ABOUT THE DOG GROOMING POLICIES
We welcome you and your dog to be groomed and cared for at About The Dog under the following terms and conditions. In booking your dog with us online, by telephone in person or any other method, you do so accept our full terms and conditions. Please read our terms and conditions fully prior to your appointment.
Your Dog’s Health & Welfare is our primary concern at About The Dog and this is reflected in each of our services. We would like you to pay attention to the following policies we have in place in order to protect your pets and our staff within our salons:
*Any complaints towards your dogs groom must be mentioned to us 48 hours after the grooming appointment has been completed.
*All pre-existing health conditions must be discussed with us prior to grooming.
*All dogs are groomed at the owners risk. We retain the right to refuse grooming to a dog which we believe is too unwell/infirm/aggressive/fearful/unfit to be groomed - if we have to end a grooming appointment early and a dog is mid-way through a groom, we reserve the right to charge for the full appointment depending on the circumstances, at our discretion. We may ask you to bring your dog back another time as soon as possible in order to complete the groom if it cannot be completed within the allotted time.
*Behavioural Issues must be honestly disclosed prior to grooming. Failure to do so may result in extra charges if extra time or an additional groomer is required to complete the groom. We reserve the right to terminate a groom should the dog be too fearful or stressed to continue, or the dog poses a risk to itself or us.
*Fearful dogs are welcome, however a rehabilitation programme may be set in place to re-train your dog to be groomed in a relaxed and comfortable manner. This may require more frequent appointments until your dogs behaviour improves, or he/she learns to be groomed without fear.
*Sometimes our groomers can discover health / skin / dental issues which you may not have been aware of previously. If our groomers discover any issues or concerns, these will be disclosed to you upon collection, for you to then seek veterinary advice. About The Dog cannot be held responsible or liable for the discovery of ailments or issues during the grooming process.
*Advice may be given, however our staff have no medical training and are not vets. We cannot and will not diagnose or treat your dog for any medical issues.
*Accidents thankfully are very rare, but do happen. In the event of an emergency, you consent to us seeking medical attention. This will be at owners cost. We will always contact you as soon as possible.
PARASITE & FLEA POLICY
Will you groom my dog if he/she has fleas or ticks / other parasites?
If you discover your dog has fleas prior to your appointment, please let us know as soon as possible. We will rearrange appointments for dogs with fleas wherever we can to prevent contamination. If the dog arrives to their appointment with fleas we will reject the dog and you must pay the full price of your appointment.
We always check your dogs for fleas prior to bathing and if we do discover your dog has fleas prior to bathing, we may turn them away to prevent contamination.
It is possible however, that we only discover fleas on your dog when bathing or grooming has already commenced. In this instance, we will continue to groom your dog, however we have to use preventative measures to stop the spread of them to other animals in our care.
Dogs presented with fleas will be bathed in a flea-repellant shampoo (containing natural ingredients), unless asked not to. A £10-£20 charge will be added to your total groom price depending on the severity to cover the cost of additional measures to clean equipment and fumigate treatment of the salon.
If we discover a tick on your dog’s coat during a groom, our groomers are trained to remove ticks with a tick-removal tool and they will do so to try and relieve the dog from discomfort. Due to the nature of the parasite and the way they attach to the dog’s skin, we cannot always guarantee that 100% of the tick is removed in the salon and you may need to seek further advice from a vet.
We will always call to contact the primary person on file, plus any other contacts we have for your pet prior to carrying out any tick removal, however if we cannot reach you we will perform the process required for the welfare of the dog - this may be to not continue the groom, to groom avoiding the affected area or to remove the tick and the decision is at the groomers discretion.
Please note, there may be additional charges if additional time is required to perform a groom due to ticks being present.
If we suspect your dog is suffering with any other form of parasite, we will contact you as soon as possible. We may apply the same policy per our ill or infirm dogs or as per the flea policy above.
CANCELLATION/NO SHOW POLICY
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Do you charge a cancellation fee for grooming?
At About the Dog we understand that life sometimes gets in the way and that appointments may need to be rearranged. This is why we send a text and email reminder of your booking 48 hrs in advance of your appointment.
Appointments can be re-arranged or cancelled up to 48 hrs prior to your scheduled appointment time without charge.
If you contact us with less than 24 hrs notice then a cancellation fee of 100% of your appointment. If you fail to contact us and do not attend your appointment, you will be charged the full cost of the appointment via the card we keep on file.
If you would like to book an appointment following a no-show, please note you will be required to pay for the next appointment upon booking in addition to your missed booking.
LATE ARRIVAL POLICY
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What happens if I'm late for my grooming appointment?
We have strict appointment times in each of our salons to allow our groomers enough time to complete grooms to a high standard in a stress-free environment. We ask customers to attend their appointments promptly. If you are unable to attend an appointment on-time, we will try to accommodate your dog as much as possible, however this can result in the whole groom not being performed if the groomer runs out of time.
If you are late for your appointment I'm sure you will appreciate that we cannot always manage the schedule in a way that means we can complete a groom as planned, we will always try to manage the schedule to allow us to finish a groom but in the event we can’t, you may need to book a short follow-up appointment to complete the groom and there will be an additional charge for this. If you are running 20 minutes or more late, we have the right to refuse to groom and it will be treated as a no show.
LATE COLLECTION POLICY
What happens if I'm late to collect my dog from their grooming appointment?
If you are running late to collect your dog please do let us know as soon as possible. We will of course take good care of your dog while we wait for you to return, however in the event you are more than fifteen minutes late we do apply a late collection charge to cover the cost of the additional staffing required to care for your dog and the effect this has on other appointments.
MATTED DOGS POLICY
We understand that sometimes it can be hard to keep on top of your dog’s coat at home and matting can occur, sometimes without you even realising. Matting can cause irritation and sores to your dogs skin if left untreated. Mild matting can be painful, however in severe cases, it can cut the circulation to your pet’s skin and cause haematomas (severe bruising) which are harmful to the dog.
In the event that your dog’s coat needs to be clipped down due to severe matting, About The Dog is not liable for any post grooming effects such as skin irritation in matted areas or redness (which is not without risk). We will always prioritise the welfare of the dog and our priority in this instance is to reduce discomfort or stress. Small areas of minimal matting can be brushed out for a maximum of 15 minutes on dogs that are comfortable with the procedure. This will be at our discretion as to whether the dog is tolerating the de-matting.
More severe cases of matting may require a complete shave of the coat. This can result in a very short coat length, however much more comfortable for the dog. Advice on maintaining a well kept coat is available from our groomers upon request. We also sell many different tools and brushes in our shops which can help with maintenance of the coat in-between appointments. If you prefer to keep a longer style on your pet, we recommend Wash & Go appointments in-between Full Grooms to keep the coat brushed and clean and help prevent matts from occurring.
We will always call to contact the primary person on file, plus any other contacts we have for your pet prior to carrying out any de-matting or shaving, however if we cannot reach you we will perform the process required for the severity of the matted coat. The following prices are charged to cover the additional grooming and wear & tear on our equipment:
Small area of matting that needs to be shaved i.e behind the ear and tail £5
Large area that requires the whole body to be shaved short. £10
Severe matting that requires to be shaved from nose to tail £15-20
We appreciate you taking the time to read this and if you have any questions or concerns please do ask your groomer or a member of staff.
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With thanks from team ATD x
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