best friends dog training & behaviour class policies

Health and behaviour of participating dogs

• Dogs may not participate in class if they are sick or recovering from illness. 
• Dogs in heat may not attend classes. In this instance, you are encouraged to attend without your dog.
• Dogs must be fully vaccinated. 
• You must disclose if your dog has a bite history and, if so, your dog may be required to wear a muzzle during class.
• Classes are not appropriate for dogs who display aggressive behaviour to people or dogs. 
• I reserve the right to decide that group classes are not the right fit for your dog if their behaviour disrupts the class or poses a threat to the safety of other dogs and people in the class. In this instance, I will apply a credit from your payment towards private training.

Dogs in class

• Dogs must remain on leash at all times.  Please do not allow your dog off leash during class, or when walking to and from your car before or after class, unless instructed otherwise.
• Please do not allow your dog to greet other dogs during class, including walking to and from your car before or after class, unless instructed otherwise during structured dogdog greetings.
• Dogs should be wearing a harness or flat buckle collar and you should have your dog on a six foot regular leash. We do not use or recommend retractable leashes, or martingale, choke, or prong collars.  

Registration and payment

• Participants must complete a registration form prior to class.
• Participants must sign a liability waiver as part of the registration process. This is a requirement of the trainer’s professional liability insurance.  
• Payment can be made by e-transfer to sandy@bestfriendsdogtraining.ca upon registration, or by cash or cheque on the first day of class.  
• All classes and training services are non-refundable. 
• If you are unable to attend after paying, we will offer a credit towards future services. This credit will expire in a year. 

• We do not offer makeup sessions for missed classes. 

Children in class

• Children are welcome to attend class but please let me know if you are bringing a child and the age of the child. I do not recommend that children younger than five attend class.
• Children under 10 must be supervised by one adult who is not the main handler for the dog in class. This is to ensure the dog’s handler is able to focus on the training program.  

Client’s rights

• The client has the right to refuse any part of the program including any training exercises you feel are not appropriate for your dog. I encourage you to let me know if this is the case so that I can adjust the program to meet your needs. 
• The client has the right to ask questions at all times about the training being offered and to be clear on all relevant details before consenting to the training or behaviour modification.