Learning Hub · Policies
Extreme Weather Policy
What does this policy do?
It puts your weather rule into words and places them in the Extreme Weather section of your Dog Walking Agreement. You set a heat temperature and a cold temperature, say whether storms and heavy snow cancel a walk, and choose what a client is promised when you cancel a walk for weather: a full refund, a rescheduled walk, or a credit. You can also allow a shortened walk instead of a cancellation, with a discount. Clients read the result on screen in the agreement they sign, in the PDF they download, and from Gaia when they ask about the weather on a booking. It is a promise in writing, not an automatic charge: the app never refunds, credits, discounts or cancels a walk by itself because of the weather.
How it works
Two wordings of one rule
The server turns what you save into one paragraph. That paragraph goes into the downloaded PDF, into Gaia's answers and into the revision your clients are told about. The agreement a client reads and signs on screen is built in their browser from the same saved values, in its own shorter sentences. The rule is the same; the words are not identical. The editor's own preview pane matches neither.
Heat threshold
A temperature in °C; the editor starts at 28. The PDF says that above it, walks may be shortened, rerouted to shaded areas or cancelled entirely for the safety of the dogs. The on-screen agreement says walks may be shortened, rerouted or cancelled at or above it.
Cold threshold
The editor starts at 0°C. The PDF says that below it, or in icy conditions, walks may be shortened or cancelled. The on-screen agreement says at or below it.
Storms and snow
Two switches, both on to begin with. With storms on, the PDF adds that during high winds, thunderstorms or severe weather warnings, walks will be cancelled; the on-screen agreement says severe storms or high winds will result in cancellation. With snow on, the PDF adds that during heavy snow or dangerously icy conditions, walks will not proceed; on screen, heavy snow or ice will result in cancellation. Switch one off and its sentence is left out of both.
Refund rule
What the client is promised when you cancel a walk for weather. Full refund: the PDF promises a full refund or the walk rescheduled at no additional cost; on screen, a full refund. Reschedule only: the PDF says the next available slot and no refunds for weather cancellations; on screen, a rescheduled walk (no refund). Account credit: a credit toward a future walk on the PDF; an account credit on screen. Full refund is the default. You still cancel the date and settle the money yourself; nothing in bookings, invoices or payments reads this rule.
Shortened walks
Switch on "Allow shortened walks instead of full cancellation" and the agreement adds that a walk shortened for weather gets your discount. It starts at 50%. 0% is saved as 0%, and the PDF, the revision and Gaia's full quote say a 0% discount will apply — a shortened walk charged in full. The on-screen agreement and Gaia's one-line summary treat 0 as unset and print 50%, so do not rely on 0% being read as you meant it. This too is wording: no booking price changes on its own.
Additional notes
Anything you type here is added to the end of the paragraph, word for word, in the PDF and on screen alike, so write it as a client will read it.
The closing sentence
The PDF, the revision and Gaia's quote always carry "The walker's decision on weather safety is final and made in the best interest of the dogs." It cannot be switched off; your notes come after it. The on-screen agreement does not have it — it closes with a line that the policy forms part of the agreement and is accepted by signing.
Saving and the Active switch
The Save button (Save & Activate the first time, Update after that, Save silently while Silent mode is on) always saves the policy active. The Active switch is the only way to save it off. Once the policy has been saved once, changing any field marks it Active on screen before you save; a policy that has never been saved does not flip until you press the button. While it is off, both the PDF and the on-screen agreement show a general sentence instead, and Gaia tells a client you have not written a hot-weather policy into the app.
Clients are told of a change
When an active save changes the server's wording, a revision is written on the Dog Walking Agreement and every client gets an in-app notification showing the start of the new wording. They can read each revision under the agreement in their Forms section. Nothing is written or sent when the wording is unchanged, when the policy is saved off, or when Silent mode is on — a silent save skips the revision as well as the notification.
Gaia and your website
A client who asks Gaia about the weather on a walk sees the forecast for their booked days, what a walker usually does on such a day, and your policy quoted word for word as the PDF prints it. Gaia points out a day whose top temperature reaches your heat threshold, and never says a walk is off — that stays your call. That weather card is a client's tool; you and your team get the policy through Gaia's briefing instead, as a one-line summary and, when asked about it, the full PDF wording. With Branding, your website's assistant quotes it to visitors only if "Website assistant may answer policy questions" is switched on under General.
Who has this card
It sits under Dog Walking, so it shows on Starter, Walker and Pro, and on Pet Sitter or Boarder once the Dog Walking add-on is on. A business that left Extreme Weather switched on in the setup wizard, or added walking later, may already have this policy filled in from the platform's setup template — the numbers in it are the template's until you change them.
Tips
Put your real numbers in. The agreement prints exactly what you save, so 28°C and 0°C are only right if they are your rule.
Switch Silent mode on for a typo or a tidy-up. Leave it off when the rule itself changes, so clients are told and the revision is on record.
Read the Extreme Weather section of a signed agreement on screen and its PDF side by side once: they say the same rule in different sentences, and both are built from the policy as it stands when opened or downloaded, not as it stood on the day of signing.
When weather does cancel or shorten a walk, record it on the date yourself and apply the refund, reschedule, credit or discount you promised. Nothing here moves money.
The temperature on a client's bookings screen and the weather saved on a walk record are the forecast and the record. Neither is checked against these thresholds; only Gaia's weather card compares the two.
The Retainer policy has its own weather tick — "Extreme weather conditions (when walks are cancelled by provider)" — and dated per-client waivers. Setting this policy does not change a retainer count.
If you have customised your Dog Walking Agreement and removed the {{dw_extreme_weather_policy}} placeholder, a change here writes no revision and tells nobody.
Learning Hub • Extreme Weather Policy