Terms and Conditions

The Balanced Dog Ltd Terms of Service

1. Terms

Welcome to The Balanced Dog Ltd.  By accessing our website, browsing or ordering from our online store, or making enquiries through the site which lead to a consultation, you acknowledge that you have read, understood and fully accept our terms and conditions.  The materials contained in this website are protected by applicable copyright and trademark law.

2.  Methods

This is a Fear-Free certified practice.  Fear-Free handling means working with dogs with respect and care to reduce fear, anxiety and stress at all times.   Our approach is to build a relationship with each dog so there is trust and we aim to ensure that anxiety levels never escalate ‘above threshold.’  For dogs recovering from recent injuries or surgery, or with painful conditions such as advanced arthritis, it is essential that the dog have proper pain management in order to manage stress levels.  If we feel that your dog’s pain is not being appropriately managed, we will stop the consultation and ask that you go back to your veterinarian for a review of medication.

The practice is mobile; dogs are seen in their home.  Dogs are most comfortable at home and in-home consultations means that we can recommend changes to the dog’s living environment, when necessary, after seeing the home firsthand.  For your dog’s security and ours, we always ask that the dog’s guardian or another family member is present during their dog’s therapy session and that disturbances from other housemates and pets is kept to a minimum.

The modalities practiced at The Balanced Dog Ltd include acupressure, massage, low-level laser therapy, PEMF (pulsed electromagnetic field) therapy, trigger point therapy,  lifestyle and canine fitness programmes, and TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) food therapy.   These are complementary therapies and are not substitutes for traditional veterinary care.  New customers are asked to submit their dog’s veterinary records for review in advance and must certify that their dog is under regular veterinary care.

This practice cannot legally use the terms ‘physiotherapy’ or ‘physio’ in describing its services.  The Physiotherapy Board of New Zealand does not recognise the practice of physiotherapy on animals and the law in New Zealand limits the use of the terms to practitioners who have met registration requirements to work with humans.  These individuals may then use these terms in promoting  work with animals, however, because the limitations of use are not legally enforced.  You are encouraged to check the qualifications of anyone working with your dog to ensure they have proper qualifications and training.  This website includes information about Kathleen Crisley’s qualifications and continuing education and we are happy to answer any questions you may have.

3.  Cancellation and Re-booking Policy

Cancellations with less than 48 hours’ notice incur a $50 cancellation fee; those made within 24 hours of the appointment incur a cancellation fee equal to the cost of the fully booked session.  This is entirely at our discretion.  Appointment reminders are sent by email or text message 1-2 days before the appointment as a reminder.  If a customer develops a track record of regularly cancelling appointments when the reminders are issued, we may restrict the hours available for consultations to non-peak periods and may refuse to take further consultations altogether.  Any unpaid invoices will be forwarded to debt collection.  Re-bookings are only accepted once the cancellation fee is paid.

4.  Limitations on Use

The Balanced Dog Ltd will not take responsibility for misinterpretation of advice.  Unless a referral is in writing from another pet care professional, including a veterinarian, we are under no obligation to send copies of treatment notes.  We encourage all customers to ensure that everyone in their dog’s healthcare team is aware of the other modalities being used with their dog.  We are happy to send notes to other providers when specifically instructed to do so, and we often suggest this approach to our clients.

When attending a workshop of The Balanced Dog Ltd, all content of course materials are protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights.  Customers are not to reproduce, copy, scan or share these materials in any way including on social or other media.

For videos and .pdf files supplied in our online workshops, you purchase these for your own personal use.  You must not republish, sell, rent, sub-license, reproduce, duplicate or copy the material.

The materials on The Balanced Dog Ltd’s website are provided on an ‘as is’ basis. The Balanced Dog Ltd makes no warranties, expressed or implied, and hereby disclaims and negates all other warranties including, without limitation, implied warranties or conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement of intellectual property or other violation of rights.

5. Sale of Product and Services

We make every effort to display as accurately as possible the colours, features, specifications and details of the products available on the website.  However, we do not guarantee that the colours, features, specifications and details of the products will be accurate, complete, reliable, current, or free of other errors and your electronic display may not accurately reflect the actual colours and details of the products.

All products are subject to availability; we do not guarantee that an item will be in stock.  We reserve the right to discontinue any products at any time for any reason.  Prices for all products are subject to change, include GST where applicable, and are displayed in NZ dollars.

If the product you have bought is faulty, we will provide a remedy as required by the Consumer Guarantees Act.  Please note that the dog treats for sale on our website are all handmade and preservative-free (free of both synthetic and ‘natural’ preservatives).  A Use or Freeze By date is provided with each order to guide the consumer’s use of the product.  We are not responsible for fresh products which are used after this date.

We reserve the right to refuse any order placed through the website and may, in our sole discretion, limit or cancel quantities purchased per person, per household, or per order.  Since our workshops are for the training and enjoyment of dog guardians, we reserve the right to refuse registrations from individuals who we believe are intending to use the training in a commercial capacity.  The Balanced Dog Ltd does not provide certification-level professional training in animal massage or other modalities.  Completion of our courses does imply that an individual is competent to practice on other animals.

The online courses on this website will be updated periodically so to remain relevant, useful and up-to-date as possible.  Please contact us if you feel that there is some information which is not accurate because we strive to ensure that our content is helpful to students.

6. Accuracy of materials and liability for damages

The materials appearing on The Balanced Dog Ltd’s website could include technical, typographical, or photographic errors despite our best efforts.  The Balanced Dog Ltd may make changes to the materials contained on its website at any time without notice.

In no event shall The Balanced Dog Ltd or its suppliers be liable for any damages (including, without limitation, damages for loss of data or profit, or due to business interruption) arising out of the use or inability to use the materials on The Balanced Dog Ltd’s website, even if The Balanced Dog Ltd or a The Balanced Dog Ltd authorized representative has been notified orally or in writing of the possibility of such damage. Because some jurisdictions do not allow limitations on implied warranties, or limitations of liability for consequential or incidental damages, these limitations may not apply to you.

7.  Photo Release

We love sharing photos of our dog clients and, sometimes, their owners.  By engaging our services or using our social media pages, you agree to give us the consent to use text, videos, audio, email questions, and photos that may contain information as it relates to our services and programmes.  In addition, you give us the right to use such materials as part of our marketing, promotion and training.   The Balanced Dog Ltd will retain exclusive and perpetual worldwide rights to such content.  You release all claims against The Balanced Dog Ltd with respect to privacy rights, publicity rights, copyright ownership and use of the materials.

8. Links

The Balanced Dog Ltd has not reviewed all of the content of sites linked to its website and is not responsible for the contents of any such linked site. Use of linked websites is at the user’s own risk.

9. Modifications

The Balanced Dog Ltd may revise these terms of service for its website at any time without notice. By using this website you are agreeing to be bound by the then current version of these terms of service.

10. Governing Law

These terms and conditions are governed by and construed in accordance with New Zealand law and you irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in that location.

These terms and conditions were last updated on 07 January 2024.