With less than 48 hours’ notice, the original session will not be refunded and will count as a completed session, except in exceptional circumstances, in which case any refund arrangements will be made at the sole discretion of Canine Counseling LLC.
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Any packages assigned as Puppy Packages must be completed within four months of the start date. All remaining packages must be completed within six months of their start date. Any un-used sessions after this time will be forfeited, except in exceptional circumstances, in which case they may be refunded or re-arranged at the sole discretion of Canine Counseling LLC.
In the event that your trainer has to cancel a session with you due to unforeseen circumstances, such as adverse weather/illness/emergency, we will make every effort to reschedule your session to another mutually convenient time. If this is not possible, we will refund you for the cost of that particular session.
Safety
Any instances of accident or injury must be reported to the trainer immediately at the time they occurred. It is your responsibility as your dog's primary caretaker to keep them safe and secure at all times. You must ensure the safety of other animals and people with regard to your dog’s behavior at all times. Extending leashes are not permitted in training sessions in order to avoid injury.
For home visits, please arrange for your dog to be in another safe room (without access to the front door) when your trainer first arrives – we are happy to wait while you do this! We will advise you as to when (and how) it would be most appropriate to bring the dog into the room to be introduced to us. If you feel that this arrangement is not suitable for your dog for any reason, please just get in touch and we can discuss the best option for you and your dog. Alternatively we may ask that your dog be brought outside to meet the trainer. If this is the case your dog must be wearing a secure, well-fitted harness or flat collar and fixed-length leash (i.e., not an extending leash, bungee-leash or long-line) and held at a safe distance from the trainer. We will advise at the time on how best to introduce ourselves to your dog.
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If your session takes place at another mutually agreed-upon location you are solely responsible for the safety of your dog. They must be kept on a secure leash at all times and any harnesses/collars must be safe and securely fitted. Dogs are never permitted to be off-leash in our sessions. In the event that your dog escapes due to owner's handling or faulty equipment provided by the owner we take no responsibility for any illness, distress or injury that may result from this. Any training equipment provided by the trainer (e.g., a long-line) must be approved by you, the owner, before use to ensure the comfort and safety of your dog.
Parking
If we are visiting your home, please make parking space available if possible. If not, and there is on-street parking which requires a visitor permit, please have a visitor permit ready for our use when we arrive. If parking at your home (or other venue at which we have arranged to meet) requires payment, we ask that you kindly make arrangements for this.
Children
Children are very welcome to attend training sessions with appropriate adult supervision. We accept no responsibility for children at training sessions and it is the responsibility of the supervising adult to ensure the children’s safety at all times. All young people under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.
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We ask that children do not participate in any handling of your dog that we feel may put either party at risk, and ask that you respect our requests for children to be removed from the training space if we feel they pose a risk to your dog's behavioral health.
Health & Vaccination
All dogs and puppies should be suitably protected from the potential risk of disease, as well as being appropriately treated for internal and external parasites. Canine Counseling LLC advises that owners consult their veterinary professional with regard to best practices in your area. Although we will take appropriate measures to prevent the spread of disease there can be no absolute guarantee that any venue, contact with any other dogs or training materials which may have been in contact with other dogs will be risk-free.
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It is the your responsibility to ensure that your dog is appropriately protected against the risk of disease and as such Canine Counseling LLC accepts no responsibility for the potential or actual exposure of dogs to disease. If an owner chooses not to routinely vaccinate their dog/puppy this is entirely the choice of the owner and is a decision made at their dog's own risk. By agreeing to these Terms and Conditions, you are accepting full responsibility for the protection of your dog from the risk of disease.
You are obligated to advise us in advance of the session if your dog has been in contact with another dog infected by a contagious disease or if they appear to be unwell (e.g., vomiting, diarrhoea, coughing, runny nose, etc). Depending on the issue, it may be advisable for the session to be cancelled or re-arranged (see Refunds and Cancellations).
If your dog has any known allergies or intolerances to certain foods or has any other special needs, it is your responsibility to bring this to the attention of the trainer prior to the start of the session, and provide appropriate alternative treats.
Marketing & Privacy
We may occasionally take photos/videos during your sessions. Such photos may be used by Canine Counseling LLC for the purposes of marketing. If you do not wish for photographs of you and/or your dog to be used or shared, please let us know. Any verbal or written feedback (e.g., by email or on feedback forms) may be used for marketing purposes (e.g., as a testimonial on the website). Only the first name of the person will be used as identification. If you are not happy for us to use your feedback in this way, please let us know.
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Photography and videography of sessions or parts of sessions is not permitted without the express permission of your trainer.
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Education & Homework
Education is a huge part of what we do and how we train. We ask that you read through any information given to you before, during and after your sessions. If you are provided homework we advise you to follow any instruction given to you in the time between sessions. We will send your training notes within 48 hours of your session, regardless of the day of the week your session falls on. If due to a genuine emergency we are unable to get your notes to you in a timely manner we will do our best to let you know in advance.
By choosing us as your training partner you accept the following:
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If you are unable to complete the exercises we provide for you, your dog's behavior may not change or improve.
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It is your responsibility to report any issues you have with either the written material or practical work as soon as they arise so we can better assist you and your dog.
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It is your responsibility to provide for your dog's continued learning and behavioral change.
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Our sessions alone will not 'fix' any issues your dog is having.
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All of the homework, education and other written guidance given to you, whether in physical or digital form or contained within an email, is owned exclusively and in its entirely by Canine Counseling LLC. You do not have the right to redistribute any of our written materials at any time.
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Communication & Scheduling
It is your responsibility to take note of your session times once booked. All scheduling is done through our third-party booking partner, Acuity. This platform is responsible for sending you reminder emails ahead of our sessions. Please ensure you correctly enter your email address and phone number when filling out the initial forms with this platform or we may be unable to contact you.
If you are not receiving emails, please check your spam folder(s) before reaching out to us. If you are still not receiving email reminders, please let us know and we will investigate the issue as soon as we can.
Please ensure that you have received booking confirmation from Acuity to ensure your session appears in our calendar. If you are having trouble scheduling, please reach out to us and we will do our best to help.
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'Business Hours' refers to the time during which slots will be made available in the online scheduler. Any of these slots can be reserved by you or by any other clients who wish to book them. Once a slot is booked you can cancel or rearrange, without penalty, up to 48 hours beforehand. Business hours are subject to change without notice. Additional time slots are created solely at the discretion of Canine Counseling LLC.
Monday - Tuesday: 9-11.30am, 3.30-6pm
Thursday - Friday: 8-10.30am, 2-4.30pm
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'Office Hours' refer to a period of time where we are available to read and respond to emails and text-messages. We will check our inbox sporadically on Saturdays and Sundays but can not guarantee we will get to your email/text over the weekend. We are unavailable on Wednesdays.
Monday - Tuesday: 12pm-2pm
Thursday - Friday: 11am-1pm​​​
Emergency Communication
We spend most of our working day in clients' homes, training outside and replying to emails so we do not take calls during this time. If you would like to arrange a time to talk over the phone please email or text us to organize a mutually convenient time. Please note, our voicemail inbox is not monitored. If we miss your call, please text or email us and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.
In case of last minute cancellations/rescheduling outside of office hours, please email us with the subject line LAST MINUTE and we will read and respond as soon as we are able.
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In case of genuine emergency we encourage you to call your trusted veterinarian.
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Accessibility
If you have accessibility concerns please let us know and we will do our best to work with you towards clear and thoughtful communication.
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Termination of Services
In extremely rare cases a conflict of interests may present itself and we may be forced to terminate our training obligations without notice. We hold the right to terminate any contract or agreement if:
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We have reason to believe the owner will not carry out appropriate training outside of our sessions, (unless otherwise agreed upon) and feel that this may affect future clients' faith in our methods.
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We encounter abusive, hateful, prejudiced or derogatory speech or actions during or around our sessions.
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We witness, or have alluded to us, any actions that are aversive towards your dog including, but not limited to, the use of equipment such as prong/e-collars, physical punishment, forceful correction, displays of perceived 'dominance' or any behavior that results in fear, anxiety or pain.
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We discover any evidence that directly contradicts the terms laid out here.
In the case of termination you will have any remaining sessions refunded to you minus $100 to account for loss of income. If your remaining sessions do not total $100 or more, no refund will be issued.
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Disclaimer
We make every effort to ensure the safety of both clients and dogs during One to One sessions. However, by making a booking with us, you are accepting that participating in an activity with dogs, children and adults poses a risk of injury to yourself and your dog, and you agree to indemnify Canine Counseling LLC for all personal injury and damage to property while attending training sessions. You agree to assume full responsibility for any risks, injuries or damages, known or unknown, which might occur as a result of your dog attending such sessions. You also agree to make any person who accompanies you to the session(s), or takes your place, aware that they are also there at their own risk. You understand and accept that your dog (and its behavior) remains entirely your responsibility at all times, whether or not in the presence of the trainer/ behaviorist.
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If you have any questions about the terms set out above, please contact us.