Policy, Terms and Conditions

Welcome to Hounds of Hay dog grooming and pet spa. Here we value you and your pets experience and endeavour to offer a top quality service. Your pet's comfort and safety is our top priority, so please read through our terms and conditions carefully and do feel free to ask any questions.

      Please ensure that your pet has had all necessary, yearly vaccinations and inform us when vaccinations have been given so we can adapt our practice.  Please ensure you disclose any pre-existing medical conditions that your pet may have, this will ensure that we can tailor our care to suit each individual. Please also be aware that we may discover abnormalities upon completing our routine health check, we will always inform you of our findings and recommend veterinary advice if we believe necessary. Please also understand that the grooming process may exasperate any current conditions, as it can be a stressful process for some dogs, although we do aim to make each groom an enjoyable experience!

      Please make sure that pets have had the opportunity to toilet before attending their groom. Having a walk before a groom often helps to calm them and also activates their brain so they are ready to take on the day!

      Please be aware that we remain the right to refuse a groom if we believe that it may result in harm being caused to ourselves, your pet or other pets and customers in the salon. If your dog has specific needs due to its behaviour or condition, please let us know upon booking and we will try our best to accommodate.

If you wish to cancel your appointment, please give at least 24 hours notice. If you cancel within the 24 hour period we unfortunately may have to charge a cancellation fee.

      Please aim to collect your pets on time, if you arrive late to collect your pet, we may unfortunately have to charge a late collection fee.

      We hope to make the experience enjoyable for both owner and pet, however, if you do have any complaints, please ensure to share these with us within 48 hours of your pets groom. We will always aim to resolve any complaints and ensure you and your pet are happy with our service.

      We take pride in prioritising your pets welfare.  We practice in accordance with the animal welfare act (2006). Therefore, if your pet attends our salon with a matted coat we may have to shave the coat close to the skin as this is the only pain-free method of removing matting. Sometimes, this may cause clipper rash and reveal scabs or other underlying health conditions that have been hidden underneath the matting. We will also be able to guide you on the correct brushing techniques and tools to avoid any further matting.  

      Please inform us if you are aware that your pet has any parasites or fleas as we may have to rearrange your appointment to ensure that there is no risk of cross contamination to other pets. If we discover any parasites or fleas on your pet, we may have to close the shop following your groom, this means cancelling other client appointments to enable us to complete a deep clean, and therefore we may unfortunately have to charge a little extra to cover this cost.

      If hand-stripping is requested, we will discuss this in detail. However, please understand that there is an increased risk of ‘post groom furunculosis’. We take all necessary precautions to avoid this, however, some pets are more prone to skin sensitivities. We will always be honest about whether the coat is the right texture to be stripped, whether the dog tolerates stripping and advise the most comfortable grooming method for your pet.

 If you request your double coated dog to be clipped by us, we will assess this on an individual basis. Double coats play an active role in thermoregulation, and when maintained through regular grooming will serve its purpose well. However, if deemed beneficial for your dog we may clip the areas to promote health and well-being. Please do note that there are risks to clipping a double coated breed, these can include “coat funk”, sunburn and May effect thermoregulation in cooler months.

          Please inform us if you think your pet may be pregnant as we may have to reschedule the groom. The grooming process can be stressful for some dogs and may result in miscarriage. If grooming is deemed necessary by a vet, accompanied with a vet note, we may consider a basic groom to promote welfare. It would be advised that the groom would take place in the last 4 weeks of the pregnancy, or ideally once the puppies have been weaned.

Here at Hounds of hay we are committed to protecting your privacy. We may collect details such as, your/your pets name, address, email, telephone, veterinary contact and we will take a relevant history of your pet to ensure our care is tailored correctly.

This data is used for internal record keeping, and will not be shared with third parties unless permitted by yourself. We may phone, text or email you regarding your pests past/future appointments. In the case of an emergency we may share your data with the veterinary practice that you provided, to ensure prompt care of your pet. You remain the right to access your own data upon request.

       We may also take pictures of your pets and use them for advertising purposes on our pages, so please inform me if you would like to opt out of this.