policies

Please call us straight away, if you are unable to make your appointment.
Due to problems we have had with people not calling to cancel and wasting our time, making it impossible to fill the unused appointment, we have a strict policy regarding cancellations/no-shows.

We require at least 2 hours notice, when cancelling a scheduled appointment, otherwise a FULL COST FEE will be charged for the missed appointment, loyalty discounts will be removed, all pre-booked appointments in our diary will be cancelled and thereafter future bookings will need to be paid for in advance at the time of booking.
As wasted appointments mean NO INCOME for us and therefore NO LIVELYHOOD, we implement this policy strictly.
Clients who repeatedly miss appointments, will be removed from our grooming list and service will be refused.

If you arrive more than 15 minutes late, you will miss your appointment slot and the cancellation fee WILL apply. PLEASE BE ON TIME.

DROPPING OFF & COLLECTION POLICY:
We do not use cages in our salon. Please be on time when collecting your pet. Our appointment system works on a 1 in 1 out basis, this means that we will only hold your dog for the actual time it takes to groom/trim him. We do not have the space to hold your dog longer than his allotted appointment slot. Keeping dogs unnecessarily causes stress to the dog. All dogs must be on a lead within the salon.

TOILETING:
Please ensure that your dog has emptied his bowel before bringing him to be groomed. A dog with a full bowel, finds the whole process uncomfortable, and we do not have external facilities to toilet your dog. We will not scold an animal for relieving itself indoors, but this may also lead to the dog thinking that this may be correct to then do it at home!
We reserve the right to charge for the time and materials/products involved, in cleaning up after your pet!

AGGRESSIVE/NERVOUS DOG POLICY:
Dogs that require muzzling or extra staff to help manage them, will be charged at an higher than standard grooming rate. This is because dogs showing aggression or acute nervousness, take much longer than normal to groom. We reserve the right to refuse a dog that represents a risk of injury to itself or any member of staff, or to send home a dog, even if the dog is only partially completed. There may also be an extra charge for exclusive salon use (your dog only).
Dogs that show aggression, will be muzzled for their safety and ours. However, if your dog only objects to his feet being trimmed, but he is ok for everything else, then we will only muzzle him for his feet only, the rest will be without a muzzle.

DE-MATTING POLICY:
We groom humanely at The Grooming Centre. We will ATTEMPT to de-mat a coat only ONCE, and only if we feel that the animal will not suffer pain. We abide by the Animal Welfare Act.
It is the OWNERS duty of care towards their pet, to maintain their pets coat between professional groomings. If owners fail to attend to their pets coat, then in the interests of the animal, we will shave off a matted coat, to prevent unnecessary suffering due to neglect.
We will be more than happy to show you how to look after your dogs coat. Please note: our normal grooming charge does not include dematting, any dematting will be charged for as an extra, on a pro rata hourly rate. We do not demat: Puppies, infirm/elderly or aggressive dogs.

We groom humanely at The Grooming Centre.

As members of the Petcare Trade Association and British Dog Groomers Association, we abide by a set code of ethics.

We will not put your pet off grooming for the sake of one part of his groom. Eg: if your pet objects to his nails etc, then we will not force your pet, but will advise you to have them done by your local Vet.

We do not administer sedatives, tape noses or use harmful or painful methods of restraint.

LEADS:
As per your legal requirements outside, we also require ALL dogs to to kept on leads within our salon. We do not allow dogs to mix at The Grooming Centre and keep them separate at all times. We require correctly fitting collars and leads, so that dogs may be evacuated quickly, should an emergency arise. Keeping dogs separated also prevents parasite transmission, aggression and unwanted mating.