General Policies

Thank you for choosing The Dogs’ Spot as your training partner. We are happy to have you in our program! Our policies are designed to support a safe, fun, collaborative educational environment and to create a structure that is fair to students, dogs and our The Dogs’ Spot staff.

Weather Related Closures

We will make a decision based on road conditions in the area immediately surrounding our facility and notify those scheduled to attend via email. We do our best to begin this process at least two hours prior to the start of classes or private sessions. If your class is cancelled, the class will be extended an extra week. If a private session is canceled, we will be in touch with you to reschedule it. All weather-related closures will be posted on the homepage of our website TheDogsSpot.com.

Other Closures

On occasion, classes will have to be cancelled due to instructor illness, family emergency, or vacation. We will communicate those situations as early as possible via e-mail and announcements in class (when lead time allows). If an issue causes a last minute cancellation, we will also attempt to text and/or call everyone enrolled in the class. Please make certain we have the correct e-mail address and phone number on file for you. Anytime The Dogs’ Spot (or one of our instructors) cancels class, students will not be charged for the session. Drop-in class students will not have a class credit deducted. Open Enrollment and Traditional Class students will have their class extended by one week when possible or a partial refund will be issued.

Liability Waivers

All adult participants are required to sign a liability waiver prior to starting class. If a minor child will be participating, a parent or guardian must sign the waiver on their behalf.

A copy of our liability waiver can be found here.

Student Cancelations/Drops

Before you enroll, please take note of our Refund Policy. The Dogs’ Spot classes are in high demand. A limited number of dogs are accepted into each class to maximize the learning environment and the one-on-one instruction time for you and your dog during each class.

When you register for a class, the spot is reserved for you and unavailable to others. When you pay, you are acknowledging that you understand and accept the class schedule.

The Dogs’ Spot Refund Policy:

No refunds are issued with less than 14 days notice prior to class.
1. Transfers to a future class must be requested at least 14 days in advance via the customercare@thedogsspot.com email address.
2. Enrollment fee can be transferred to private training with at least 14 days notice via the customercare@thedogsspot.com email address.

Private Lesson schedule changes need to be made at least 48 hours prior to the lesson time or a charge of 50% of the private lesson fee may apply. Notifications to reschedule or cancel a private session must be sent via email to customercare@thedogsspot.com.

Children

Having the whole family on the same page is certainly the best place to be. But our recommendation is that you heavily involve your children who are under 12 years old in the homework, rather than having them do the work during class time. Our group classes are fast paced and taught at an adult level. You won’t have time to translate instructions to your child and get all your reps in. The dog will do best with an adult initially training the behavior. Then, your children can help with the at-home practice to solidify the behavior. It will be less stressful for the dog and more fun for your children that way.

Here is our age specific policy for our group classes.

Under 7 years: we require an extra adult be in attendance with children this age.
7 – 11 years: are allowed to observe (with instructor approval may be able to assist you in class). Children should sit in a chair with you in the training class. Please bring a quiet toy, if needed.
12 – 15 years: at the discretion of the instructor, if this age child has control of the dog, they may be allowed to independently handle a dog in class, with an adult present in class.
16 and over: are allowed to attend class without an adult present.

During private lessons, you may choose to bring children of any age.

While in the facility, all children must observe the following rules:

Children must stay with their parents at all times.
Children may only approach a dog in the facility AFTER getting permission from the dog’s owner.
Children must walk, not run, inside the facility.

Vaccinations/Canine Health

Dogs must be up-to-date with vaccines according to the schedule recommended by their veterinarian. We also accept titers.

For puppies, we follow the recommendations of the American Veterinary Society for Animal Behavior. Their recommendation is for puppies to receive at least one set of vaccinations at least seven days prior to starting classes. In addition, they need to stay current on their vaccinations while attending class and only attend class if they are healthy. We also disinfect every place a puppy could put their foot down inside our facility with a disinfectant used in veterinary hospitals at the recommended dilution to kill Parvo and other diseases that are of particular concern for young dogs.

If your dog (of any age) is ill, do not bring them to class. They won’t be able to learn if they’re not feeling well. And if their illness is communicable, other dogs could be exposed. Please feel free to attend class without your dog in order to keep up with the activities and information shared.

Intact Dogs

Intact male and female dogs are allowed in class.

Female dogs who are in season are allowed in class wearing britches. However, consider the fact that your dog may be so restless that participating in class is difficult. This will especially be true during the second phase of the heat cycle, known as “standing heat”.

Aggressive Dogs

Dogs displaying aggressive or highly reactive behavior are not suitable for regular group classes. In many cases, we’ll be able to help in Reactive Dog classes or private sessions. For safety and insurance reasons, dogs with a human bite history requiring medical attention are not allowed in our facility. The exceptions to this rule are puppy biting, resource guarding, breaking up a fight between another dog, and some bites incurred while being handled for veterinary or grooming procedures. If your dog has only bitten in one of those exception scenarios, it is required that you let our staff know that when you book your initial service.

If we feel your dog will be most successful with a canine behaviorist, we will provide you with quality referral options.

Missed Classes/Make-up Classes

In order to maintain small class sizes, personal attention, and the best training results possible, we do not provide refunds for missed classes. Likewise, make-ups are not able to be scheduled in future group classes. This is because our aim is to provide an effective, personalized, small-group class experience that sets our students up for the best chance for success, we actively enforce this policy. We appreciate your understanding, cooperation, and respect for fellow students.