Dogtown Academy
What does a Dogtown Academy day include?
Plenty of daycares say they do enrichment. The Academy is different because the day has a curriculum, and every block is led by a trainer. Here is what your dog does between the morning drop-off and the report card, and what each block is for.
The short version
Five blocks, one trainer, and a report card to carry home
Think of the Academy as a school day rather than a play day. Daycare dogs play, rest and play again in a matched group. Academy dogs do that too, but the play is broken up by a training session, an enrichment rotation, a fitness block and individual time with our trainer. Each block has a purpose, and the trainer sets the level for the dog in front of them, so an adolescent Lab and an older rescue can share a day and each gain from it.
The point of the structure is the switch. Dogs who only ever run learn to run harder. Dogs who move from a puzzle to the A-frame to a settle on a cot learn to turn on and turn off, which is the skill most Cape Ann owners want at Stage Fort Park on a Sunday or at home on a weekday evening.
- A training session with our trainer, every Academy day
- Enrichment: scent games, puzzle feeders and the sensory garden
- Fitness: supervised treadmill walks and the low A-frame
- Matched play with 7 to 10 dogs, one-on-one trainer time, a report card
How it works at Dogtown
The day runs as a rotation from the morning window to the afternoon one
Academy dogs arrive in the same weekday window as daycare dogs, 6:30 to 9:30 AM, and go home between 4 and 6:30 PM; half-day dogs use the 12 to 1 PM changeover at one end. The trainer moves each dog through the blocks with rest between them, and the order shifts with the weather: on a nor'easter day the yard is out, so the indoor floors, the treadmill and the puzzle work carry the day, and in October the sensory garden gets its longest slot.
Nothing here is a class with a whiteboard. A training block might be ten minutes of loose-leash work along the fence line, then a settle on a cot while another dog takes a turn. Fitness might be three careful passes over the A-frame for a first-timer, or a supervised treadmill walk for a dog who arrived wired. The trainer writes the report card from what they saw.
- 01
6:30 to 9:30 AM: drop-off and a warm-up in the playgroup
- 02
Training block with our trainer, at your dog's level
- 03
Enrichment: scent games, puzzles or the sensory garden
- 04
Midday: water, rest and the 12 to 1 PM changeover
- 05
Fitness: a supervised treadmill walk or the A-frame
- 06
One-on-one trainer time, then a second play block
- 07
4 to 6:30 PM: pick-up and the report card in the app
Block by block
What each rotation is for, and which parts you can add to a plain daycare day
The table below is the honest comparison. Several Academy blocks exist as add-ons on a daycare day: a puzzle game is $7, a supervised treadmill session is $10, the sniff room is $7. What you cannot buy onto a daycare day is the training session, the one-on-one trainer time or the sensory garden, and those three make the Academy an Academy.
A full daycare day is $42 and a full Academy day is $89; the half days are $33 and $69. Academy packs bring the price down: $320 for five half days, $610 for ten, $415 for five full days and $785 for ten. The gap buys a trainer's attention across the whole day. For a dog with a specific goal that is the better spend; for a dog who simply needs to run with friends, daycare is the right answer and we will say so.
| Block | What happens | On a daycare day |
|---|---|---|
| Training session | Cues and manners with our trainer, at your dog's level | Academy only |
| Enrichment | Scent games, puzzle feeders, the sensory garden | Puzzle game $7, sniff room $7 |
| Fitness | Supervised dogPACER treadmill walk, low agility, the A-frame | Treadmill session $10 |
| Play | Matched group of 7 to 10 dogs between rotations | Included |
| One-on-one time | Individual coaching from the trainer | Academy only |
| Report card | What your dog loved, found hard and should practice | Play notes and photos |
What it means for your dog
Puppies learn to switch off, adolescents get a job, seniors get a gentler version of both
For a puppy who has finished the vaccine series and passed the evaluation, the Academy is mostly about confidence and the settle. The A-frame stays low, the treadmill gives way to the garden and the puzzle work, and the training block is short. The card names the cue to practice at Good Harbor, where dogs are welcome on even-numbered days from October 1 until the plover closure on April 1.
Adolescents are the Academy's core crowd. The fitness block takes the edge off, the training block gives the brain a job, and the one-on-one time goes on whatever you flagged at drop-off. Seniors get the quiet version: shorter play, more sniffing, the treadmill only with your vet's go-ahead, and a card that watches for stiffness as closely as for skills.
- Puppies: half days at $69, a low A-frame, garden and puzzle work first
- Adolescents: the full rotation, with the fitness block doing the heavy lifting
- Seniors: sniffing and settle work; the treadmill only once your vet agrees
At Dogtown
The Academy and the daycare underneath it
Every Academy day sits on top of a normal Dogtown daycare day: the same matched groups, the same handlers, the same turf yard.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
Is the Academy a training class or a daycare day?
Can my dog mix Academy days and daycare days?
Does the Academy need its own evaluation?
What should I tell the trainer at drop-off?
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
See an Academy day in person.
Book the free evaluation for a weekday morning, and we will show you the garden, the A-frame and the treadmill while your dog meets the group.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
