Daycare answers
Can I drop off outside the drop-off windows?
The windows are the most-asked-about line in our hours. They are not there to make your morning harder. They are there so that during the rest of the day every handler is with a group rather than at the door, and so that arrivals and departures, the two moments when dogs are most excited, happen in short, managed bursts.
The short version
Three windows a day, and a phone call for anything outside them
On weekdays you can drop off or collect between 6:30 and 9:30 AM, between 12 and 1 PM, and between 4 and 6:30 PM. On Saturdays the windows are 8 to 10 AM, 12 to 1 PM and 4 to 6 PM. Sunday has no daycare; the 8 to 10 AM and 4 to 6 PM windows that day are for overnight-stay guests only. Those nine slots cover an early commute, a midday half-day swap and a full workday.
Outside a window there is no promise of a handover. Our written hours do not carry an exceptions rule, so we will not invent one here: if you need a time that falls between windows, call the front desk first and ask. Some days the answer may be yes, some days the group schedule will not allow it, and the honest thing is to check rather than to turn up at 10:15 with a dog who can see the yard.
- Weekdays: 6:30 to 9:30 AM, 12 to 1 PM, 4 to 6:30 PM
- Saturday: 8 to 10 AM, 12 to 1 PM, 4 to 6 PM
- Sunday: overnight-stay handovers only, 8 to 10 AM and 4 to 6 PM
- Between windows: call 978 491-5922 before you set out
Why the windows exist
The gaps are when the handlers are working, not resting
A playgroup of 7 to 10 dogs needs its handler watching it, not walking to the lobby every twenty minutes. Every arrival also changes a group: a new dog at the gate lifts the energy of the whole yard, and a dog leaving mid-play can set off the ones left behind. Bunching arrivals into windows means the group settles once, plays, rests, and is not restarted all morning.
The midday window does double duty. It is when morning half-day dogs go home and afternoon half-day dogs arrive, and it lines up with the rest period built into a full day, so the handover happens while the yard is quiet anyway. The late window runs to 6:30 PM on weekdays for a reason too: it is long enough for a Route 128 commute from Beverly or a Rockport line train that left North Station a little late.
How it works at Dogtown
Plan the window, not the minute, and use the van when the window will not bend
The three-hour morning window is generous on purpose. A nurse leaving Gloucester for a 7 AM shift can drop at 6:30. A parent doing the school run can drop at 9:15. Book the window you can keep rather than the earliest one, and if the plan changes, message the front desk in the Dogtown app so the group's handler knows who is still coming.
When your life simply does not fit a window, the Pup Van does. For $10 each way, our staff collect your dog from home in Rockport, Gloucester, Essex or Manchester-by-the-Sea and return it at the end of the day, and the van's own timing is built around the group schedule rather than yours. Outside those four towns, ask the front desk for pricing. If you live on Eastern Point or out past Lanesville, tell us; the van route is planned each day around the dogs booked on it.
- 01
Pick the window you can reliably make and book that one in the app
- 02
If the morning goes wrong, call 978 491-5922 before 9:30 AM and ask what is possible
- 03
For a recurring clash, add the Pup Van at $10 each way when you book the day
- 04
For an early pick-up, aim for the 12 to 1 PM window rather than mid-afternoon
- 05
For a late night, look at the overnight suite at $78 instead of a late collection
What it means for your dog
A dog who arrives inside the window walks into a group that is ready
Puppies do best arriving early in a window, when the handler has time to walk them in slowly and the group is forming rather than mid-sprint. A pup who lands at 9:25 into a yard already at full speed has a harder first ten minutes. If your puppy is on the half-day plan, the 12 to 1 PM swap is the calmest handover of the day.
Adult regulars barely notice the window; they know the routine and the lobby. For anxious or senior dogs, the timing matters again. An older dog collected at 6:20 PM after nine hours has had a long day; a 4 PM collection, or a half day, suits most seniors better. And a dog who is left waiting for a late owner is the dog most likely to pace, so choose the window you will actually hit.
- Puppies: early in the morning window, or the calm midday swap
- Adults: any window; message the app if plans move
- Seniors and anxious dogs: shorter days, earlier collections
- Everyone: the window you will keep beats the earliest one
Storms and closures
Nor'easters move the windows, and the app is where you hear about it
Cape Ann weather rearranges hours a few times each winter. When the National Weather Service in Boston posts a blizzard or coastal flood warning, we may open late, close early or shift a window, and Eastern Ave itself can be slow after a big tide. Check the Dogtown app and call 978 491-5922 before you leave the house on a storm morning, and expect the late window to be the first thing that changes.
The days after a storm are the busiest for arrivals, because every sidewalk in Gloucester is salt and ice and nobody's dog has run. If your dog is coming in the day after a nor'easter, book the night before and aim for the middle of the morning window rather than the very start, when the lot is still being cleared.
At Dogtown
The window, or the van
Daycare runs on set windows; the Pup Van is how you keep a daycare day when your own schedule cannot meet them.
Pick-up & drop-off
The Pup Van comes to you.
Pup Van pick-up and drop-off is available for $10 each way in the Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea area. Not in the area? Ask us for pricing.
- Rockport
- Gloucester
- Essex
- Manchester-by-the-Sea
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
What are the exact drop-off and pick-up windows?
What if I arrive at 10 AM on a weekday?
Can I pick up at 3 PM?
Does the Pup Van follow the windows?
Why are there no Sunday daycare drop-offs?
More questions? Read the full FAQ
Sources
Rules and dates change. We re-check every beach, licensing and ordinance page each spring and fall; the source above is the current word.
Keep reading
Next step
Pick a window that fits, or let the van do the driving.
Start with the free evaluation on a weekday between 6:30 and 9:30 AM. After that, book your daycare days and the Pup Van together in the Dogtown app.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
