Privacy Policy

1. Who we are and what this Policy covers

Operator. The Site is operated by Royal Gun Dogs, a gun dog training business owned and run by Richard Gebhart. Richard trains retrievers and upland and pointing dogs, prepares dogs and handlers for AKC retriever hunt tests, and gives handler lessons. He has been training dogs since 2002. Richard trains at Hastings Island Hunting Preserve, 7758 Hastings Island Rd, Rio Vista, CA 94571, in Solano County, California. The preserve is a separate hunting club and is not a Royal Gun Dogs facility; this Policy does not cover the preserve's own practices.

Scope. This Policy applies to personal information we collect through the Site, including its forms, the "before you go" panel, our website chat assistant and the emails the Site sends and receives on our behalf, and to other communications that refer to this Policy.

What this Policy does not cover. This Policy does not govern the practices of third parties we do not control, such as Google, Facebook, Instagram, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the American Kennel Club, Hastings Island Hunting Preserve or other websites we link to, even if you reach them from the Site. Information you give us by telephone, by text message or in person at a lesson or training session is handled in the ordinary course of our business and is also covered by the sections of this Policy that describe how we use, share, keep and protect information.

How the Site works. The Site is built and managed for us by YelloPost, our web provider, and is hosted by a hosting provider on servers in the United States. The Site does not offer user accounts or logins, does not accept online payments and does not sell anything online. Booking is by phone: a form on the Site does not book training or create a contract. The Site's purpose is to provide information about Royal Gun Dogs and gun dog training, and to let you ask us a question or ask Richard to call you.

2. Definitions

In this Policy, the following terms have the meanings below.

• "Site" means royalgundogs.com, including the plain-text versions of its pages, its summary files for search and AI tools, and any other page that links to this Policy.
• "Personal information" means information that identifies, relates to, describes or can reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, to a particular individual or household, such as a name, telephone number, email address, description of your dog or the content of a message.
• "Request" means any contact form or "before you go" panel submission, any chat conversation in which you give your contact details, and any email or text message you send us, through which you ask us a question or ask us to contact you.
• "Service provider" means a company that processes personal information on our behalf to help us operate the Site and our business, and that is not permitted to use it for its own unrelated purposes.
• "Browser storage" means small pieces of information that the Site saves in your web browser using the browser's local storage or session storage features. It is similar in purpose to a cookie but is not sent to our servers with each page request.
• "Cookie" means a small text file placed in your browser by a website or by a third-party service loaded on a website.

3. Summary of our practices

This summary highlights key points. It is not a substitute for the full Policy, which controls.

• We collect the information you choose to send us when you ask a question or request a consult, plus limited technical information from your browser.
• We use it to answer you, schedule a call or consult, keep business records, protect the Site from spam and abuse, and understand how people use the Site.
• Messages you type into our website chat assistant are processed by an AI service provider to generate replies. The chat assistant is an automated program, not a person.
• The Site is built to support Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics. If we turn them on, they run unless you choose "Essential only" in our privacy choices card, which you can do at any time. We also honor Global Privacy Control signals automatically.
• Our forms are protected by Cloudflare Turnstile, a human-verification check that receives your IP address and browser information.
• We do not sell personal information, and we do not share it with other companies for their own marketing.
• We share information with service providers who help us run the Site and our business, and when the law requires it.
• Anyone may ask us to see, correct or delete the personal information we hold about them. California residents may have additional rights described in Section 17.

4. Information you provide to us

Most of the personal information we have comes directly from you. What we collect depends on how you contact us and what you choose to share.

Contact forms. Our forms (the quick consult form on the home page and the consult form at the bottom of most pages) ask for your name, telephone number, optional email address, your dog's breed and age, your training goal and a message. When you send a form, the Site also sends the address of the page you sent it from, so that we know what you were looking at. Please do not include sensitive information, such as payment card numbers, in a form.

Before-you-go panel. On desktop computers, some pages may show a short call-back panel inviting you to leave your details when your pointer leaves the top of the browser window. If you use it, it collects the information you enter, such as your name, a telephone number and what you would like to talk about. You can close it without providing anything.

Website chat assistant. When you use our website chat assistant, "Drake," we receive the content of the conversation, including anything you type. Section 6 describes the chat in detail.

Emails and texts. If you email or text us, we receive the contents of your message, your email address or phone number and anything you attach.

Calls and training sessions. If you call us or meet Richard for a consult, lesson or training session, we receive the information you choose to share, such as your name, your contact details, and information about your dog and your goals for it. The Site does not record or track telephone calls.

Information about other people. If you give us information about another person, such as a family member who will handle the dog, please make sure you have a right to do so and that the person is comfortable with it.

5. Information collected automatically

When you visit the Site, certain technical information is collected automatically, as it is on almost every website.

Server and hosting logs. Our hosting provider and the network services that deliver the Site may record your IP address, the date and time of your visit, the pages you request, the type of browser and device you use, the page that referred you and similar technical details. We use these logs to deliver the Site, keep it secure and diagnose problems.

Browser information. Your browser tells the Site things such as your language setting, screen size and whether your device prefers reduced motion or a particular color scheme, so that pages can display properly.

Camera, microphone and location. The Site does not use your camera, microphone or precise location. If a page shows an embedded map, the map provider may receive information as described in Section 10.

Information we do not collect automatically. The Site does not collect payment card information, does not use fingerprinting techniques to identify you across other websites, and does not require you to create an account.

6. Our website chat assistant

Drake is an automated AI assistant, not a person. It is built and run for us by YelloPost AI, and it answers general questions about Royal Gun Dogs, gun dog training and the information on the Site.

What happens to your messages. Messages you type into the chat are processed by YelloPost's AI service provider so that the assistant can generate replies. That provider handles the conversation on behalf of YelloPost and Royal Gun Dogs.

Contact details in chat. If you give a name and a telephone number or email address in the chat, those details, together with the relevant part of the conversation, are emailed to Royal Gun Dogs so that Richard can call you back.

Transcripts. A transcript of the chat is emailed to YelloPost, which builds and runs the assistant, for quality and support, for example to make sure replies are accurate and to fix problems.

Please do not enter sensitive information. Do not type payment card numbers, government identification numbers, passwords, health information or other sensitive details into the chat. The assistant cannot book training or confirm prices, dates or availability; Richard confirms those by phone.

Limits and abuse protection. To keep the chat available and prevent misuse, the Site may count how many messages come from a browser or network address in a short period. These counters are short-lived technical records.

Accuracy. Because replies are generated automatically, they may be incomplete or wrong. Please confirm anything important, such as training details or season dates, with Richard or with the official source.

7. Automated screening, spam and duplicate protection

To protect the Site and our inbox, we use automated screening on our forms.

Cloudflare Turnstile. Our forms use Cloudflare Turnstile, a human-verification check. Turnstile receives your IP address and certain browser information so that it can tell whether a visitor is a person or an automated program. It usually does this in the background without asking you to solve a puzzle. Cloudflare handles that information under its own policies.

Honeypot field. Our forms contain a hidden field that people do not see and automated programs often fill in. A submission that fills it in is treated as spam and is not delivered.

Duplicate and rate protection. The Site may keep a short-lived record that lets it recognize when the same Request is sent more than once in a short period, so that we do not receive repeat copies, and may limit how often a browser can send forms.

If these checks stop a genuine message from going through, please call or text (530) 341-4496 instead.

8. Browser storage and cookies we use

The Site uses a small amount of browser storage and may use cookies. We use them for the following purposes.

You can clear or block browser storage and cookies in your browser settings. If you do, some features, such as remembering your choices, may not work as expected, and you may be asked to choose again on your next visit.

• Remembering your privacy choice, so that the privacy choices card does not ask you again on every page.
• Remembering your accessibility menu settings, such as larger text or higher contrast, so that they stay in place as you move between pages.
• Remembering whether you have already seen or closed the "before you go" panel or the chat window, so that we do not show it to you repeatedly.
• Supporting security and spam protection, including cookies or similar technology set by Cloudflare Turnstile.
• Supporting the chat window, such as keeping your conversation together while you move between pages.
• If we turn on Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics, cookies and similar identifiers that those tools set to measure visits, as described in Section 9.

9. Analytics, measurement and your privacy choices

Analytics. The Site is built to support Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics, and we may use them. If we do, they would help us understand how many people visit the Site, which pages are popular, how visitors arrive and whether forms are used, so that we can improve the Site and our service. These tools may set cookies or similar identifiers and may receive your IP address, browser and device information and information about the pages you view.

Opt-out model. The Site uses an opt-out approach. Our privacy choices card lets you choose "Essential only," which turns off analytics. You can open the card again at any time from the "Privacy choices" button in the footer and change your selection.

Global Privacy Control. If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal, we honor it automatically as a request to opt out of analytics and any sharing described in Section 13, without any further action from you.

Do Not Track. Some browsers offer a "Do Not Track" setting. There is no common standard for responding to it. We do not respond to Do Not Track signals as such, but we do honor Global Privacy Control signals as described above.

Google's tools. Information collected by Google's tools is handled by Google under its own policies, and Google provides tools to manage its data collection, such as browser add-ons that turn off Google Analytics.

10. Third-party resources that receive your IP address

When your browser loads certain resources from third parties, those third parties receive your IP address and ordinary browser information, because that is how the internet works. They may also set cookies or similar identifiers under their own policies. Depending on the page, these include:

We do not control these third parties and they handle information under their own privacy policies. We encourage you to review them.

• Cloudflare, which delivers parts of the Site and provides the Turnstile spam check.
• Google, which may provide an embedded map, fonts or, if installed, analytics and tag management.
• The provider of the accessibility menu, ADAWebPro, whose widget is loaded on the Site.
• YelloPost and its AI service provider, which run the chat assistant.
• Image and video services, if a page embeds them.

11. How we use personal information

We use personal information for the following purposes.

We do not use personal information to make decisions with legal or similarly significant effects about you through automated processing.

• To respond to your questions and Requests, including by calling, texting or emailing you back.
• To discuss your dog and your goals, schedule a consult, lesson or training, and provide our services.
• To send you a confirmation email when you give an email address on a form.
• To operate, maintain, secure and improve the Site, including diagnosing problems and testing that forms and the chat assistant work properly.
• To protect the Site, our business and others from spam, fraud, abuse and security threats.
• To understand, in aggregate, how the Site is used, if analytics are turned on and you have not opted out.
• To keep business records, comply with legal obligations and respond to legal requests.
• To enforce our Terms of Use and protect our rights.

12. How we share personal information

We share personal information only as described below.

We do not sell personal information and do not share it with other companies for their own marketing.

• Within our business. Richard Gebhart receives the Requests, chat details and emails that come through the Site.
• Service providers. We use companies that help us operate the Site and our business, such as YelloPost (our web provider, which builds, hosts and supports the Site and receives copies of Request notifications), its AI service provider (which processes chat messages), our email and hosting providers, and Cloudflare (which delivers the Site and provides the spam check). They may use personal information only to provide their services to us.
• Analytics providers. If analytics are turned on, Google receives the technical information described in Section 9, subject to your choices.
• Legal and safety reasons. We may disclose information when we believe in good faith that the law requires it, such as in response to a subpoena or court order, or to protect the rights, property or safety of Royal Gun Dogs, our clients, visitors or others.
• Business changes. If Royal Gun Dogs is sold or its assets are transferred, personal information may be transferred to the new owner, who would be expected to handle it consistent with this Policy.
• With your direction. We share information with others when you ask us to or give your consent.

13. Sale of personal information and cross-context advertising

We do not sell personal information for money, and we have not done so in the past 12 months.

If analytics or measurement tools from Google are installed and you have not chosen "Essential only," those tools may allow Google to associate your visit and actions on the Site with information Google holds. Under California law, some of this activity could be treated as "sharing" personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. We describe it here so that you can decide. You can turn it off at any time by choosing "Essential only" through the "Privacy choices" button in the footer, and we treat that choice, and any Global Privacy Control signal, as your request to opt out of such sharing. You may also email or call us to opt out, as described in Section 17. Apart from these possible Google tools, we do not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.

14. Emails the Site sends

Notifications to us. Every Request sent through the Site's forms, and every chat in which you give your contact details, generates an email to Royal Gun Dogs containing the information described in Sections 4 and 6. If you gave an email address, the notification is set so that our reply comes to you.

Copies to our web provider. YelloPost receives copies of Request notifications and chat transcripts so that it can monitor whether Requests are delivered and handled promptly and whether the forms and chat work properly.

Confirmation to you. If you include an email address, you may receive an automatic confirmation email from Royal Gun Dogs. If you reply to it, your reply comes to us.

No marketing lists. We do not add you to a marketing email list because you sent a Request. If we ever send marketing email, it will include a way to unsubscribe.

15. How long we keep personal information

We keep personal information for as long as reasonably needed for the purposes described in this Policy, and then delete it or de-identify it. In deciding how long to keep information, we consider:

Request emails and chat details are kept in our email account and records under these criteria. Duplicate-protection records and chat rate counters are short-lived technical records. Server logs are kept for a limited period under our hosting provider's settings. Information in your browser storage stays in your browser until you clear it. Information collected by Google and Cloudflare is kept according to their retention settings and policies. Backup copies may persist for a limited time after deletion from active systems until they are overwritten in the normal course.

• Whether you became a client, and the time needed to answer later questions about your dog's training.
• Tax, accounting and other legal recordkeeping requirements.
• Whether the information is relevant to an actual or potential dispute, claim, audit or legal proceeding.
• The need to protect against spam, fraud and abuse.
• Whether you have asked us to delete the information and whether we are permitted or required to keep it.

16. How we protect personal information

We use reasonable administrative, technical and physical measures to protect personal information, including:

No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If we learn of a breach affecting your personal information, we will notify you and the authorities as the law requires. Please use care about what you send: do not include sensitive information in forms, emails or the chat.

• Encrypted (HTTPS) connections between your browser and the Site.
• Spam and abuse protection on forms and the chat.
• Limiting access to Requests to Richard and the service providers who need it to do their work.
• Keeping the Site's software and hosting current.

17. Your California privacy rights

We honor the requests below from California residents as a matter of good practice, whether or not a particular right applies to our business by law. Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CCPA/CPRA), California residents may ask us to:

How to make a request. Email royalgundogs@yahoo.com, call or text (530) 341-4496, or use the form on our contact page. Please tell us what you are asking for and how to reach you. We may need to verify your identity by matching information you give us to what we hold, and we will not ask for more than we need. An authorized agent may make a request for you with your written permission.

Timing. We aim to respond within 45 days. If we need more time, we will tell you why. If we decline a request in whole or in part, we will explain the reason and you may ask us to reconsider.

Categories collected. In the past 12 months we may have collected identifiers (name, email address, telephone number, IP address), information you provide about your dog and your goals, internet activity information (pages viewed, device and browser data) and the content of your communications with us. We collect these from you and from your browser, for the purposes in Section 11, and disclose them to the service providers in Section 12.

• Know what personal information we have collected about them, the sources, the purposes, and the categories of parties we disclose it to.
• Access the specific personal information we hold about them.
• Correct inaccurate personal information.
• Delete personal information, subject to legal exceptions.
• Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information. We do not sell personal information, and any sharing of the kind described in Section 13 can be turned off with "Essential only" or a Global Privacy Control signal.
• Limit the use of sensitive personal information. We do not collect sensitive personal information through the Site to infer characteristics about you.
• Not be treated unfairly for exercising these rights. We will not deny you service, charge a different price or give you a different quality of service because you exercised a privacy right.

18. California "Shine the Light" law

California Civil Code Section 1798.83 allows California residents to ask a business that shares personal information with third parties for their direct marketing purposes to disclose the categories shared and the recipients. We do not share personal information with third parties for their direct marketing purposes. If you have questions, contact us as described in Section 26.

19. California Online Privacy Protection Act disclosures

Under the California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA), we state the following.

• The categories of personal information we collect through the Site, and the kinds of third parties with whom we share it, are described in Sections 4 through 12.
• Visitors can review and request changes to their personal information by contacting us as described in Section 17.
• We notify visitors of changes to this Policy by posting the updated Policy on the Site with a new effective date, as described in Section 25.
• Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control: see Section 9. We honor Global Privacy Control signals automatically. We do not respond to Do Not Track signals as such.
• The Site does not allow other parties to collect personally identifiable information about your online activities over time and across other sites for their own purposes, other than the possible Google measurement tools described in Section 9, subject to your choices.

20. Children

The Site is intended for adults and is not directed to children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16 through the Site, and we do not sell or share the personal information of anyone under 16. A parent or guardian should be the one to submit a form or share contact details when arranging lessons for a young handler. If you believe a child has sent us personal information through the Site, please contact us and we will delete it. California law gives minors who are registered users of certain online services the right to request removal of content they posted; the Site has no user accounts or public posting features.

21. Your contact preferences

If you would prefer not to be contacted by phone, text or email, tell us when you contact us or later, and we will respect your wishes, except for messages needed to answer a Request you made or to handle an existing training arrangement. If you reply STOP to a text message, we will stop texting you.

22. Links, reviews and social media

The Site links to other websites and services, such as Google, Facebook, Instagram, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the American Kennel Club, and may show or link to reviews or photos posted on them. Those sites have their own privacy practices, and when you use them, including by posting a review or following our social media pages, your information is handled under their policies, not this one. We are not responsible for their content or practices.

23. Automated tools

The Site's summary and plain-text files are intended to help search engines and AI tools understand the Site. They contain only public information about Royal Gun Dogs. The Site's forms and chat assistant use automated processing as described in Sections 6 and 7. We do not use automated profiling to make decisions about you with legal or similarly significant effects.

24. Where your information is processed

The Site is hosted, and the information you send through it is processed, in the United States. If you visit from outside the United States, you understand that your information will be transferred to and handled in the United States, where privacy laws may differ from those where you live.

25. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time, for example when the Site, our practices or the law changes. When we do, we will post the updated Policy on this page and change the effective date at the top. If the changes are material, we will take reasonable steps to make them noticeable. Please review this page periodically. Your continued use of the Site after an update means you accept the updated Policy.

26. Contact

If you have questions about this Policy, want to make a privacy request, or want to opt out, contact us:

• Royal Gun Dogs, Richard Gebhart
• Phone or text: (530) 341-4496
• Email: royalgundogs@yahoo.com
• Website: royalgundogs.com, or use the form on our contact page