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Fleas and ticks

Do you screen dogs for fleas and ticks at daycare?

The MSPCA's checklist for choosing a daycare or boarding facility asks it directly: are pets also screened for fleas and ticks? It is a good question for any building where dogs share floors. Here is how to get it answered for Dogtown, why fleas and ticks are different problems, and what keeps your own dog out of trouble in a Cape Ann tick season.

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Last reviewed October 9, 2026 · by the Dogtown team

The short version

We confirm the screening policy at the evaluation; the published list is vaccines and a license

Dogtown's published entry requirements are Rabies, DHPP and Bordetella vaccinations, a current city dog license and the free evaluation, which runs on weekdays between 6:30 and 9:30 AM. A flea and tick check at drop-off is not part of what this site publishes, and we will not describe a procedure here that the front desk has not confirmed in writing. That is a gap in the page, not a statement either way about what happens at the door.

So ask, and ask specifically. The useful questions are about what happens in practice: whether anyone looks over a coat at check-in, what happens if fleas turn up mid-day, whether proof of a preventive is wanted, and how you will be told. Ask at the evaluation, when you are already at the desk with your dog's paperwork, and the answer you get is the current one.

  • Is a coat checked at drop-off, and by whom?
  • What happens if fleas or an attached tick are found during the day?
  • Is proof of flea and tick prevention requested?
  • How and when would you tell me?

Two different pests

Fleas build up where dogs live and ticks ride in from the trail, so they need different habits

Cornell's canine health center explains that adult fleas live on animals while the eggs, larvae and pupae live in the environment, and that dogs generally get fleas after being somewhere with newly emerging adults. That is why one dog with fleas matters to everyone: the next generation drops off into bedding and floors. Cornell also lists tapeworms among the diseases fleas can carry, and small red bumps or flaking skin among the signs of flea allergy dermatitis.

Ticks work the other way round. The CDC notes that pets carry ticks from outside to inside, where the ticks may then bite people, and that signs of tickborne disease may not appear for 7 to 21 days or longer after a bite. On Cape Ann that means the risk usually comes home with you, from a morning in the woods at Dogtown Common or on the trails of Ravenswood Park in West Gloucester, which The Trustees open to dogs.

Before drop-off

A two-minute check the night before daycare is the screening you control

Whatever happens at the desk, the most reliable check is yours, done the evening before a daycare day and after every trail walk. The CDC's map of a dog is simple: in and around the ears, around the eyelids, under the collar, under the front legs, between the toes, between the back legs and around the tail. Use your fingertips, because a small tick is easier to feel than to see on a dark or long coat.

If you find a tick biting your dog, the CDC's advice is to remove it right away; our how-to on doing a tick check walks through the method. Then note the date, in case your dog seems unwell in the weeks after. If you find fleas or flea dirt, keep your dog home, call your vet about treatment for every pet in the house, and tell the front desk before you book the next day.

  1. 01

    After any trail or long-grass walk, run your fingertips over the CDC's checkpoints

  2. 02

    Part the coat in a few places and look for fleas or flea dirt

  3. 03

    Remove any attached tick right away and note the date

  4. 04

    Keep the preventive your vet recommends current, with the date on the calendar

  5. 05

    If you found fleas this week, stay home and tell the front desk before rebooking

Prevention

Prevention is your vet's call, and on Cape Ann it matters from April to November

The CDC says it is important to use a tick preventive product on your dog, and to talk to your veterinarian about which product is best for yours. Cornell recommends year-round, consistent flea prevention for all pets in the household, cats included. Lyme disease is the only tickborne illness dogs can be vaccinated against, according to the CDC, so the vaccine question is also one for your vet.

Dogtown's published requirements do not list a particular preventive or the Lyme vaccine, so the choice of product sits with you and your vet; ask the front desk at the evaluation whether proof of a preventive is wanted. Plan around the season: tick season here runs roughly April to November, which takes in every spring and fall walk at Dogtown Common and Ravenswood, so keep the preventive current through all of it.

  • Tick preventive: the CDC says to use one; your vet picks the product
  • Flea prevention: year-round for every pet in the house, per Cornell
  • Lyme vaccine: the only tickborne vaccine for dogs; a vet decision
  • Cape Ann tick season: roughly April to November

Your dog

Long coats, trail dogs and itchy dogs need the closest look

Some dogs hide parasites better than others. The CDC notes that ticks can be hard to spot, especially on breeds with long and dark fur, so a Bernese, a doodle or a black lab after a week of trail walks needs the fingertip check rather than a glance. A dog who keeps scratching, or has small red bumps or flaking skin, deserves a flea comb and a vet visit before it spends a day among other dogs.

Puppies are a separate conversation, because your vet chooses a preventive to suit a puppy's age and weight. Ask at the puppy's vaccination visits, since the vaccine series has to be complete before the evaluation anyway. And if your dog also visits the grooming studio, which needs no evaluation, mention anything you have found at home so the groomer knows before the bath starts.

At Dogtown

Daycare days and the grooming studio

Book daycare once your dog has passed the free evaluation; grooming books straight away with no evaluation.

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Asked and answered

Questions people ask about this

Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.

Does Dogtown require flea and tick prevention?
It is not on the requirements Dogtown publishes, which are Rabies, DHPP and Bordetella vaccinations, a current city license and the free evaluation. Ask the front desk at the evaluation whether proof of a preventive is wanted. Either way, the CDC advises a tick preventive for every dog, and your vet is the right person to choose the product and the schedule.
I found a tick on my dog after a daycare day. What should I do?
Remove it right away, as the CDC advises, and note the date. Your dog may have collected it anywhere that week, from a trail walk to the grass by your own door. Tell the front desk so they know, and watch for changes in energy or appetite over the next three weeks, since the CDC says signs can take 7 to 21 days.
Can dogs pass fleas to each other at daycare?
Cornell's guidance is that dogs generally pick up fleas from an environment with newly emerging adult fleas rather than straight from another dog, because eggs and larvae develop off the animal. That is still a reason to keep a dog with fleas at home until it is treated: the eggs it sheds are tomorrow's problem for every dog on the floor.
Does Dogtown require the Lyme vaccine?
The Lyme vaccine is not on Dogtown's published requirements. It is the only vaccine available to dogs against a tickborne disease, according to the CDC, and whether your dog needs it depends on where you walk and on your vet's advice. Cape Ann dogs who spend time on wooded trails between April and November are the ones to ask about first.
Will a bath at the grooming studio get rid of fleas?
Do not count on it. A bath is no substitute for the flea treatment your vet recommends, and Cornell's point that most of the flea life cycle happens off the dog means a clean coat can be reinfested from the house. Treat the fleas with the product your vet recommends, for every pet in the home, then book the groom. Tell the studio what you found when you book.

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

Dog daycare at DogtownWhat vaccinations does my dog need for daycare?How to do a tick checkTicks and Lyme on Cape Ann Answers All guides

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