Effective from September 2026 | Version 1.0
These Terms and Conditions apply to dog training and behaviour-support services provided by Doggy Dawdles. They are intended to make clear what clients can expect from us, what we need from clients, and how we work together to protect the welfare and safety of everyone involved.
Please read these Terms before booking. By booking a service, accepting a proposal, paying an invoice or booking fee, signing the Training & Behaviour Support Contract, or asking us to begin work, you agree to these Terms.
1. About Doggy Dawdles and these Terms
1.1. Doggy Dawdles provides individual dog training, behaviour support and related services. In these Terms, ‘we’, ‘us’, ‘our’ and ‘the Trainer’ mean Doggy Dawdles. ‘You’, ‘your’ and ‘the Client’ mean the person booking or receiving the service.
1.2. These Terms apply alongside the Training & Behaviour Support Contract, Training Customer Assessment and Lifestyle Form, booking confirmation or service proposal, any agreed Training Plan, our Privacy Notice and any service-specific information supplied to you.
1.3. Our general Terms and Conditions also apply where relevant. If there is a conflict concerning a training or behaviour-support service, these service-specific Terms will take priority.
1.4. You must be aged 18 or over and be the dog’s legal owner or have the owner’s authority to enter into the agreement and make decisions about the service.
You can view the General Terms and Conditions HERE
2. Services covered
2.1. These Terms may apply to initial assessments, puppy training, adolescent and adult dog training, reactivity support, behaviour support, Walk & Train, remote consultations, training packages, written plans and other services agreed in writing.
2.2. The exact service, location, duration, price, included support and any package validity period will be set out in the relevant service description, booking confirmation, proposal or invoice.
2.3. We may recommend a different service after reviewing your enquiry or assessment information. We are not obliged to accept a booking where the requested service would be unsuitable, unsafe, outside our competence or insurance, or unlikely to meet the dog’s needs.
3. Our professional approach and scope
3.1. We will provide the agreed service with reasonable care and skill, using welfare-led, reward-based and evidence-informed approaches appropriate to the individual dog.
3.2. We do not use or intentionally recommend intimidation, flooding, physical punishment or equipment designed to cause pain, fear or discomfort. We will not use prong collars, electric collars, spray collars or similar aversive equipment, and may decline to conduct a session while such equipment is being used.
3.3. We may recommend suitable safety and training equipment, including a well-fitting harness, fixed-length lead, long line, safety connector, barrier or appropriately fitted muzzle.
3.4. We are not veterinary surgeons and do not diagnose or treat medical conditions. Where pain, illness, medication effects or another health factor may contribute to behaviour, we may recommend or require veterinary assessment before starting, continuing or changing a plan.
3.5. We may recommend referral to, or collaboration with, another suitably qualified professional where a case falls outside our competence, insurance, facilities or professional scope.
4. Information you must provide
4.1. You must provide complete, accurate and current information in all forms and communications and tell us promptly if anything relevant changes.
4.2. You must disclose any known or suspected bite history, attempted bite, aggressive display, guarding, reactivity, fear, escape behaviour, predatory behaviour, handling sensitivity or other behaviour that could create a risk to a person or animal.
4.3. You must disclose relevant health conditions, pain or mobility concerns, injuries, allergies, pregnancy, recent surgery, infectious illness and current medication.
4.4. You must tell us about any court order, dog control notice, legal restriction, licence condition, muzzle requirement or insurance condition affecting the dog.
4.5. If information is withheld, inaccurate or materially changes, we may alter, pause or end the service where reasonably necessary for safety, welfare, professional or insurance reasons.
5. Assessments and Training Plans
5.1. Recommendations are based on the information and behaviour available to us at the time. Behaviour may differ between environments, handlers and situations, and further assessment may be needed.
5.2. We may provide verbal guidance, written notes, a Training Plan, handouts or other supporting materials. Advice may be changed as new information becomes available or as the dog’s response is observed.
5.3. A change of plan does not, by itself, mean that earlier advice was negligent or inappropriate. Ethical training involves reviewing progress and adapting to the dog in front of us.
5.4. Our advice is prepared for the named Client and dog. It must not be treated as individual advice for another animal.
6. Your participation and responsibilities
6.1. Training and behaviour support are collaborative. Unless a Walk & Train or another trainer-led service has been specifically booked, you remain responsible for handling, supervising and controlling your dog throughout the session.
6.2. You agree to follow reasonable safety and management instructions, practise agreed exercises, maintain recommended management and provide honest updates about progress, difficulties and incidents.
6.3. You must not deliberately place the dog over threshold or create an unsafe situation to test whether training has worked.
6.4. You are responsible for sharing relevant safety and management instructions with household members, visitors and other people who handle or care for the dog.
6.5. Children under 16 may participate only with our agreement and must be supervised by a responsible adult. An adult Client must remain present and responsible unless a trainer-led service has been booked.
7. Progress and outcomes
7.1. No ethical trainer can guarantee a particular outcome, cure, timescale or permanent change in behaviour.
7.2. Progress may be affected by the dog’s health, genetics, learning history, environment, stress, opportunities to practise behaviour, household consistency and how the plan is implemented.
7.3. Training recommendations are intended to reduce risk and improve skills or wellbeing, but they cannot remove all risk associated with owning, handling or being around a dog.
7.4. A lack of progress does not automatically entitle you to a refund where the agreed service has been provided with reasonable care and skill.
8. Safety during sessions
8.1. You remain legally responsible for your dog and for preventing avoidable injury, loss, nuisance or damage, except to the extent caused by our negligence or breach of duty.
8.2. Before an in-home session, you must provide safe access and tell us about hazards, cameras, children, visitors and other animals. We may ask for people or animals to be separated using doors, gates, leads or another suitable barrier.
8.3. For outdoor sessions, the dog must be secured on suitable equipment unless we expressly agree otherwise. Off-lead work will take place only with your specific written permission and where we consider the location and circumstances suitable.
8.4. We may stop or modify an exercise where the dog shows distress, fatigue, pain, escalating arousal or behaviour that makes continuing unsafe or inappropriate.
8.5. We may end a session immediately if a person or animal is at unacceptable risk, if you refuse reasonable safety instructions, or if the environment is unsuitable. Fees remain payable for time and services already provided.
9. Walk & Train and other trainer-led services
9.1. This section applies when the dog is placed in our care for Walk & Train or another trainer-led service.
9.2. You authorise us to handle the dog using the agreed equipment and to access the agreed collection and return location at the booked time.
9.3. You must ensure the dog is ready, safely accessible and wearing or supplied with the agreed equipment. We are not responsible for a delay or shortened service caused by inaccessible property, missing equipment or incorrect information.
9.4. We may adapt the route, location, duration or exercise where reasonably necessary because of weather, access, health, behaviour, safety or welfare.
9.5. The dog will not be allowed off lead during a trainer-led service unless separate written permission has been given and we consider it appropriate. Permission to use a long line is not off-lead permission.
9.6. Transport, key holding and access arrangements apply only where specifically agreed. You must tell us about alarms, cameras, access problems and anyone else who may enter the property.
10. Prices, payment and bookings
10.1. You will pay the price stated in the service description, booking confirmation, proposal or invoice. Prices may vary according to the service, location, duration, travel and level of support required.
10.2. A booking is not confirmed until we have received any requested form, booking fee or payment and have confirmed the appointment in writing.
10.3. Invoices must be paid by the due date shown. We may pause future appointments or withhold further non-urgent support while an invoice is overdue.
10.4. Additional work outside the agreed service, including extra sessions, extended appointments, substantial report writing or additional travel, will be charged only where you have been told and agreed to the charge.
10.5. Where a package has a stated validity period, sessions must be used within that period. We will take reasonable account of circumstances such as illness or an unavoidable cancellation, but unused sessions do not remain available indefinitely.
11. Cancellations, rescheduling and lateness
11.1. You must give at least 48 hours’ notice to cancel or rearrange a session.
11.2. With less than 48 hours’ notice, the session may be charged in full where this represents a reasonable loss that we cannot avoid. We will take account of whether the appointment can reasonably be reallocated.
11.3. If you are late, the session will normally finish at the original scheduled time and the full fee remains payable. If you have not arrived or made contact within 15 minutes, we may treat the appointment as a late cancellation.
11.4. If we must cancel, you may choose a replacement appointment or a refund or credit for the affected session. We are not responsible for indirect losses arising from an unavoidable cancellation.
11.5. A session may be rearranged, moved online or adapted where severe weather, illness, infectious disease, unsafe conditions or another circumstance outside reasonable control makes the original arrangement unsuitable.
You can view the Current Cancellation Policy HERE
12. Your statutory cancellation rights
12.1. Where the agreement is concluded at a distance, such as online, by telephone or by email, or away from our business premises, you may have a statutory right to cancel within 14 days after the contract is entered into, without giving a reason.
12.2. If you expressly ask us to begin providing services during the 14-day cancellation period and later cancel within it, you may be required to pay a proportionate amount for services supplied before cancellation.
12.3. If a service is fully performed during the cancellation period following your express request and acknowledgement, your statutory right to cancel that completed service may be lost.
12.4. To exercise a statutory cancellation right, contact us clearly by email at: crew@doggydawdles.co.uk. You may use your own words; no particular form is required.
12.5. Nothing in our standard cancellation policy removes any statutory cancellation or refund right that applies to you.
13. Health, illness and emergencies
13.1. Do not bring a dog to an in-person session if the dog may have a contagious illness. We may offer remote support or rescheduling where appropriate.
13.2. If a medical emergency occurs while the dog is in our care, we will always prioritise the dog’s welfare and seek veterinary assistance as quickly as possible. We will try to contact you or your emergency contact at the earliest convenience. If neither can be reached promptly, you authorise us to seek urgent veterinary assistance where reasonably necessary to protect the dog’s welfare.
13.3. You are responsible for veterinary fees and reasonable associated costs unless they arise from our negligence or breach of duty.
13.4. We will not authorise euthanasia except where legally required or where a veterinary surgeon considers it immediately necessary to prevent unavoidable suffering, and neither you nor your emergency contact can be reached.
14. Communications and between-session support
14.1. Between-session contact, response times and the duration of support are limited to what is included in the booked service.
14.2. Non-urgent messages will be answered during our stated contact hours. Messages sent outside those hours do not create an obligation to respond immediately.
14.3. Messages, videos and updates do not replace an emergency service or veterinary care. Contact a veterinary practice or emergency service where urgent help is required.
14.4. We may ask you to book a further paid session where a question requires substantial assessment, observation, plan revision or new advice outside the agreed support.
15. Training materials and intellectual property
15.1. Training Plans, handouts, reports, worksheets, photographs, videos and other materials supplied by Doggy Dawdles remain protected by copyright and other applicable intellectual-property rights.
15.2. You may use supplied materials privately for the named dog. You must not publish, sell, reproduce for others, remove branding from, teach commercially from, or otherwise use them commercially without our written permission.
15.3. You may share relevant materials privately with your veterinary surgeon or another professional involved in the named dog’s care, provided you identify Doggy Dawdles as the source and do not publish them more widely.
16. Privacy, recordings and photographs
16.1. We process personal information and service records in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
16.2. You may be asked to supply photographs or videos for assessment, progress monitoring, safety and communication. These are treated as confidential service records unless you give separate permission for promotional use.
16.3. You must obtain appropriate permission from identifiable people before sharing recordings with us and should avoid recording private conversations unnecessarily.
16.4. Promotional photographs or video will be used only where you have made a separate optional choice. Refusing promotional use will not affect your access to services. You may change your preference for future use by contacting us.
You can view the Privacy Policy HERE
17. Liability and insurance
17.1. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot lawfully be excluded, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence.
17.2. We are responsible for reasonably foreseeable loss or damage caused by our failure to use reasonable care and skill or by our breach of the agreement.
17.3. We are not responsible for loss, injury, damage or delay caused by inaccurate or withheld information, your failure to follow reasonable safety advice, a third party, or circumstances that could not reasonably have been prevented, except where the law provides otherwise.
17.4. You remain responsible for injury or damage caused by your dog to the extent arising from the dog’s behaviour or your acts or omissions, except to the extent caused or contributed to by our negligence or breach of duty.
17.5. You are strongly advised to maintain suitable pet and third-party liability insurance and to check that training and behaviour-related incidents are covered.
17.6. Nothing in these Terms affects your statutory consumer rights.
18. Pausing or ending services
18.1. Either party may end ongoing services by giving written notice. Appointments already booked remain subject to the cancellation provisions.
18.2. We may suspend or end services immediately where there is a serious or repeated safety concern, material non-disclosure, abusive or threatening conduct, repeated non-payment, pressure to use methods contrary to our professional standards, or another substantial breach of the agreement.
18.3. Where practical and safe, we will explain the reason and identify an appropriate next step or referral. Ending the agreement does not remove your responsibility to pay for services already provided or valid charges already incurred.
19. Complaints
19.1. If you are unhappy with a service, please contact us promptly so we have a reasonable opportunity to understand the concern and put matters right where appropriate.
19.2. Complaints should be sent to crew@doggydawdles.co.uk with your name, the dog’s name, the relevant date and a clear description of the issue.
19.3. We will acknowledge the complaint and aim to provide a substantive response within a reasonable period, taking account of the nature and complexity of the concern.
20. Events outside reasonable control
20.1. We are not responsible for delay or failure caused by an event outside our reasonable control, such as severe weather, unsafe travel, sudden illness, transport disruption, government restriction or closure of a planned location.
20.2. We will contact you as soon as reasonably possible and, where appropriate, offer an alternative arrangement, credit or refund for the part of the service that cannot be provided.
21. Changes to services or these Terms
21.1. Any agreed change to the scope, price or material terms of your booked service must be recorded in writing, including by email or message acknowledged by both parties.
21.2. We may update these Terms for future bookings to reflect changes in services, law, insurance or business practice. The version accepted when you book will normally apply to that booking unless a change is required by law or is agreed with you.
21.3. The effective date and version number will be shown at the top of this page.
22. General legal provisions
22.1. These Terms and the documents identified in Section 1 form the agreement between the parties. Neither party relies on a statement that is not included in, or clearly incorporated into, that agreement, except that this does not exclude liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.
22.2. If any clause is found unenforceable, the remaining clauses will continue to apply.
22.3. A delay in enforcing a right does not mean that right has been waived.
22.4. You may not transfer your rights or obligations under the agreement to another person without our written consent. We may use an appropriately insured substitute only where this is permitted by the booked service and agreed with you where required.
22.5. The agreement is governed by Scots law and the Scottish courts will have jurisdiction, without removing any mandatory consumer right you have to bring proceedings elsewhere.
23. Contact details
Questions, cancellations, complaints and notices concerning these Terms can be sent to:
Business: Doggy Dawdles
Email: crew@doggydawdles.co.uk
Website: https://doggydawdles.co.uk
Please keep a copy of these Terms and the completed Training & Behaviour Support Contract for your records.