Overnight stays
Can my dog board without going to daycare first?
Owners planning a first trip often ask whether they need weeks of daycare before an overnight stay. On Cape Ann the question usually arrives in June, when summer travel and St. Peter's Fiesta land in the same fortnight. Here is what is required, what is optional, and what we would do with a dog we had never met.
The short version
The evaluation is the requirement; daycare is the rehearsal
Every dog new to Dogtown passes through one door: the free evaluation. It is required before daycare, Dogtown Academy, overnight stays and at-home walks, whichever you book first. There is no separate rule that says a dog must log a number of daycare days before it can sleep over. If the evaluation goes well, the overnight calendar is open to you.
That said, the evaluation already contains a small daycare day. After the temperament test your dog spends a few supervised hours in a group, so by the time you collect them they have met handlers and smelled the turf yard. A dog who has done that once, and then comes back for a paid day, arrives for its first night already knowing the building.
- Required: the free evaluation, weekdays 6:30 to 9:30 AM, by appointment
- Required: Rabies, DHPP and Bordetella on file, plus a current city license
- Not required: a set number of daycare days before an overnight stay
- Recommended: one full daycare day at $42 between the evaluation and the first night
How it works at Dogtown
Book the evaluation, then the stay, with a daycare day if the calendar allows
Start with the new customer form on this site, then call or message to book the evaluation for a weekday morning. Bring proof of the three vaccinations and the city license. Gloucester issues licenses at the City Clerk's office at 9 Dale Ave, $20 for a spayed or neutered dog plus a one-dollar fee, and they count as late after April 30. Rockport, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea each issue licenses from their own town offices.
Once the evaluation is done you can book the overnight stay, online, in the Dogtown app or through the front desk. If the trip is more than a week off, slot in a full daycare day at $42 or a half day at $33. If you are leaving in three days, tell the front desk; the evaluation alone may be enough for a confident adult.
Drop-off for the stay follows the normal windows: 6:30 to 9:30 AM, 12 to 1 PM or 4 to 6:30 PM Monday to Friday, and 8 to 10 AM, 12 to 1 PM or 4 to 6 PM on a Saturday. On Sundays the building opens for overnight guests alone, 8 to 10 AM and again 4 to 6 PM. The Pup Van can do the driving for $10 each way in Gloucester, Rockport, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea.
What it means for your dog
Confident adults can skip the rehearsal; puppies and anxious dogs should not
A puppy who has just finished its vaccine series and has never been away overnight gains a lot from one daycare day first. The evaluation shows us how the puppy plays; a full day shows us how it naps, eats and copes with the mid-afternoon lull. Both make the first night gentler, and the report card from that day tells you what to expect.
A settled adult who has stayed at a friend's house, ridden the Rockport line off-peak and slept in a hotel room is a different case. For that dog the evaluation's supervised hours are usually enough, and adding daycare is about your peace of mind more than the dog's. We will tell you at the evaluation which kind of dog you have.
Rescues, dogs new to your home and dogs with any history of separation distress should not go from evaluation to a week-long stay in one step. Book two or three daycare days across two weeks, then a single night, then the trip. Our answer on handling separation anxiety during a stay explains what we do once they are here.
- Puppies: one full daycare day between the evaluation and the first night
- Confident adults: the evaluation's group hours are usually enough
- Rescues and anxious dogs: two or three daycare days, one trial night, then the trip
A realistic timeline
Two weeks is comfortable, three days is possible
Summer is the crunch. Rockport closes its beaches to dogs from June 1 to September 15, Good Harbor has been closed to dogs since April 1 for the piping plovers, and the same families who lose their beach walks are booking travel. Evaluation slots on weekday mornings fill, so the earlier you send the form, the more choice you have.
Here is the sequence we would follow with a dog we had never met, working back from a departure date. Compress it if you must, and drop the optional trial night if the calendar is tight, but the evaluation is the one step that cannot be skipped: without it there is no stay. Two weeks is comfortable; three days is possible for a confident adult.
- 01
Day one: send the new customer form and gather the vaccination records and license
- 02
Within a few days: the free evaluation, a weekday between 6:30 and 9:30 AM
- 03
The following week: one full daycare day at $42, dropped off in the morning window
- 04
Optional: a single trial night at $78 the weekend before a long trip
- 05
Departure day: drop-off inside a window with pre-portioned food and one comfort item
- 06
During the stay: watch the report cards and photos in the Dogtown app
At Dogtown
The two services that share one evaluation
One free evaluation opens daycare and overnight stays alike. Use daycare as the rehearsal, or go straight to the stay.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
Does the evaluation count as a daycare day?
Can I reserve the overnight dates before the evaluation is done?
My dog goes to a different daycare. Does that count?
How far ahead should I start if I am leaving for a long weekend?
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
One evaluation, then the calendar is yours.
Send the new customer form and book a weekday morning slot. If your trip is close, tell us the date and we will say what is realistic. FIRST15 takes 15 percent off the first daycare day.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
