Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Hermes Dog Training is owned and operated by Victoria Kinzer, providing in-home dog training in New Braunfels and San Antonio, Texas.

Privacy and data requests: hermesdogtraining@gmail.com or (512) 962-5372

2. What we collect

From the contact form on our website:

• Your name
• Your dog's name
• Email address
• Phone number
• What you tell us about your dog

From booking a consultation call, through Calendly: your name, email, and the time you select. Calendly collects this directly and we receive it from them.

From the client portal, once you become a client:

• Login credentials
• Your dog's training progress and session history
• Vaccination records you upload
• Messages you send Victoria through the portal

• Client portal (additions): details and photos of your dog(s) that you add; vet records you upload, including a vet's clearance after surgery or illness; your notification choices; and feedback you give on training videos.
• Agreements: your name, your signature, and the date and time you sign your training or camp agreement.
• Payments: payments are processed by Stripe. We never see or store your full card number. We receive your name, email, billing details, payment status and the last 4 digits of your card.
• Group class sign-ups: your name, email and phone; your dog's name, breed, age and weight; your answers to our safety screening questions (including any history of aggression or biting); your confirmation that your dog's vaccines are current; and your signed group class agreement (your typed name and the date and time you signed).
• The Foundations Course: the buyer's name and email, and for a gift, the recipient's name, email and your note.
• Event sign-ups (like Halloween at Woof Gang): your name, email, phone and your dog's name, so we can email you your dog's photo.
• Your email choice: whether you ticked the box asking for Hermes updates, and if you unsubscribe, your email address and the date, so we keep honoring it.

We don't store card numbers. Card payments are handled entirely by Stripe.

3. Vaccination and vet records

Vaccination records and vet clearance documents you upload are veterinary documents and usually contain your name, your address, and your veterinarian's details.

• They are stored in access-controlled storage, visible only to Hermes Dog Training staff and to you
• They are used solely to confirm your dog meets the requirements in our Terms of Use
• They are never sold, shared, or used for marketing
• They are retained for as long as you are a client, and for one year after your last session, after which they are deleted

4. How we use your information

• To respond to your inquiry
• To schedule and confirm sessions
• To deliver training, track progress, and recommend videos for your dog
• To verify vaccination requirements
• To contact you about your dog's training
• To send appointment, camp drop-off, family-day and pickup reminders (following your notification choices).
• To process payments and send receipts and signed agreements.
• To run group classes safely: your screening answers decide whether your dog can join, and are seen only by Hermes staff.
• To send Hermes updates, only if you asked for them (see Section 4A).
• To understand which of our posts, links and signs bring people to us (see Section 4C).

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for advertising.

4A. Marketing emails and unsubscribing

We send marketing emails (new classes, courses and Hermes news) only if you tick the box asking for them on one of our forms. Every marketing email has an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribing stops them. Ticking a box again on a later form does not undo an unsubscribe; if you want to hear from us again, just ask.

Emails about your sessions, bookings, payments, agreements and account are part of our service, not marketing, and still come after you unsubscribe.

4B. Photos, video and filming

• Group classes are filmed and photographed for Hermes marketing and for videos we publish, including videos that earn money (for example on YouTube). Agreeing to this is part of signing up for a group class; your class agreement has the details.
• At events like Halloween at Woof Gang, we photograph dogs only, not people. We email the photo to you, and we may share dog photos on our website and social media.
• You can ask us at any time to stop using photos or video of your dog in new posts.

4C. How you found us

When you arrive from a link, we note the link's tracking tags (such as utm_source), the name of the website that sent you, and the first page you visited. Your browser keeps this until you send one of our forms, book a call or check out, and then it is saved with what you sent. We use it only to learn which of our posts, links and signs work. It is not used for advertising and not shared with advertisers.

5. Where it is stored

Information is stored in a secure, access-controlled database and file storage service. Access is limited to Hermes Dog Training staff. Portal accounts are scoped so that each client can see only their own records.

6. Third-party services

These services operate on our site and may collect data or set cookies independently of us:

We do not control the data these services collect. You can manage cookies in your browser, though blocking them may affect scheduling and portal login.

6A. Affiliate links (future)

We may later link to products we use and recommend. Some of those links may be affiliate links, which means Hermes may earn a small commission if you buy, at no extra cost to you. We will label them where they appear. The seller's own privacy policy applies on their site.

7. Children

Our services are for adult dog owners. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 13.

8. Your choices

You may ask us to:

• Show you what we hold about you
• Correct anything inaccurate
• Delete your information, where you are no longer an active client and we have no legal reason to keep it
• Stop using photos or video of your dog in our marketing
• Stop sending you marketing emails (or use the unsubscribe link in any of them)

Contact us at hermesdogtraining@gmail.com or (512) 962-5372.

9. Security

We use access controls, encrypted connections, and per-client permissions. No system is perfectly secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. How long we keep things

Client records, training history, portal messages and vaccination records are kept for one year after your last session, then deleted. Payment and invoice records are held longer where tax law requires it, and live in our accounting records rather than the portal.

Signed agreements and payment records are kept as long as needed for legal, tax and accounting purposes. Group class sign-ups, including screening answers and the signed class agreement, are kept the same way.

If you unsubscribe, we keep your email address on our opt-out list so we keep honoring it.

11. Changes

We may update this policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects the most recent change.

12. Governing law

This policy is governed by the laws of the State of Texas.