Health requirements
What vaccinations does my dog need for daycare?
Any daycare on the North Shore will ask about shots before your dog walks onto the floor. This page lists exactly what Dogtown requires, why each one is on the list, how to get the paperwork right the first time, and what changes for a puppy or a senior.
The short version
Rabies, DHPP and Bordetella, plus the city license, checked once at the evaluation
The list is short on purpose. Rabies is what your town clerk asks to see before issuing a license, and every daycare we know of requires it too. DHPP is the combination shot your vet gives in the puppy series and boosts later; it covers distemper, adenovirus (hepatitis), parvovirus and parainfluenza, and an equivalent combination from your vet is fine. Bordetella covers the bacterium most often behind kennel cough, which travels fast wherever dogs share water bowls and play mouth to mouth.
The fourth item is not a vaccine but it lives on the same checklist: a current dog license from your city or town. Gloucester dogs get theirs from the City Clerk at 9 Dale Ave, and the clerk wants the rabies certificate before issuing it, so the two requirements pull in the same direction. Ask your vet to print or email the certificates before your evaluation morning.
| Requirement | What it is | What we need to see |
|---|---|---|
| Rabies | The rabies vaccine, given by a licensed vet | The certificate with the date given |
| DHPP | Distemper, adenovirus, parvovirus and parainfluenza combination, or an equivalent | The vaccine name and date on the vet record |
| Bordetella | The kennel cough vaccine | The date given on the vet record |
| City dog license | Issued by your town clerk, rabies certificate required | The current license or its receipt |
How it works at Dogtown
Get the certificates before the morning, and the check takes two minutes
Most vets on Cape Ann will email a vaccination summary the same day you ask, or you can download it from the practice portal. Read it before you send it. The three names should be visible with dates, and the dog's name should match the license. If your dog had DHPP under a different combination name, ask the vet to confirm it covers the same diseases; that note is enough for us.
Bring the records to the evaluation, which runs on weekdays between 6:30 and 9:30 AM by appointment, or send them ahead with the new customer form. The front desk keeps them on file and asks for the updated certificate when a booster comes due, so a dog on the unlimited membership never has to re-do the paperwork from scratch. Keep the rabies certificate itself somewhere findable: the City Clerk wants it at license renewal each spring too.
- 01
Ask your vet for a vaccination summary showing Rabies, DHPP and Bordetella with dates
- 02
Check the dog's name matches the name on the license
- 03
License the dog with your town clerk, which in Gloucester means 9 Dale Ave
- 04
Send the new customer form and attach or bring the records
- 05
Book the weekday-morning evaluation, and bring the originals just in case
Why these three
Group play is exactly the setting these vaccines were designed for
A playgroup of 7 to 10 dogs shares water stations, splash pools and turf for hours. Rabies protection is a legal baseline and a public-health one. Parvovirus and distemper are severe and spread through shared spaces and surfaces, which is why the DHPP series exists. Kennel cough spreads through the air and nose-to-nose contact in exactly the way dogs greet each other at a fence. The American Veterinary Medical Association explains each vaccine's purpose; your vet decides the timing.
Massachusetts is in the middle of writing statewide daycare and boarding regulations under Ollie's Law, signed in September 2024 and due from the Department of Agricultural Resources in 2026. At the time of writing, each facility sets its own vaccine list; check the MDAR page for what the regulations require once they are published. Vaccines do not cover ticks or Lyme, and tick season on Cape Ann runs roughly April to November, so ask your vet about prevention if your dog also walks Dogtown Common or Ravenswood.
- Not required at Dogtown but worth a vet conversation: leptospirosis, if your dog swims in ponds or the Essex marshes
- Tick prevention is separate from vaccines and matters from April to November here
- Boosters keep the record current; the front desk will ask when one lapses
What it means for your dog
Puppies wait for the last shot; adults and seniors just keep the record current
For a puppy, the series is the timeline. DHPP comes in rounds through the first months and rabies is given at an age your vet sets. Only then can the City Clerk license the puppy, and only then is the evaluation on. Until that day, Tiny Tails Puppy School for pups 8 to 16 weeks is the training-side way to start; ask the training team what a pup needs on file to join.
For an adult dog, the job is staying current. Rabies boosters run on one- or three-year products depending on what your vet uses, and DHPP and Bordetella intervals vary too, so we go by the dates your vet writes down rather than a fixed calendar of our own. Seniors follow the same rule. If your vet advises against a booster for a medical reason, bring that in writing and ask the front desk how to proceed.
- Puppies: the last rabies shot, then the license, then the evaluation
- Adults: boosters on your vet's schedule, updated certificates to the front desk
- Seniors: same list, and a written vet note if a booster is not advised
At Dogtown
Where the requirement applies
Daycare, Dogtown Academy, overnight stays and walks all go through the evaluation and the same vaccine check.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
Does my dog need a canine influenza vaccine for daycare?
How recent does the Bordetella vaccine have to be?
Can I bring my dog to the evaluation and send the records later?
Do the same vaccines apply to grooming?
What if my dog is overdue for a booster?
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
Records ready? Book the evaluation.
Rabies, DHPP, Bordetella and a city license, shown once at a free weekday-morning evaluation at 210 Eastern Ave in Gloucester.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
