Privacy Policy for Smarter Paws Academy
Effective Date: 25 August 2025
Our Commitment to Your Privacy
Welcome to Smarter Paws Academy. My name is Sandie Calloway, and my goal is to provide trustworthy, effective dog training advice. Part of that trust is being transparent about how we collect, use, and protect your personal information when you use our website, https://smarterpawsacademy.com (the “Site”).
This Privacy Policy explains our practices in plain English to help you understand your rights.
Information We Collect
We collect information in a few different ways to operate our Site and provide you with the best possible experience.
When You Leave a Comment
When you leave a comment, we collect the data shown in the comments form, your IP address, and browser information to help with spam detection. An anonymized string from your email (a hash) may be sent to the Gravatar service to see if you have a profile picture. After your comment is approved, your picture is visible to the public next to your comment. You can view the Gravatar privacy policy here.
When You Subscribe to Our Newsletter
When you sign up for our free resources, like the Puppy Socialization Checklist, we collect your email address. We use this information to deliver the guide you requested and to send you occasional emails with positive-reinforcement training tips and articles. Our email marketing is managed by MailerLite, and you can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in any email.
When You Contact Us
If you contact us directly, we collect your name, email address, and message so we can respond to your inquiry.
How We Use Cookies and Analytics
Like most websites, we use cookies and similar technologies to improve your experience and understand how our Site is used.
Cookies
If you leave a comment, you may opt-in to saving your name and email in cookies for your convenience, so you don’t have to fill in your details again. These cookies last for one year.
Analytics and Performance Technologies
We are committed to making our website as helpful as possible. To do this, we use analytics services to understand how visitors interact with our content.
- Microsoft Clarity: We partner with Microsoft Clarity to capture how you use our website through behavioral metrics, heatmaps, and session replay. This helps us improve our content and services. This data is captured using first and third-party cookies. For more information about how Microsoft collects and uses your data, please visit the Microsoft Privacy Statement.
- QUIC.cloud: Our website uses the QUIC.cloud Content Delivery Network (CDN) to make the site faster. This service may use cookies to temporarily cache data and optimize content delivery. You can review their privacy policy here.
Who We Share Your Data With
We do not sell your personal data. We only share it with trusted third-party services that help us operate our website:
- Gravatar: To display your profile picture on comments.
- MailerLite: To manage our email subscriber list.
- QUIC.cloud: To cache our website and improve performance.
- Microsoft Clarity: To analyze website usage.
- Spam Detection Services: To protect our site from spam.
How Long We Retain Your Data
If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely so we can recognize and approve follow-up comments automatically. If you subscribe to our newsletter, we retain your email address until you unsubscribe.
Your Data Rights
You have rights concerning your personal information. You can request an export of the personal data we hold about you, or request that we erase your personal data. Please note that we may need to retain some information for administrative, legal, or security purposes.
Updates to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new policy on this page and updating the “Effective Date” at the top.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us by email at: support@smarterpawsacademy.com