Important Terms and Conditions
Families and Children Attending
We are very family friendly and encourage all the immediate family to attend with your puppy. Your household must remain in the pod unless they are training the dog out on the floor. You can bring young children with you, however; it is your responsibility to keep them under control. They will need to remain seated unless they are training the dog with you. We recommend you bring them an Ipad and headphones if you think they might get bored.
Handling and training a dog/puppy can be challenging and sometimes people can get anxious about the first week. We recommend you come on your first week without any young children and then decide if you think bringing children along is going to be beneficial and feasible for you, your child and your dog.
Other Dogs – Socialisation and Play
When dogs come to Waggawuffins they will all have a different emotional experience, some will be overexcited, some neutral and some even scared. It is therefore important that social interactions are under trainer supervision only. Don't allow your dog to pull on the lead and approach another dog. Firstly it's not good first learning for the dog to be dragging you to other dogs. Secondly if the other dog is nervous it will be overwhelming for them. Good socialisation is about positive experiences and learning to control social impulses.
Accessing the Venue and Respecting the Venue
The training area is carpeted with 6mm rubber underneath. This provides a non-slip surface that will not put pressure on joints. Please make sure your dog has ‘been’ to the toilet before you come into the facility and that you are not wearing muddy footwear. It is also advisable to keep adolescent males away from the posts and doorways. Please help keep the College a nice place to come and train your dog. Anyone found to be allowing their dog to mess outside and not clear it up will be reported to the local authority and asked to leave the centre.
Arriving and Departing
We have a 10-minute class turnaround time. You will be able to enter the building five minutes before your start time.
In the training area you will see that there are 8 training pods, you will be told which number pod is yours, go straight to your pod and make yourself comfortable.
Due to the timeframe between classes and instructors needing to prepare for the next lesson we will be unavailable to answer questions before and after your class. Please get in touch via email if you are having any serious or specific problems or you can join our private customer Facebook group and ask questions there
https://www.facebook.com/groups/289171955103523/
What do I need to bring with me?
Bring your vaccination certificate to show us. You will need to bring your dog on a collar or harness and lead. Extendable leads and slip leads are not allowed. We recommend a Halti type 6 ft training lead with links to shorten it. We do have these in our shop. We do not allow prong, choke or check chain type collars or harnesses that tighten around the dog when they pull. If using a harness we recommend one with clip at the front and on the back.
Bring a toy for your dog (not squeaky!) a blanket, poo bags and high value treats.
We recommend you bring some high value extra tasty treats and plenty of them, probably more than you think you need. We recommend JR Pet Products Pate or anything that is 100% meat. Alternatively, cocktail sausages or cheese chopped into small little cubes. We recommend puppy training treats are no bigger than the size of your little fingernail. If you bring low value treats such as kibble you may struggle to keep your dog’s attention and interest for 50 minutes. Preparation and planning is an important aspect of successful dog training.
Please do not bring anything crumbly. If you are bringing chicken, please chop it before you cook it so it doesn’t break apart. Treats in cubes are the best.
We do have a shop in the centre and you can purchase training treats from there using cash, contactless card or mobile device.
You may want to bring a snuffle mat or a stuffed Kong to keep your dog occupied during the session.
Preparing your Dog for Training Classes
Please do not feed your dog before you come to training class. We use food in training and if they are full, they will not be interested in the food. If your dog is really, really, greedy, feed them a very small meal more than an hour before class.
Animal Handling
We are a positive, kind and reward based organisation, anyone seen to be inappropriately handling their dog will be asked to leave, this includes any form of physical correction or manhandling of the dog. If you are unsure or struggling and we have not noticed, please ask for our help, that’s what we are here for. Please don’t worry if your dog is naughty or disruptive, it’s what they do, and we are here to support you.
Infection Risk Dogs
As with any environment (parks, kennels) where dogs have been, there is a risk your dog may pick up an infection from another dog. Many illnesses have incubation periods such as kennel cough and a dog may be infected and contagious but not yet showing signs. If your dog picks up an infection, please do not bring your dog to the centre and contact us to let us know.
Bitches In Season
Bitches in Season are not allowed in the training centre.
If your female comes into season please call the office on 0161 762 0174 and we will advise accordingly.
Payments and Fees
We are a professional organisation and payment must be made in advance to secure places for any of the classes.
CLASSES
Payment is for 6 consecutive weeks, which means that if you miss a week you lose it, we cannot carry weeks over or swap days. We believe payment in advance makes you commit to your dog and the training and means you do not miss out on important training and fall behind holding back the rest of the class. This also enables us to limit our class numbers providing you with a better service.
Fees are Non-Refundable, Transferable or Returnable within 72 hours prior to the course start date. Cancellations more than 72 hours prior to the course start date will incur a £24 administration charge.
If you are unable to attend a class please call the office on 0161 762 0174 and leave a message. The team working that evening will not have access to email or social media.
ONE TO ONE TRAINING AND BEHAVIOUR
Fees are Non Refundable, Transferable or Returnable within 72 hours prior to the one to one start date. Cancellations more than 72 hours prior to the one to one start date will incur a £24 administration charge.
Online Support for Foundation 6 Week Courses
During the 6 weeks you are attending the puppy course or the beginners obedience course, you will also have membership access to our online portal, there are step by step video tutorials and PDF handouts for all the exercises you learn in class. You can use this to recap during the week and to support family members who are unable to attend the classes to get involved in the training from home.
Gundog, Progressive, Advanced and Mixed Activity Classes do not have online Resources
If at any point government guidelines require the training centre to close we will provide interactive live lessons online via GoTo Meeting for all classes.
Other Professionals Attending Classes
We do permit other dog professionals to attend our classes to learn with their dogs. However, it is important that the company and its generosity to share knowledge is respected and they remember that they are there as a client and a learner.
Promotion or discussion of their own business within the facility or the Facebook group with our clients is not permitted. Offering advice or support during classes or offering/providing services paid, or free, that we provide to our clients will result in being unable to attend our classes.
We cannot vouch for or recommend the businesses of other professionals who attend our classes as they are attending purely as clients to learn just like everyone else and sometimes we know nothing about them.
Filming and Photography
We will, during our classes, take video or photos for social media. If you do not want us to film or take photos of you or your dog please inform us at the start of your course.
You are permitted to take photos and video of you and your dog during the classes. You are not permitted take any video or photography or voice recordings of other clients or the instructors.
Any footage taken during the classes cannot be used to promote or market other services or businesses.
