Much Ado About Dogs GDPR Policy

We treat your data in the same way that we would want our data to be treated - securely and with respect

Last updated: 8 July 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Much Ado About Dogs collects, uses, stores and protects personal information when you use our website, contact us, book our services, receive communications from us, or work with us as a client.

Much Ado About Dogs is a dog training and behaviour business based in Didcot, Oxfordshire. For the purposes of UK data protection law, Much Ado About Dogs is the data controller for the personal information we collect and use in connection with our website and services.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we use your personal information, you can contact us at:

Much Ado About Dogs
28 Blackwater Way
Didcot
OX11 7RL

Email: admin@muchadoaboutdogs.com

1. The information we collect

We only collect personal information that is reasonably needed to run our business, respond to enquiries, deliver our services, manage client relationships, meet our legal obligations, and improve what we offer.
The types of information we may collect include:
- Contact information
  - This may include your name, email address, telephone number, address, and any other contact details you provide when you enquire, book, or communicate with us.
- Client and service information
  - This may include information about the services you have enquired about or purchased, session notes, booking details, payment history, feedback, and communications between you and Much Ado About Dogs.
- Dog and training-related information
  - Although information about your dog is not usually personal data on its own, it may become personal data when linked to you or your household. We may collect information about your dog’s name, breed, age, history, behaviour, training needs, routines, health considerations, and home environment where this is relevant to the services we provide.
- Household information
  - Dog training often involves understanding the environment the dog lives in. You may choose to tell us about other people in the household, including adults or children, where this is relevant to training, safety, management, or behaviour support. We only use this information for the purpose of providing appropriate services.
- Payment and transaction information
  - We may collect information relating to payments, invoices, receipts, and services purchased. We do not intentionally store full payment card details unless this is handled securely through a third-party payment provider.
- Website and technical information
  - When you use our website, we may collect limited technical information such as IP address, browser type, device type, operating system, pages visited, time spent on the website, and how you interacted with the site. This may be collected through cookies, analytics tools, or similar technologies.
- Marketing and communication preferences
  - If you sign up to receive updates, newsletters, offers, resources, or other communications from us, we may collect your name, email address, preferences, and information about how you interact with those communications.
- Photos, videos, testimonials and social media content
  - From time to time, we may ask to use photographs, videos, feedback, testimonials, or training examples for educational, promotional, website, or social media purposes. We will only use identifiable client images, videos, or testimonials for these purposes where we have appropriate permission.

2. Special category data

We do not actively seek to collect special category data, such as information about health, disability, ethnicity, religion, political opinions, or similar sensitive information.
However, in some cases, you may choose to share information that could fall into this category — for example, a health condition, disability, mobility issue, anxiety around dogs, or other personal circumstance that affects how we should structure training safely and appropriately.
Where you provide this information, we will only use it where relevant to providing our services, protecting your safety, adapting our approach, or meeting our legal obligations. We will not use this information for unrelated purposes.

3. How we collect information

We may collect personal information in the following ways:
- when you contact us through our website, email, telephone, social media, or messaging platforms;
- when you complete an enquiry form, booking form, consultation form, or client questionnaire;
- when you book or purchase one of our services;
- during training sessions, consultations, or follow-up communications;
- when you sign up to our newsletter or other updates;
- when you provide feedback, reviews, testimonials, photos or videos;
- automatically, when you use our website, through cookies or similar technologies.

4. How we use your information

We may use your personal information to:
- respond to enquiries;
- discuss your dog’s training or behaviour needs;
- assess whether our services are suitable for you;
- provide dog training, behaviour support, consultations, courses, resources, and related services;
- manage bookings, appointments, cancellations, payments, invoices, and records;
- communicate with you before, during and after services;
- send homework, training notes, resources, updates, or recommendations relevant to your dog;
- keep records for insurance, legal, accounting, tax, and business administration purposes;
- improve our services, website, client experience, and communications;
- ask for feedback or reviews;
- send newsletters, updates, offers, or marketing communications where permitted;
- protect the safety of clients, dogs, the public, and Much Ado About Dogs;
- respond to complaints, disputes, claims, or legal obligations.

5. Our lawful basis for using your information

We only use your personal information where we have a lawful basis to do so. Depending on the circumstances, we may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:
- Contract
  - We may use your information where it is necessary to provide services you have requested, or to take steps before entering into a contract with you. This includes responding to enquiries, booking sessions, delivering training, sending session notes, and managing payments.
- Legitimate interests
  - We may use your information where it is necessary for the legitimate interests of running and improving Much Ado About Dogs, provided your rights and interests do not override those interests. This may include client communication, record keeping, service improvement, business administration, website analytics, and limited direct marketing to existing or previous clients.
- Legal obligation
  - We may use and retain certain information where necessary to comply with legal, tax, accounting, insurance, or regulatory obligations.
- Consent
  - We may rely on consent where required, for example where you sign up to receive certain marketing communications, or where we ask to use identifiable photos, videos, testimonials, or case examples for promotional purposes.
  - You can withdraw consent at any time by contacting us. Withdrawing consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

6. Marketing communications

We may send newsletters, updates, resources, offers, or information about Much Ado About Dogs services where you have signed up to receive them, where you have asked for them, or where we are otherwise permitted to do so.
You can opt out of marketing communications at any time by using the unsubscribe link in our emails or by contacting us directly.
We will not sell, rent or trade your personal information to third parties for their own marketing purposes.

7. Cookies and website analytics

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to help it function properly, improve user experience, understand website traffic, and measure how people use the site.
Cookies may collect technical information such as your device type, browser, IP address, pages visited, and how you interact with the website.
You can usually control or disable cookies through your browser settings. Some parts of the website may not work properly if cookies are disabled.
Where required, we will ask for your consent before using non-essential cookies.

8. Who we share information with

We do not sell your personal information.
We may share your information with trusted third parties where necessary to run our business, provide services, or meet our legal obligations. These may include:
- website hosting and website platform providers;
- email, newsletter, and marketing service providers;
- booking, form, payment, invoicing, accounting, or administrative service providers;
- cloud storage and document management providers;
- professional advisers, such as accountants, insurers, legal advisers, or business support providers;
- HMRC, regulators, authorities, courts, or law enforcement where required by law;
- insurers or advisers where necessary in connection with a complaint, incident, claim, or dispute.
Where we use third-party service providers, they are only permitted to use your information for the purposes we have instructed or where legally required.

9. International transfers

Some of the services we use to run our website, email, booking, payment, analytics, or administrative systems may process or store information outside the UK.
Where this happens, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your personal information in accordance with applicable data protection law.

10. Data security

We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from accidental loss, unauthorised access, misuse, alteration, or disclosure.
This includes using appropriate technical and organisational measures such as secure systems, restricted access, password protection, and secure communication where appropriate.
However, no method of transmission over the internet is completely secure. You are responsible for ensuring that any information you send to us is sent using a method you consider appropriate.

11. How long we keep your information

We only keep personal information for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected.
In general:
- enquiry information may be kept for as long as we reasonably need it to respond to the enquiry and manage future contact;
- client records, training notes, invoices, correspondence, and service records may be kept for up to six years after the last interaction, for insurance, tax, accounting, legal, and liability purposes;
- marketing information will be kept until you unsubscribe or ask us to remove you, unless we have another lawful reason to retain it;
- photos, videos, testimonials, or case examples will be kept for as long as they remain relevant to the purpose for which permission was given, unless you withdraw consent or ask us to remove them where possible;
- anonymised information may be kept indefinitely, as it no longer identifies you.
We review the information we hold from time to time and delete or anonymise it when it is no longer needed.

12. Children’s information

Much Ado About Dogs does not knowingly collect personal information directly from children under 13 through the website.
Our services are intended to be arranged by adults. Where children are involved in a household or training context, any relevant information should be provided by a parent or guardian.
If you believe a child has provided personal information to us without appropriate consent, please contact us so we can review and delete it where appropriate.

13. Your rights

Under data protection law, you may have the right to:
- Access your personal information
  - You can ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
- Correct your personal information
  - You can ask us to correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete.
- Delete your personal information
  - You can ask us to delete your personal information in certain circumstances.
- Restrict how we use your information
  - You can ask us to limit how we use your information in certain circumstances.
- Object to how we use your information
  - You can object to our use of your information where we rely on legitimate interests, including for direct marketing.
- Transfer your information
  - You can ask us to provide certain information in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format.
- Withdraw consent
  - Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw that consent at any time.
These rights do not apply in all circumstances. For example, we may need to keep certain information for legal, tax, insurance, accounting, or legitimate business reasons.
To exercise your rights, contact us at admin@muchadoaboutdogs.com.
We may need to ask for information to confirm your identity before responding to your request. We will usually respond within one month, unless the request is complex or you have made multiple requests.

14. Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we handle your personal information, please contact us first so we can try to resolve the issue.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK regulator for data protection matters.

15. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our business, website, services, systems, or legal obligations.
The latest version will be published on our website with the date of the most recent update.

16. Contact us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how Much Ado About Dogs uses personal information, please contact:

Much Ado About Dogs
28 Blackwater Way
Didcot
OX11 7RL

Email: admin@muchadoaboutdogs.com