Daycare answers
Can two dogs from one home attend daycare together?
Two-dog households are common on Cape Ann, and the question behind the question is usually 'will you keep them together?' The honest answer is that we will keep them together when it is good for both of them, and separate them for the play part of the day when it is not. This page explains how we decide, what it costs, and how to book a pair without doubling your admin.
The short version
Two dogs, two evaluations, two placements, one drop-off
Bringing two dogs from the same house is routine for us. What we do not do is treat them as one unit. Each dog completes the free evaluation, a temperament test and a few supervised hours in a group, on a weekday morning between 6:30 and 9:30 AM, and each is placed according to what its own body and temperament tell us. A 70-pound lab and a 12-pound terrier who share a couch at home will usually not share a playgroup at Dogtown, because groups are matched by size as well as temperament.
Everything around the play is shared. One car, or one Pup Van stop at $10 each way in Rockport, Gloucester, Essex or Manchester-by-the-Sea. One drop-off window, one pick-up, one report card conversation. Two dogs in the same family also mean two sets of paperwork, and both need Rabies, DHPP and Bordetella on file plus a current city license each; Gloucester licenses are per dog, $20 plus a $1 fee for a spayed or neutered animal.
- Each dog does its own free evaluation, though both can be booked the same morning
- Placement is per dog: same group only if size and temperament both fit
- One drop-off, one pick-up, one van stop for the pair
- Two licenses, two vaccination records, two bookings
How it works at Dogtown
We watch the pair together, then apart, before we decide
On evaluation morning our handlers look at two things a single dog never shows. First, what each dog is like without the other in the room. A confident dog at home is sometimes a nervous one on its own, and a quiet dog sometimes only looks quiet because its housemate does the talking. Second, what the pair does in a group: whether they play with the other dogs or only with each other, and whether one guards or polices the other.
The decision follows from that. Two dogs of similar size who play with the group and ignore each other for stretches usually stay together. A pair where one shadows the other, or where the bigger dog steps in whenever the smaller one is approached, does better in separate groups, and both dogs are visibly lighter for it by the second week. We will tell you which we saw and why, and the placement can change as the dogs do.
- 01
Book both evaluations for the same weekday morning between 6:30 and 9:30 AM
- 02
Bring both dogs' vaccination records and both city licenses
- 03
Each dog does a temperament test on its own
- 04
The pair joins a trial group together while handlers watch how they split their attention
- 05
Each dog is placed in the group that fits it; same group or separate
- 06
Both dogs are booked for the same days in the Dogtown app, with one van stop if you use it
Together or apart
Separate groups are not a demotion; for many pairs they are the point
Owners sometimes hear 'different groups' as a failure. It is usually the opposite. A younger dog who has spent its whole life deferring to an older housemate discovers, in its own group, that it can start play, decline play and win a tug. An older dog freed from refereeing a puppy gets to sniff, float in the pool and nap. Both come home with something the shared couch never gave them.
The pairs who genuinely belong together are the ones matched by size and energy who treat each other as one more dog in the yard rather than as a team. Bonded seniors who fret when apart are the other case, and for them we keep the pair in one group where the match allows and use the rest blocks and a quiet corner to let them settle side by side. If a dog is distressed apart from its housemate, say so at the evaluation; our staff tailor the day when a dog has particular needs, and knowing in advance is what makes that possible.
- Similar size and energy, playing with the group: together
- One dog shadowing or policing the other: apart for play
- Bonded seniors who fret: together where the match allows, with quiet rest
- Any placement can change; tell us what you see at home
Cost and booking
Each dog is priced on its own, and packs are the way to save
A full day is $42 per dog and a half day $33, so two dogs on a full day is $84. There is no sibling discount in our published pricing, and we will not pretend otherwise; if that ever changes it will appear on the pricing page first. The savings that do exist are the packs: a full-day 10-pack is $380, or $38 a day, and a half-day 10-pack is $290. Buy one per dog, or ask the front desk whether a pack can be shared between two dogs on one account.
For a household where both dogs come three or more days a week, run the numbers on the unlimited daycare membership at $700 a month per dog, which also carries 15 percent off grooming and priority for holiday overnight-stay reservations. New customers can use FIRST15 for 15 percent off a first daycare visit; ask the front desk how the code applies when two dogs start on the same day.
| Two dogs, one day | Per dog | For the pair |
|---|---|---|
| Full day | $42 | $84 |
| Half day | $33 | $66 |
| Full day from a 10-pack | $38 | $76 |
| Half day from a 10-pack | $29 | $58 |
| Pup Van, one stop, each way | $10 | ask the front desk |
What it means for your dogs
A puppy and an older dog from one home almost always need different days
The classic Cape Ann pair is a settled adult and a new puppy. They should not attend the same way. The puppy needs half days at $33 and, once vaccinated and licensed, a small young group where it learns manners from dogs its own size. The adult can do full days, or the Academy at $89 if it has habits to fix. Booking the puppy for the morning half and collecting both at the 12 to 1 PM window is a pattern many families settle into.
Two adults of similar age are the easy case, and two seniors the gentlest: half days, the midday or 4 PM collection, and a word to the front desk if either has joints that dislike the pool ramp. Whatever the pair, watch them at home after a daycare day. If the dog who was quieter is now playing more and the dog who was bossier is now sleeping more, the placements are right.
At Dogtown
The pair by day, and when you travel
The same two placements carry over to overnight stays, where housemates can share a suite at night and rejoin their own groups by day.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
Do both dogs need their own evaluation?
Will my two dogs be in the same playgroup?
Is there a discount for a second dog?
Can both dogs ride the Pup Van?
Can they share a suite for an overnight stay?
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
Bring them both to the evaluation.
Book two free evaluations for one weekday morning between 6:30 and 9:30 AM, bring both licenses and both vaccination records, and we will find each dog its group.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
