Covid-19 Precautions

Precautions Due to the Covid-19 Virus

05/01/2021 – Covid-19 Lockdown starting Tuesday 5th January 2021 Update.

As you will all be aware by now on Monday evening (4th January 2021) the PM Boris Johnson announced a new national lockdown to fight the new more virulent strain of Coronavirus starting on the 5th January 2021.

This announcement has forced us to stop all our outdoor group classes with immediate effect. We have contingency plans in place and our group classes will now move to a virtual classroom on Zoom. This means that we can continue training and I will still be able to watch you practice and help you train your dog. The link to these classes will be sent to you via email. Please check to make sure that you have received the joining link by the morning of your usual class as the plan is to keep our classes at the same time as usual.

I need some time to make the necessary arrangements and any courses or classes originally planned for today will be postponed until everything is in place. I will be contacting everyone booked onto a course or regular training class individually with the details of the alternative arrangements made.

I am currently waiting for guidance with regards to one-to-one’s for my private clients. I will update once I know whether these are allowed to continue under the current restrictions. If we are allowed to continue with one-to-ones we will do so following full Covid -19 protection procedures, this will include the wearing on masks and frequent hand cleaning as well as only the instructor handling any equipment used and strict cleaning and disinfecting of equipment between clients and at the start and end of sessions.

At the moment we have very little information about the details of what will be allowed with regards to dog training services under this new lockdown. I am keeping a close eye on the guidelines coming out of the Canine and Feline Sector group and relevant government departments before finalising plans on how to support you, our clients, during this lockdown.

We will confirm our plan of action as soon as we have more details about the full extent of this lockdown.

02/11/2020 – Covid-19 Lockdown starting Thursday 5th November 2020 Update.

As you will all be aware by now on Saturday evening the PM Boris Johnson announced a new national lockdown will start on Thursday the 5th November.

We will continue to operate as usual following all the current Covid 19 procedures until the lockdown starts on Thursday.

At the moment we have very little information about the details of what will be allowed with regards to dog training services under this new lockdown. We are keeping a close eye on the guidelines coming out of the Canine and Feline Sector group and relevant government departments before finalising plans on how to support you, our clients, during this lockdown.

We will confirm our plan of action as soon as we have more details about the full extent of this lockdown and clarification on whether or not we are allowed to meet with clients on a one to one basis.

01/06/2020 – Updated guidelines and procedures for our in-person training classes.

From the 1st June 2020, Dog trainers are allowed to run small group training classes, provided the Government Guidelines of 6 people meeting outdoors is met. This means that we can restart our training classes, but the following Guidelines and Procedures need to be met to enable us to do this in a safe way.

We have put the following guidelines and measures in place to provide a safe training environment for all our students

Please note that attending these outdoor group training sessions is at your own risk.
Social Distancing Guidelines must be adhered to at all times; during arrival, the class and when leaving. We will be managing the car park and stagger the arrival of our Students to ensure that social distancing is maintained when arriving at the venue. During the class we will be assigning each student and dog a “Training Bubble” this will be a marked out training area. After the class finishes, we will again stagger the leaving of each student. As a result, the start and/ or finishing time of your usual training session may be changed to allow a 15-minute change over time between classes.
There will be a maximum of 4 students and dogs per session.
Training times for the classes will be as follows:
Tuesday PM
Rally Obedience Class Start Time: 2:45 pm – staggered arrival for students from 2:30 pm
Hoopers Class Start Time: 4 pm – Staggered arrival for students from 3:45 pm.
Wednesday AM
Fun Focus Play Class Start Time 10 am – Staggered arrival for students from 9:45 am
Pawdawan Puppy Class. Start Time 11:15 am – Staggered arrival for students from 11 am.
All training will be carried out outside. Please come dressed appropriately for the weather.
Only one Student will be allowed per dog.
If you are Self-Isolating, showing any symptoms of Covid-19 or have been exposed please let me know and do not come to class, in this case, alternative arrangements will be made to continue your training via Zoom Classes.
Each student must bring hand sanitiser or similar and use this on arrival, when needed during the class and when leaving the venue.
We encourage the wearing of facemasks.
Owners should only touch their own dog.
Each student should bring the following to each class:
- Dog Bowl and sufficient water for their dog
- In hot weather something to provide shade for your dog.
- Hand sanitiser/ antibacterial wipes
- Poo bags
- A selection of dog toys. Including tuggy toys.
- A long line
- Plenty of treats of differing values.
- If any other equipment is needed for the class we will let you know.
Any equipment set up by the trainer (i.e. Rally Signs or Hoops, barrels etc) should not be touched by students or their dogs.

23/03/2020 – Update regarding the Announcement this evening

The government has just announced a 3-week Lockdown and as such we are unable to continue with our outdoor classes for the moment. We have contingency plans in place and our classes will now move to a virtual classroom on Zoom. This means that we can continue training and I will still be able to watch you practice and help you train your dog. The link to these classes will be sent to you via email. Please check to make sure that you have received the joining link by the morning of your usual class as the plan is to keep our classes at the same time as usual.

In the background, I am working on setting up online dog training courses to complement the live classes that we already teach. More information will be sent to you by email once all the arrangements have been made and these courses are ready for booking.

Take care and stay well,
Natasja

16/03/2020 – Update to our policies and our classes

I want to reassure all our clients that our outdoor classes are continuing as normal, until such time we are advised otherwise by the government.

We are taking all the necessary steps and precautions advised by the government with regards to social distancing and have decided to keep a minimum distance of 2 metres between dogs and handler teams. Our classes have now been limited to a maximum of 5 participants.

We are asking all our students to bring their own hand sanitizer and to wash/ sanitise their hands thoroughly after handling any toys, leads, dogs etc. During this period we will not provide any toys for you and your dog to use when at class. So please make sure you bring your own.

If any equipment is used during our classes we will disinfect it before and after use with an appropriate cleaning solution.

If we decide that any further precautions are necessary we will advise accordingly. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and are in the process of putting contingency plans in place, such as virtual classrooms and online consultations, to enable us to keep providing you with your regular dog training sessions in case the UK government deciding that a national lockdown is required.

Stay safe everyone!

Natasja Lewis DipCABT
Nightsabre Dog Training

12/03/2020 – Coronavirus and our classes.

Everyone should be aware by now that last night the W.H.O. (World Health Organisation) declared the Coronavirus outbreak a Pandemic. This means that the virus has spread worldwide.

The seriousness of this situation has made me carefully consider how Nightsabre Dog Training should respond to this current crisis. Having looked at the current government advice regarding the Covid-19 pandemic and the procedures and practices currently in place for our classes, we have made some changes to our procedures and practices that will help us minimise the risk of spreading the virus through our regular classes.

For those attending our regular classes our advice is as follows:

1. At all times attendees, whether clients of instructors, should follow up to date Government advice.
2. If you have recently returned from one of the main areas of risk as identified by the government and have any flue or cold symptoms you should not attend classes, unless you have followed NHS advice provided after calling 111.
3. If anyone feels that attending the classes will put them at risk because they are in an identifiable high risk group, they should not attend. Refunds are at our discretion and will depend on whether we can fill your place.
4. All those attending should observe current government guidelines on biosecurity.
5. Please bring your own hand gel/spray sanitisers where possible. The Sports Ground has installed gel sanitizers in the pavilion, should you need it.

WE WILL BE IMPLEMENTING THE FOLLOWING IN CLASS:

1. All our classes will be taught outside. In case of severe weather we reserve the right to cancel lessons, will will endeavour to give you as much notice as possible.
2. Sanitising ourselves in between interactions and being aware of how we interact and make contact with people and dog training equipment.
3. Instructors will only be in class if they are sure they are well and have not been in contact with any possible carriers.
4. Payment for classes will be via bank transfer or payment via our website.

I am sure that if we take care that we can continue with classes, unless otherwise ordered to stop by Government proclamation.

It is unlikely that gatherings as small as our classes will be stopped, except in extreme conditions, but if needs be we will transfer to one to ones and/or online training.

We feel sure that one to ones can continue as normal presuming all parties are happy with meeting and working together.

If you have any concerns or questions about this statement please let us know.