Daycare answers
Do you separate small and large dogs?
Small-dog owners ask this before anything else, and large-dog owners ask a version of it too: will my gentle giant be stuck with dogs who bounce off him all day? The answer to both is the same system. Groups are built by size first, then refined by how each dog actually plays, and the building is big enough to run them side by side.
The short version
Size is the first cut, temperament is the second, and both are made at the evaluation
Every group at Dogtown is 7 to 10 dogs, and the first thing that decides which group a dog joins is how big it is. Small dogs play with small dogs. Large dogs play with large dogs. That is not because big dogs are unkind; it is because a friendly 80-pound lab landing on a Yorkie is an injury regardless of intent, and because small dogs who spend their days ducking stop enjoying play altogether.
Within a size band, the second cut is temperament and play style. A bold, wrestling Jack Russell and a delicate, watchful Maltese are both small dogs, and they do not belong in the same circle any more than a Great Dane and a boxer do. Our handlers watch a temperament test and a few trial hours in a group at the free evaluation, and that is where the exact placement is made. Ask the front desk where your dog landed and why; they will tell you.
- Groups of 7 to 10, sorted by size before anything else
- Then by play style and temperament within the size band
- No fixed pound line; the band is set by how dogs match up
- Placement made at the free evaluation, revisited as dogs change
How it works at Dogtown
Separate groups run at the same time, in a building built for it
Dogtown is 10,000 square feet at 210 Eastern Ave: indoor play floors, an outdoor turf yard with pools and platforms, a sensory garden used on Academy days, a grooming studio and the overnight suites. That footprint is what makes separation practical rather than a promise. Small and large groups are not taking turns in one pen; they are in different spaces, each with its own handler, each with its own water and rest.
The turf yard with its pools and platforms is shared out between groups on the handlers' schedule, and the indoor floors take over for everyone in a nor'easter or on a humid August afternoon. Rest blocks are separate too. A small dog napping is not a small dog being stepped over. When the weather or the day's numbers mean a space is shared in sequence, the groups swap on the handlers' schedule, never at the gate together.
- 01
Free evaluation on a weekday between 6:30 and 9:30 AM, with vaccination records and city license
- 02
Temperament test with one handler, then the dog meets a trial group of its own size
- 03
Handlers watch play style: wrestler, chaser, watcher, floater
- 04
Placement into a group of 7 to 10 that fits both the body and the style
- 05
Separate spaces, separate rest, one handler per group through the day
- 06
Placement reviewed as the dog matures, gains confidence or slows down
The exceptions
A small dog who plays big and a big dog who plays small are placed by how they play
Size bands have edges, and the dogs at the edges are the interesting ones. A 30-pound cattle dog mix who plays hard belongs with medium dogs who play hard, not with the toy group because of a number on a scale. A 55-pound senior golden who wants to sniff the fence and lie in the shade may be happier in a calmer medium group than among young labs. These calls are made by the handlers who watched the dog, and they are made per dog.
What we do not do is put a genuinely small dog in a large group because it 'gets on fine with big dogs at home'. Home is one big dog the small dog knows. A group is seven or more strangers at speed. The reverse, a large dog in the small group, does not happen either, however gentle. Where a dog does not fit any current group well, our staff tailor the day; tell us in advance about anything unusual so the plan is ready when the dog arrives.
- Edge cases are placed by play style, with the handler's eyes on them
- A small dog never joins a large group on the strength of a housemate at home
- A large dog never joins a small group, however gentle
- Tell us in advance about anything unusual so the day is planned
What it means for your dog
Small dogs get to be brave, large dogs get to be boisterous, and seniors get quiet
For a small puppy, a same-size group is where confidence comes from. A twelve-week cockapoo who is chased by peers, not towered over, learns to start play rather than hide from it, and that carries onto the sidewalk in Rockport where every passing lab is suddenly less alarming. Start small puppies on half days at $33 and let the group stay consistent.
For a large adolescent, a same-size group is permission. Young shepherds, labs and doodles play with their whole bodies, and among dogs who can take it that is joy rather than a liability. Handlers still call breaks early, because arousal climbs fastest in big young dogs. Seniors of any size do best in the calmer group of their band, with a half day or a 4 PM collection, and enrichment such as a $7 sniff room session or a $5 lick mat instead of a second play block.
Beyond the yard
Cape Ann's own dog spaces make the same split, and it is worth using them the same way
The Gloucester Dog Park at Stage Fort Park, 65 Hough Ave, is a fenced two acres with separate small-dog and large-dog areas, and small-dog owners should use the small side even when the big side looks friendly. Singing Beach in Manchester-by-the-Sea allows licensed, vaccinated dogs from October 15 to April 14 with a two-dogs-per-person limit and a walk-on fee while staff are on duty, which keeps the numbers manageable for a small dog's first beach.
Trails are where size mixing is hardest to control. Ravenswood Park and Dogtown Common are dog friendly and loose dogs of every size appear round the next boulder. A small dog who has learned at daycare that big dogs are ordinary handles that meeting far better than one who only ever meets its own kind, which is the quiet argument for a same-size group: it builds confidence you can then spend anywhere. Rules change; check the town pages before you go.
At Dogtown
The right group, and something extra for the quiet ones
Small dogs and seniors often want one play block and one quiet job. Enrichment add-ons book onto any daycare day.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
Is there a weight limit that decides small or large?
Can my small dog play with big dogs if she does at home?
Are small and large groups in the same room at different times?
My large dog is gentle. Can he be with the small dogs?
How many dogs are in a small-dog group?
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
A group built to size, then to temperament.
Book the free evaluation on a weekday between 6:30 and 9:30 AM and our handlers will place your dog among dogs its own size who play the way it does.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
