Terms & Conditions (T&C's)

Age Requirements

Dogs must be 6 months or older to be eligible for this training.

Temperament Requirements

To successfully complete our Snake Avoidance program, a dog must be motivated to explore and investigate the training environment. Food treats are used to motivate hungry dogs to explore during the sessions. The appropriate temperament for this training is a very forward going dog, inquisitive of new environments and new people entering the property. If we notice prior to the training commencing that your dog is inhibited, timid, shy or reluctant to explore, we will discuss the situation with you and offer an 80% refund (travel fees are non-refundable). If you choose to waive this refund we will continue your dog in the program and deliver the course to the predetermined schedule; however, if your dog remain inhibited and refuses to seek food or approach the reptiles provided, no refund can be given as both time and opportunity have been given to the dog. If we require you to stand with our dog trainer to give your dog emotional support in the event it is nervous, please be patient. Our program revolves around your dog’s discovery and self-learning.

Please bear in mind that we have a schedule to keep to. Each dog has a set time limit for each portion of the training. It is important that we keep to these time limits for the welfare of the snakes being used. It is also likely that we will have other bookings running after yours, so it is important we do not run over time.

Remote Training Collar (E-collar) Use

E-collars are an integral part of the training and will need to be used on your dog throughout the program. It is important that you do not remove or adjust the remote training collar we place on your dog at any point during the training. This can negatively impact your dog’s ability to comprehend what it is being trained to do (avoid snakes). If you believe your dog’s collar requires adjustments please notify the dog trainer.

If your dog has had previous experience with an electronic collar (e-collar, bark collar, boundary collar, etc.) you will need to add the information to the form below.

Food Treats

Beef sausage and cheese are used as treats throughout the training. If your dog has an allergy to either of these food items, you will need to provide alternative treats for your dog. These treats should be able to be easily broken into small pieces and eaten rapidly by your dog. Pieces of cooked chicken are a recommended alternative. The quantity of treats needed will vary depending on the size of your dog and its food drive.

Confirmed Snake Killers

When introducing dogs to snakes for the first time, it is possible to teach the dog to respect snakes and give them space as there are consequences for engaging them. Dogs with a history of snake predation can still learn consequences for engaging snakes, however these dogs will often learn how to behave during training then revert back to their previous snake killing behaviour once returned to the home environment. Effectively breaking such habits can rarely be achieved in a single course and often requires ongoing training.

The Second Training Session

The initial snake avoidance training requires a mininmum of 2 sessions, it simply cannot be done in 1 session if you are looking to achieve true and reliable results. The second session is essential to avoid overwhelming your dog, test the retention of the prior lesson and most importantly, change location. The location of the second session must differ from the location of the first session. The second session will be booked in for 2 weeks after the first session, or as close to that date as possible. The location and date will be discussed when booking is confirmed.

Exposure to Snakes Outside of Training

Between sessions and after your dog has completed the course, please do NOT actively expose your dog to snakes in order to test its training. Doing this only erodes our work and can counter train your dog to approach snakes. Snake Avoidance training is provided as a preventative measure, designed to safely educate the dog to the consequences of engaging snakes. It can be said that learning takes place when the expectation differs from the outcome. Most dogs clearly expect interacting with a snake to be somewhat interesting and enjoyable as they are generally very curious and quickly engage the snake. After learning that engaging a snake brings an unpleasant consequence, our dogs demonstrate that learning has taken place by their future decisions to avoid the snake. While no one can guarantee all the decisions your dog will ever make in the future, we draw a similarity between learning the road rules and road safety. Learning the road rules is not a guarantee that accidents will never happen, but they certainly have a dramatic effect on reducing the risks of road accidents. This training should be regarded as a last resort safeguard in the event a snake enters your property while the dog is nearby and you are not there to remove the dog from the situation. We recommend all dogs completing our Snake Avoidance program undergo an annual refresher to test the dogs’ retention of the training and improve the probability of avoiding snakes in the future.

Refreshers and Testing

To test retention properly, the dog should be tested no sooner than 3 months after initial training; however we advise refreshers to be provided annually ($75, plus travel fees where applicable). We can provide refresher training as frequently as you like which will test your dog under safe conditions that support and strengthen the training. We do not advise trying to test the training yourself. The more times the dog encounters a snake without receiving a correction, the more likely the curiosity of the dog will eventially overcome the training. If your dog requires a correction, learning complications and inadvertent associations can result if the correction is applied inappropreately.

Medical Conditions and Vet Treatments

If your dog has physical impairments, we do not recommend booking the dog in for this training. If the dog becomes unwell or must undergo a vet procedure prior to the training, please notify us as soon as possible. Failure to notify us may result in the training being cancelled and an 80% refund provided (travel fees are non-refundable).

Preparing Your Dog

Fasting

We ask that you fast your dog for 24 hours prior to each of your sessions.

Even if your dog is a very good eater it must be fasted for 24 hours. No amount of food drive actually makes up for authentic hunger. Authentic hunger is very important as it is required to help your dog during the “odour recognition” & “contrast” phases of training. The contrast phase is critical as it gives your dog clarity and prevents your dog from making inappropriate associations and thus sabotaging the reliability of the training.

No prior exercise or obedience

Please do NOT exercise your dog any time within the 24 hour fasting period. While you may normally find your dog easier to manage after exercise we require your dog to be full of energy and motivation.

We also ask that you please refrain from doing any obedience with your dog prior to the training. Obedience can inhibit your dogand we need the dog to stay open and happy to explore; we don’t want the dogs looking to the owners for permission to explore/investigate the snakes.

Please bring

Dogs water bowl, dog lead and a secure well fitted collar with a metal buckle is required for both sessions.

Plastic clip on collars, choker chains, martingales, halti/gentle leaders are all inappropriate for this training.

Photos & Videos

Taking photos or videos is NOT permitted at any point during the training. Breaching this agreement will result in immediate cessation of the training and forfeiture of course costs.

Weather Requirements

Fine weather is required for the training to take place. Temperatures that are too high pose a risk to the animals. Rain or excessively windy weather has the potential to affect the dogs associations made during the training. If the weather is unfaourable, the training will need to be rescheduled. Determining if the weather is bad or unfavourable is at the sole discretion of Slithers & Slides/Snake Avoidance Training for Dogs.

Payment Options

Full payment of the training ($400 plus travel fees, if applicable) or refresher/testing ($75 plus travel fees, if applicable) must be received before your first session can commence. For sessions ouside of Perth Metro area, full payment must be made at time of booking for that booking to be confirmed. Payment can be made via cash (exact amount required), Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), or debit/credit card. Card payments incur an additional 2% (2.3% for 'over the phone') processing fee.

Changing Dates or Times of Bookings

Changes of the booking date/s or times must be made at least 72 hours prior to that session to avoid incurring additional charges. A maximum of 2 changes of date or time (total for both sessions) are permitted without incurring additional charges, after which a $30 fee will apply to additional change, even if notice is given more than 72 hours in advance of the session. A $50 fee applies for each change of booking date or time made within 72 hours of the session. If the booking change is for the second session and the first session has already been completed, payment of any fees must be made before the second session can commence. Additional travel fees will be charged for changes of date or time that are made while we are in transit to the session or once we have arrived at the nominated venue. Penalty fees will not apply for changes of date or time if changes are due to bad weather (determined by Slithers & Slides/Snake Avoidance Training for Dogs). This section is not applicable to bookings taking place outside of the Perth Metro area, please refer to the 'Sessions Outside of Perth Metro' section (below) for more details.

Cancellations

Cancellations for each dog must be made at least 72 hours prior to the FIRST session commencing, or refresher/testing session, to avoid incurring additional charges. If payment has already been received, a full refund (minus processing fees for card payments) will be provided for cancellations made more that 72 hours prior to the FIRST session or refresher/testing, unless any of the following conditions apply. A $90 fee applies for cancellations made within 72 hours of the first session commencing; this will be deducted from the refund if payment has already been made. An invoice will be issued if payment has not been received. A $90 fee applies to any cancelled bookings where the date or time of the booking has previously been changed. Full charges ($75) minus travel fees (if applicable) apply for cancellations of refreshers/testing made within 72 hours of the session. All travel fees are non-refundable for cancellations made while we are in transit to the session or once we have arrived. If cancellation is made after the first training session has commenced, all payments are non-refundable. This section is not applicable to bookings taking place outside of the Perth Metro area, please refer to the 'Sessions Outside of Perth Metro' section (below) for more details.

Sessions Outside of Perth Metro

The following terms & conditions apply for training sessions scheduled to be undertaken outside of the Perth Metro area.

Payment must be made at time of booking for that booking to be confirmed.

Changes of the booking date/s or times must be made at least 14 days prior to that session to avoid incurring additional charges. Date and times for training can only be changed to if alternates are available. A maximum of 2 changes to bookings (total for both sessions) are permitted without incurring additional charges, after which a $30 fee will apply to additional changes, even if notice is given more than 14 days in advance of the session. A $50 fee applies for each change of booking made within 14 days of the session. If the date or time change is for the second session and the first session has already been completed, payment of any additional fees must be made before the second session can commence. Additional travel fees will be charged for changes of date or time made while we are in transit to the session or once we have arrived at the nominated venue. Changes of date are only permitted where the new date falls within the period we are in the nominated township. changes of date or time if changes are due to bad weather. If the training cannot be rescheduled, it may need to be cancelled, in which case cancellation terms apply.

A 75% refund (minus processing fees for card payments) of course costs and travel fees will be provided for cancellations made more than 14 days prior to the FIRST session or refresher/testing, unless any of the following conditions apply. A 60% refund (minus processing fees for card payments) of course costs and travel fees will be provided for any cancellations where the date or time of the booking has previously been changed. A 60% refund (minus processing fees for card payments) of course costs and travel fees will be provided for cancellations made within 14 days of the FIRST session commencing. All travel fees are non-refundable for cancellations made while we are in transit to the township or once we have arrived. A $40 fee applies to any cancelled bookings where the date has previously been changed. All fees will be deducted from the refund. Full charges ($75) minus travel fees (if applicable) apply for cancellations of refreshers/testing made within 14 days of the session; travel fees will be refunded (minus processing fees for card payments). If cancellation is made after the first training session has commenced, all payments are non-refundable. Penalty fees will not apply for cancellations due to bad weather (determined by Slithers & Slides/Snake Avoidance Training for Dogs).

Filling in this Form

This form is intended to be complete for ONE dog only. If you are wanting to book multiple dogs, please complete a new form for each dog. If you submit a single form with multiple dogs details, we will ask you to resubmit new forms for each dog before we can continue. This is to ensure the T&C's are accepted for each individual dog and so that there is no miscommunication of information. Knowingly omitting details from this form, e.g. the dogs history engaging snakes or history with electronic collars, may result in the cancellation of the booking or cessation of the training. If the training must be cancelled or ceased due to ommision of details, all course costs become non-refundable.

Should you answer yes to any of the following 3 questions this course is not for you:

• Is your dog is overly shy or fearful in social settings?
• Does your dog show aggression towards strangers in social settings?
• Is your dog physically unwell or impaired in any way?

A client waiver will be provided to you at the start of the first training session and must be signed before training can commence.

Booking Details

IMPORTANT: Please remember to only input the details for ONE dog. If you are wanting to book multiple dogs, please complete a new form for each dog.

Owners Details

Dogs Details

By submitting this document, you are confirming that the information provided above is correct to the best of your knowledge. It is very important for us to have correct and accurate information about your dog as it may affect the training.