What happens next?

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Sarah or Lisa will contact you to arrange when to pop round to your house to meet you. 

 

You will also be asked to register yours and your hounds details on our secure client portal.

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Initial meet and greet –

 

Often there will be three of us attending to meet you in your home, this will be myself, your primary and secondary Hound Hike specialists. This means that if your regular pet carer is not available the secondary will step in or I will step in. This ensures there are two methods of back up care in place. This ensures even if we experience vehicle break down, family emergency, holiday or illness we can still ensure your dog is not left crossing its paws to go out. This is so you can be safe in the knowledge that you and your dog knows us and are happy with us all entering your property in your absence.

 

During this meeting we will ask about your dog’s routine, their likes and dislikes and get to know you all more.

Please feel free to ask as many questions as you like.

Please show us where your dog is kept when you are not present, where the water bowl is located, how we will access your property, where your dog towels are kept and cleaning products if/when needed.

If your dog has any health concerns or allergies, please make us aware.

 

 

Things we will give to you during this session-

 

Peace of mind, honesty and clarity on what and how we provide the best service.

2 signed copies of our contract (although you will have signed this digitally when registering on the portal, it’s easy to skim over details when it’s on a screen so a paper copy is there for your perusal and signature. We ask that you read in your own time and sign and leave a copy out for us to collect on our first Hike).

 

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Things we ask you have to hand to provide us with- 

 

A key to your property if applicable.

A novelty keyring if providing a key. We do not label keys. In the highly unlikely case of loss of the keys we ensure nothing is attached to the key that could identify your property, dog or family. We hold insurance for Key loss and replacement of locks.

 

 

Clarity statement-

 

Travel times/out of house: Unless by chance we are embarking on a group Hike direct from your house we will have your dog out with us for considerably longer than an hour. Your dog will be safe in a crate with clean bedding and fresh water while we collect and in turn drop off other dogs. Plus the full time allocated for the group Hike.

 

Clean up policy: Dogs often get muddy or wet in adverse weather and ground conditions while out on Hikes with us. We always make every effort to shower off (where possible) and towel dry your dog on return from their Hike. However, we cannot guarantee that your dog will be spotless when we return them. If you would rather us shut them in a certain area if a little damp on return please advise us where, we are here to help!

 

 

Bookings:

 

Please always direct bookings to Sarah, Lisa or through the portal.

 

If you have set days that you need us then this will simply be booked in on going, you do not need to keep booking us in.  You just need to let us know when you may be on holiday etc to cancel the walks booked in, more on cancellations below.

 

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Cancellations:

 

As stated in our contract walks cancelled within 72hours will still be charged at full rate, if your dog is at home and well, you may opt to have us walk your dog anyway.

 

If you know you will not need us due to holiday or similar please let us know with as much notice as possible so we can plan accordingly.

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Payments:

 

Payment is due in advance, either weekly or monthly, whichever you prefer.

You can pay through the portal by card, by bank transfer or with cash.

If you register your card on the portal the details are kept secure and payments are taken through our trusted card payment provider ‘Stripe’ there is the option to tick a box marked ‘Allow automatic payment’  - We usually process payments on the last Friday of the month.

 

If you are paying monthly we will send you an invoice via email which will also include your account summary showing payments made etc.

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WhatsApp Group:

 

If you do not already use WhatsApp and you own a smart phone please download WhatsApp. This is a secure and free messaging application. Once you have downloaded it please let us know.

 

I will set up a group chat through the app that will include yourself (and any other family members you request) myself, plus your primary and secondary Hounds Hikers. We use this chat to send you pictures of each Hike, sometimes a video. This is also a useful group to put any notes on, including if your dog has been out of sorts, or that there may be a builder or similar at the property that day, this way whoever will be caring for your dog that day will be able to act accordingly. We will also use this to let you know if there have been any concerns on the walk and of course how much fun your dog has been having. This is also one of the ways you can book or cancel services too.

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