Principles and Policies

Madog Dog Walks Group is a Voluntary and Community Group.

Organisation. The group has a structure with rules about how it is organised and run. This is detailed in its written Constitution.
Governance. The group is self-governing and independent from any other organisation. The group is overseen by a management committee drawn from its members.
Not for Profit. No one from within the group may profit from the group. Committee members are not be paid for their work and any profits generated will be reinvested in the group.
Voluntary. The group is governed by a voluntary management committee and relies on the support of volunteers to carry out its activities. The group has volunteer guidelines for how its volunteers should operate.
Public/community benefit. The group carries out activities which benefit a particular group of people within the community. This too is detailed in the written Constitution.
Sponsorship. The group may receive sponsorship (e.g.financial, promotional, or through donations in kind) to assist it in promoting or carrying out its activities.
Membership. The group is primarily a membership organisation dedicated to furthering the well-being and interests of its members and those of the wider community through engagement with its activities.



The group operates in accordance with the following principles and policies:

Walk Leading
  • The group expects its Volunteer Walk Leaders to demonstrate or evidence appropriate capability and diligence before leading walks independently. The group encourages new potential volunteer leaders to pair up with an experienced leader until sufficently experienced.
  • The group provides guidelines for Volunteer Walk Leaders,

Dealing with Dog Poo
  • The group requires that members and visitors on group dog-walks always demonstrate exemplary good practice in their management of dog poo.
  • Walkers are expected to deal responsibly and promptly with whatever traces their accompanying dog(s) may leave behind.
  • Walkers are therefore expected to bring with them on walks an adequate supply of biodegradable dog-poo bags to last the duration of the walk.
  • After bagging their dog's poo, walkers are expected to retain the poo-bag and contents for responsible disposal at the end of the walk or in a designated waste bin encountered on the walk. On no account should bagged dog-poo be flung, hidden or hung up for supposed later retrieval during the walk.
  • In appropriate areas, (e.g. forestry and other wild areas devoid of livestock), the group accepts that "flick with a stick" is an acceptable practice.
  • All, however, should be aware that dog-poo left in areas of grazed land puts livestock at risk from Sarcocystosis and Neosporosis, and so dog-poo bagging and removal from grazed land is considered to be the preferable practice.

Health and Safety
  • The group requires members and other walk participants to take primary responsibility for their own health and safety, and that of dogs in their charge.
  • Walk participants should ideally familiarise themselves with fundamental safety principles for hill-walking, such as those provided by the Ramblers Association
  • Walk participants should come suitably equipped for hill-walking, such as advised by the Ramblers Association
  • Participants (including participant's dogs) with medical conditions or fitness issues which may pose a significant risk should make this known to the walk leader before the start of the walk. 
  • The walk leader should have full discretion over their continued participation in the walk, and has similar discretion to revise a planned route to cater for such circumstances. Walkers and their dogs are reminded that they participate entirely at their own risk.
Equality of Opportunity
  • The group encourages participation (either as walkers or as walk leaders) by as wide a range of persons in the community as practicable.
  • The group will endeavour to tailor the scope of its walks programme to best facilitate the needs of its members. Feedback may be sent (in confidence if you wish) to the organising committee in person or by email to MadogDogWalksGroup@gmail.com
  • Children (under 16) are welcome to participate in the walks provided they are accompanied throughout by a responsible adult.
  • Walks details will be posted with sufficient details of distance, potential obstacles and level of difficulty wherever possible, in order that members can self-assess a walk's suitability for their own capabilities.
Privacy Policy
The group recognises its responsibility to respect the privacy of its members. Members are considered to be those who have registered via the MeetUp.com facility for Madog Dog Walks Group, and thus the Privacy aspects of our membership records are governed by the overarching  Privacy Policy of DownToMeet.com.
The group maintains records of attendance on walks and other group events, and on the use of its web platforms. The group only retains such records as are required to provide an effective user experience, to inform members of group events, changes and policy amendments, and to assure the Group's insurers of the diligence of our activities.
The group's Privacy Policy does not apply to the information which you may provide to third parties, such as members of Meetup, members of the Madog Dog Walks Group, and others with whom you may share information, e.g. through your posting of photos, comments and discussion on the Madog Dog Walks Group website, on DownToMeet.com, on the Madog Dog Walks Group Facebook page, or similar.
The group operates a reactive "takedown" policy, and will make best efforts to remove from visibility any materials reported to be of concern which are on website presences under its direct control.

Complaints
Complaints will be handled in confidence by the organising committee and should initially be addressed (by email) to MadogDogWalksGroup@gmail.com