Terms and Conditions

All clients are required to read these terms and conditions and to sign the client disclaimer form on the last page before your pet will be groomed. All your data is confidential and will not be shared with any third party. Please also inform us of any changes in your pet’s health or temperament or your personal details to allow us to continue to provide a service tailored to our pet’s needs.

1. THE CARE OF YOUR PET

THE BARK HOUSE PET SPA is committed to the welfare and safety of your pet at ALL times. We have carefully selected all our grooming and washing products from leading trade suppliers who specialise in offering professional grooming products. After every completed grooming session, we will be happy to discuss the outcome with you to ensure that our services meet the needs of your pet.

Whilst your pet is in our care its health and welfare is our primary concern. It will only be groomed according to its tolerance of the process. If your pet is fearful of any of the procedures employed during the grooming process, a workaround or alternative will be found ensuring that our services meet with the welfare and needs of all animals in our care. Occasionally, during grooming a pre-existing condition may be discovered which you may not have been aware of. We will notify you of this so that you can seek veterinary advice. Although extremely unlikely, accidents can happen during grooming. In the event of an accident of serious medical issue arising during your pet’s groom, you authorise us to seek emergency veterinary treatment.

2. OUR INSURANCE AND CREDENTIALS

THE BARK HOUSE PET SPA holds full Public Liability Insurance in the event of damage, accident or loss to your pet. We are a City & Guilds qualified dog grooming service and are members of The Pet Industry Federation (PIF), The British Dog Grooming Association and The Groomers Spotlight. We attend regular seminars, workshops and grooming competitions to further our training and to keep abreast of any advancements in our industry and to any changes to current legislation concerning pet welfare. We have undergone Health & Safety and Canine First Aid training which we update every 3 years.

3. AGGRESSIVE OR DIFFICULT DOGS: THE DANGEROUS DOGS ACT & PREGNANT BITCHES

THE BARK HOUSE PET SPA reserves the right to refuse to groom aggressive or difficult dogs with behavioural problems. The dog owner must agree to inform us if their dog is known to be aggressive or has ever bitten anyone. The owner understands that they will be legally liable for the consequences of all bites caused by their dog. If your dog is accepted for grooming and displays aggression that we have not been informed of during its session, the groom will be terminated immediately. You will be contacted to collect it. The full starting price of the groom will be levied. In addition, we prefer not to groom bitches that are either in season or pregnant.

4. NEGLECTED & MATTED COATS

In the event of matted fur resulting in the need to clip tight to the dog’s skin to enable removal, the owner should be aware that irritation may occur from the shaving process. The dogs skin may get caught because of the close proximity of working to the skin, procedures or problems uncovered on a badly matted and neglected coat. The owner agrees to pay all costs of grooming of the dog including the de-matting which in severe cases is an additional cost of £10.00 per every half hour it takes to de-matt your dog. Whether or not the groomer is able to complete the job due to matters arising during this process. You will be asked to complete a separate ‘Matted Pet Release Form’ for your dog upon booking in.

5. ANAL GLANDS & TEETH CLEANING

THE BARK HOUSE PET SPA does not provide any anal gland or evasive tooth cleaning services. Unfortunately, these are deemed to be veterinary procedures and therefore under the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 we are now prevented from performing these services for you. We do however offer a specially formulated non-evasive tooth brushing gel using a finger toothbrush for dogs that will allow brushing promoting healthy gums and fresh smelling breath. This is offered at an additional small charge to our existing grooming services.

6. VACCINATIONS & PUPPY GROOMING

To ensure that all our clients are treated well and to prevent cross contamination, sterilise all equipment daily. Please ensure that your dog’s vaccinations are up to date. Please also note that puppies will not be groomed until after all of their vaccinations have been completed. Puppies will not be accepted for grooming unless they have completed our Puppy Intro or Puppy University package for puppies up to the age of 6 months which consists of 4 separate introductory appointments. All appointments are to be taken within a 6-week timeframe. Please ask for more details.

7. CANCELLATION OF APPOINMENTS & LATE DROP OFF/PICK UPS

Missed appointments will incur a fee of 50% of the standard grooming charge. This also applies to cancellations of less than 24 hours’ notice given. will make contact with the owner prior to the appointment to confirm that the date and time are still convenient. Appointment cards will be issued for return visits in advance. For customers who are late to drop off their dog for an appointment by 30 minutes or more reserves the right to reschedule the dog groom for another date and a time and a missed appointment charge will be made of £25. This also applies to customers that are more than 30 minutes late to collect their dog. NB. Extreme circumstances will be taken into consideration.

8. GROOM FEEDBACK

You will be given detailed feedback after every groom, if you have any queries or need further clarification, please just ask or contact us at a later stage. If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of your pet’s groom. Please let us know before you leave. Reasonable requests to alter the trim will be dealt with immediately or changes noted for the next groom. We are more than happy to disclose any details of your pet’s groom or advise you about how best to care for your pet’s coat.

9. PHOTOGRAPHS

Your pet may be photographed before, during and after its groom. Photographs may be used on THE BARK HOUSE PET SPA website or other printed/social media materials. Please let us know if you prefer your pet not to be photographed.

10. PAYMENT

THE BARK HOUSE PET SPA accepts cash or card payments only.

11. COMPLAINTS

Any complaints or dissatisfaction must be notified and discussed on handing your dog back after its grooming session with us. In the event of any agreed additional grooming as goodwill the dog must be returned within 3 days.

12. GDPR (GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION)

THE BARK HOUSE PET SPA is committed to ensuring your privacy is protected. Should we ask you to provide certain information by which you can be identified; you can be assured that it will only be used in accordance with this privacy notice. THE BARK HOUSE PET SPA may change this policy from time to time and will update clients should it do so.

We may collect the following information:

Name
Postal Address
Email Address
Contact telephone numbers
Veterinary Contact details
Information and preferences relevant to your pet

What we do with the information we gather:

Internal record keeping
We may phone, text, or email you regarding your pets past or future appointments.
We may periodically send promotional emails about new products, special offers or other information which we think you may find interesting as THE BARK HOUSE PET SPA client.
From time to time, we may also use your information to contact you for market research purposes.
We may contact you by email, phone or mail. We may use the information to customise THE BARK HOUSE PET SPA services.
In an emergency, se may share your information with your specified Veterinary, Dog Warden and Police. In the event we are unable to contact your specified veterinary we may share your information with an unspecified veterinary.
We will not provide your information to any third party not specified above or any other purpose without your express permission.
We will keep your information on our client record cards, Terms & Conditions Consent Form, Smart Phone/IPAD and our appointment booking system.
All information is kept securely for up to one year after your pet’s last visit. We will regularly check to ensure we hold the most current details for you.