Legal
Updated: August 26, 2026
The short version: A free consult first, a reservation fee to hold your dates, honest cancellation terms, real care standards while your dog is with us, follow-up support where included in your program, and nothing published about your dog without your permission. If a problem ever comes up, we start with a conversation, and that solves almost everything; any dispute we cannot solve together is settled by individual arbitration. The details are below, in plain English.
These terms govern the dog training services coordinated by BarknFur LLC ("BarknFur", "we", "our", "us") and delivered by Independent Contractors in the BarknFur Network. By submitting payment, completing a booking, or delivering a dog for training, you ("the client", "you") confirm that you are at least 18 years old, that you are the owner of the dog or authorized by the owner to act for them, and that you have read, understood, and agreed to these terms. Our Privacy Policy explains how we handle your information and forms part of this agreement.
BarknFur coordinates board and train programs delivered by vetted independent contractors, including Puppy Fur, Basic Fur, Rehabilitation Fur, Custom Fur, Priority Behavior, Home Away From Home, Off-Leash, and Public Access, as available and described in your booking confirmation. Eligible board-and-train programs include pickup and homecoming at your home, as described in these terms. Every program is shaped to the individual dog. Positive reinforcement is the base of all training, and nothing new is introduced without being discussed with you and agreed first.
Training works best, and safest, when we know your dog. You agree to:
Nondisclosure of known medical or behavioral issues may result in termination of the program under the cancellation terms below.
Working with animals involves inherent risk, even with careful, professional handling. Your trainer will take all reasonable steps to keep every dog and person involved safe and well. To the fullest extent permitted by law, BarknFur, its Independent Contractors, and its affiliates are not liable for injuries, damages, or losses arising from those inherent risks during training.
BarknFur programs happen in real homes, which may include the trainer's own dogs, other animals, or family members. You consent to supervised, carefully introduced interaction between your dog and the trainer's household where the trainer judges it appropriate and safe. Introductions are gradual, supervision is constant, and any concern is raised with you right away.
Before day one, your veterinarian's details go on file and the nearest emergency clinic is mapped. If anything happens, you are the first call, always. If we cannot reach you or your emergency contact in time, you authorize your trainer to seek veterinary care and to approve treatment reasonably required to protect your dog's life, health, or comfort, using reasonable care in choosing the veterinarian. You are responsible for the costs of veterinary care that does not result from the trainer's negligence, and you agree to reimburse any such costs we or the trainer advance on your behalf.
To secure a place in a program, you pay a non-refundable reservation fee of $500 at booking. It holds your training dates, covers preparation and trainer scheduling, and is applied toward your total program cost. It is non-refundable in all of the cancellation scenarios below, and you agree it is a fair and reasonable estimate of the real administrative and operational costs of holding your place, not a penalty.
The remaining program balance is due no later than 48 hours before the program starts, unless your booking confirmation or payment plan states otherwise, and pickup can only go ahead once all amounts then due have been paid. Any refund owed under these terms is returned promptly to your original payment method.
Plans change, and here is exactly what happens if they do:
If your dog is withdrawn after training has begun, we retain the $500 reservation fee, payment for all full weeks completed, and payment for the week in progress, billed as a full week. Any remaining balance is refunded to you.
If your dog is not made available at the scheduled start date, time, and place, and you have not told us in advance, we may retain the $500 reservation fee plus an amount equal to one week of the program fee, and we refund any remaining balance.
Occasionally we need to move things, for reasons such as trainer illness or emergency, incomplete or inaccurate vaccination records, illness or injury of your dog, undisclosed behavioral concerns, misrepresentation of your dog's health or history, or national and business holidays. When that happens:
Programs end with homecoming: your trainer brings your dog home at a time arranged with you and delivers the handover coaching there. If you cannot be available at the scheduled time, tell us and we will arrange a new time promptly; days your dog remains with the trainer beyond the program’s end date may be billed as boarding at a rate shared with you in advance.
If we cannot complete homecoming within three calendar days of the program’s end date
because you are unavailable or unreachable, and no written arrangement has been made with us or the trainer, the dog will be considered abandoned. In that case, after reasonable efforts to reach you using the information you provided, we and the trainer reserve the right to surrender the dog to a licensed animal shelter or rescue organization at your expense. Costs of the extended stay, including boarding, food, and care, will be billed to you and must be paid before release of the dog or before surrender proceeds.
Every program includes follow-up support after completion. Puppy Foundations, Core Obedience and Manners, and Custom Programs include 2 follow-up sessions valid for 2 months after completion. Reactivity and Behavior programs include 4 follow-up sessions valid for 4 months, with aftercare shaped with your trainer. Beyond scheduled sessions, you keep an open line to our team for questions at any time. The windows are short on purpose, because using your sessions early, while habits are still settling, catches any step back before it grows. Sessions are scheduled with our team, are personal to you and your dog, have no cash value, and expire at the end of their window.
We commit to the highest quality of training, and we will always be honest with you about progress. Outcomes vary with breed, temperament, history, environment, and your own consistency after handoff, and no specific results are guaranteed. Anyone promising overnight miracles is not one of ours, and that honesty runs both ways.
During the program you receive photos and videos of your dog as they progress. Those updates are for you. We never publish your dog's image, name, or story on our website or social channels without your prior written permission, and you can decline or withdraw permission for future use at any time. Every story on our pages is there because a family said yes.
Training materials we provide, including videos, guides, and plans, are the intellectual property of BarknFur and are protected by copyright. They are for your personal use with your dog and may not be reproduced, shared, or distributed for other personal or commercial use without our prior written consent.
If your dog causes damage to a trainer's property or equipment during the program, you agree to cover the reasonable cost of repair or replacement. You will be told promptly about any incident.
You are responsible for your dog. If your dog injures a person or another animal, or damages third-party property, during or in connection with the program, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless BarknFur and the Independent contractor against resulting claims, losses, and reasonable costs, except to the extent caused by the trainer's own negligence. Honest, complete disclosure of your dog's history under these terms is your best protection here, and ours.
Every trainer in the BarknFur Network provides services as an independent contractor and is not an employee or agent of BarknFur. BarknFur coordinates programs, matching, communications, and follow-up structure, and requires every trainer to meet the same vetting, safety, and conduct standards.
By booking, you agree to receive communications about your dog and your program by email, phone, and text message. Program updates are part of the service. Some calls may be recorded, as described in our Privacy policy. Marketing messages are optional, every marketing email includes an unsubscribe link, consent to text messages is never a condition of booking, and you can opt out of marketing at any time
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of South Dakota, except that if the law of your own state gives you protections that cannot be waived, those protections still apply to you. Before anything formal, talk to us; almost everything is solved with a conversation.
Any dispute that cannot be resolved informally will be settled by binding arbitration under the Consumer Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association, decided on an individual basis, in a location convenient to you or remotely. Either of us may instead bring an individual claim in small claims court. Both of us waive any right to bring or take part in a class action relating to the services. If the law of your state does not allow a waiver of your right to seek public injunctive relief, that specific waiver does not apply to you, and that claim may proceed in court while everything else remains in arbitration.
We are not liable for delay or failure to perform caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including natural disasters, war, terrorism, labor disputes, government actions, public health emergencies, or power outages. When something like that happens, the rescheduling terms above apply.
We may update these terms from time to time. We will notify clients of changes in writing or by email, and continued use of the services after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised terms. The version on this page, with its effective date, is always the current one.
If any part of these terms is found invalid or unenforceable, that part will be limited or removed to the minimum extent necessary, and the rest of these terms remain in full effect.
These terms, together with your signed service agreement, booking confirmation, and any applicable payment-plan agreement, form the agreement between you and BarknFur for the services. If there is a conflict, the signed program-specific agreement controls for that program.
Questions about these terms go to contact@barknfur.com, and your pet consultant will reply shortly. Wondering how we handle your information? That lives in our Privacy Policy.
Free consult with a real person. No payment, no pressure.
Find your Trainer