Roch Dog is the sole certification body for the Dog Friendly Standard. No hotel is certified to the standard except by Roch Dog, or by an assessor Roch Dog has licensed, following an assessment. Certification is never self-declared. A hotel that Roch Dog has not assessed and certified is not certified, however it describes itself.
The standard is published openly so that anyone may read it, cite it, and understand how hotels are assessed. Reading or adopting the standard confers no right to claim any association with it. Only Roch Dog places a hotel in relation to the standard, by assessing it and awarding a grade. There is no self-declared tier and no "we follow it ourselves" claim. Either Roch Dog has assessed and certified a hotel, or the hotel makes no claim about the standard at all.
What certification means
Certification confirms that Roch Dog assessed a hotel against the Dog Friendly Standard and awarded it a grade at the time of assessment. Assessment runs across 75+ criteria and data points, grouped under the standard's requirement areas. Hospitality is graded: every hotel Roch Dog assesses is awarded a grade from A+ to F that reflects how fully it meets the standard, and a hotel that misses any of the seven mandatory requirements is graded F. The grade is issued by Roch Dog on assessment, may be time-limited, and may be revised or withdrawn on reassessment. Certification records an assessment at a point in time. It is not a quality guarantee, nor a guarantee of access, experience, or suitability for any individual dog. A certified hotel is listed in the public Roch Dog directory, where dog owners find and compare certified hotels by grade.
Only Roch Dog places a hotel against the standard
There are two positions, and only Roch Dog can move a hotel between them.
| Situation | May use mark? | What the hotel may say |
|---|---|---|
| Assessed and certified by Roch Dog, certification current | Yes | "Roch Dog Certified", with the grade it was awarded (A+ to F), for as long as the certification is current |
| Not certified by Roch Dog | No | Factual statements about its own dog policy only, for example "dogs welcome, subject to our policy", with no reference to the Dog Friendly Standard, its name, its grades, or its marks |
A hotel may not describe itself as "built to", "designed to", "aligned with", "following", or "meeting" the Dog Friendly Standard, and may not display any grade, seal, or badge, unless Roch Dog has assessed and certified it and the certification is current. Intention is not certification.
The certification mark
The certification mark is closed. The right to describe a hotel as Roch Dog Certified, to state a grade, and to display the mark, seal, or badge, arises only from an assessment carried out by Roch Dog, or by an assessor Roch Dog has licensed, and only while the certification is current. The mark is a trademark of Ranked by Roch Ltd and Roch Dog Inc.
Confusingly similar signs
Any sign combining "Roch Dog" with "Friendly", "Standard", or "Certified", any self-styled grade or rating presented in the form of a Roch Dog grade, or any imitation of the Roch Dog badge, seal, or trade dress, is treated as confusingly similar to the certification mark and is prohibited.
Enforcement
- Certified is earned. The word "certified", the phrase "Roch Dog Certified", a stated grade, and the certification mark, seal, or badge are reserved to hotels Roch Dog has actually assessed and that hold a current certification. Self-declaration of certified status, or of a grade, is not permitted.
- No self-declared association. No hotel may reference the Dog Friendly Standard, its grades, or its marks to state or imply conformity without a current Roch Dog certification. "Built to", "designed to", "aligned with", "following", and "meeting" the standard, and any equivalent, are not permitted claims for a hotel that Roch Dog has not certified.
- No blurring. Nothing a hotel publishes may suggest Roch Dog assessment, endorsement, verification, or a grade that Roch Dog has not issued.
- Misuse is actionable, and permission is revocable. Using the mark, stating a grade, or claiming certified status without a current Roch Dog certification is a misuse of the Roch Dog marks, and Roch Dog acts on it. Roch Dog reserves the right to withdraw a certification, de-list the hotel, and record the withdrawal factually in the public directory.