Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 12, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains what information German Shepherd Haven (https://germanshepherdcll.club, the “Site”) collects, why it is collected, how it is used, and what rights you have over your data. The Site is an independent educational publication about German Shepherd care. It is funded by display advertising and by affiliate commissions, which is why this policy gives particular attention to advertising cookies.

1. Who is responsible for this Site

The Site is founded and edited by Sarah Thompson, who acts as the data controller for the personal information described here. You can reach the editor at any time through our contact page or by email at sarah.thompson@germanshepherdcll.club.

2. Information we collect

We keep data collection to the minimum required to operate the Site:

Information you send us. If you use the contact form or write to us by email, we receive the name, email address, and message content you provide. We use it only to answer you and to handle corrections or safety reports about our articles.
Technical and usage data. Like most websites, our hosting environment and our analytics tools automatically log standard technical information such as IP address, browser type and version, device type, referring page, pages visited, and the date and time of your visit.
Cookies and similar technologies. Small text files stored by your browser are used for essential site functions and for advertising and measurement purposes, as described below.

We do not operate public comment sections on our articles, and we do not sell or rent the email addresses of readers who contact us.

3. Cookies

Cookies used on this Site fall into three broad categories:

Essential cookies, which keep the Site working correctly (for example caching and security features provided by our hosting and WordPress stack);
Analytics cookies, which help us understand which articles are read and how the Site is used in aggregate;
Advertising cookies, which are set by our advertising partners to display and measure ads.

You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings at any time. Blocking some categories of cookies may affect how the Site displays or functions.

4. Advertising and Google AdSense

This Site displays advertising served through Google AdSense. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this and other websites. Google’s use of advertising cookies (including the DoubleClick DART cookie) enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visit to our Site and/or other sites on the Internet.

You may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings. You can also opt out of third-party vendor cookies for personalized advertising at www.aboutads.info. Where required by applicable law, including the EU/UK consent frameworks and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) as amended, you may also use the browser-level signals described in section 7 to object to personalized advertising.

5. Analytics

We measure aggregate traffic with Google Analytics 4, connected to the Site through the official Google Site Kit plugin. Analytics helps us understand which guides are useful, how long readers stay, and which topics deserve better coverage. The data is processed by Google on our behalf in aggregated form. If you wish, you can install Google’s official opt-out browser add-on to prevent Google Analytics from collecting data about your visits.

6. Affiliate links

The Site participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and uses Amazon affiliate links marked as sponsored. When you click an affiliate link, Amazon may set its own cookies to attribute the purchase. This is described in more detail in our Affiliate Disclosure. We never receive your payment details; commissions are paid by Amazon and do not change the price you pay.

7. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have some or all of the following rights over your personal information:

Access and portability — ask what personal data we hold about you and receive a copy;
Rectification — ask us to correct inaccurate data;
Erasure — ask us to delete personal data we hold about you, subject to legal retention duties;
Objection and restriction — object to or ask us to limit certain processing, including processing based on legitimate interests;
Withdraw consent — withdraw consent you previously gave for non-essential cookies at any time;
Non-discrimination and opt-out — under the CCPA/CPRA, opt out of the “sale” or “sharing” of personal information. Advertising cookies used for personalized ads may be considered a form of “sharing” under California law; you can opt out using the Google Ads Settings link above or the industry opt-out page, and California residents may email us to request suppression.

EU/UK residents also have the right to lodge a complaint with their national data protection authority. To exercise any right, email sarah.thompson@germanshepherdcll.club with the subject line “Privacy request”. We answer every privacy request and never require you to create an account to do so.

8. Data retention and security

Emails and contact-form messages are kept only as long as needed to handle your request and for our correction-tracking records, after which they are deleted. We rely on HTTPS encryption for all traffic and on the security features of our hosting provider. However, no method of transmission over the Internet is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Children’s privacy

The Site is intended for a general adult audience and is not directed to children under 13 (or under 16 in parts of the EEA). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

10. Third-party websites

Our articles link to external sites such as Amazon, breed organizations, and veterinary or government resources. Those websites have their own privacy policies, and we are not responsible for their practices. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of every site you visit.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in the Site or in applicable law. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page always shows the current version. Material changes will be summarized on this page.