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Fees and extras
Are there extra fees in board and train?
The fair way to answer a fee question is to show where every possible charge comes from. This page sorts them into two groups, prices the grooming and enrichment extras, works out how a small daily item grows over two weeks, and explains how pick-up timing is settled.
Two sources
Every extra comes from one of two places: a published menu or the terms you agree to
Here is the rule we would apply to any program, ours included. A charge outside the quote should trace back either to a menu with a printed price, such as grooming or the Pup Van, or to a written term you accepted, such as what happens when a pick-up runs late. If a line on a bill fits neither, ask about it before paying. Nothing else should be there, and a careful program will be glad you asked.
The menu side is fully public at Dogtown, and the rest of this page lists it. The terms side is not: deposit, cancellation, extension and early or late pick-up terms for board and train are confirmed when you book rather than printed here. That makes the day you receive the quote the right moment for fee questions, while every term can still be read at home, questioned and changed if something is unclear.
- Published menu: grooming, enrichment items, the Pup Van
- Written terms: late pick-up, changed dates, extra nights
- Free: the evaluation before the stay
- Fits neither: ask before paying
Grooming
Grooming is the extra most families add, priced by weight band with add-ons on top
Dogtown Grooming works inside the building at 210 Eastern Ave, so a bath or a full groom can be booked for the end of the stay, and it needs no evaluation. A bath runs $55 up to 25 pounds, $65 to 50, $75 to 90, $85 over 90 and $95 for an extra-large long coat. Full service, which adds a haircut, is $75, $85, $110 or $120 across the same bands. The groomer confirms the final figure at check-in after seeing the coat.
Add-ons explain most of the gap between two dogs of the same size. The table lists the ones that tend to come up after two weeks of play, pools and turf. Two deserve a word. Dematting is charged by time, $15 for each 20 minutes, so a coat that tangles easily costs more the longer it waits. And a dog that needs slower, more careful handling on the table carries a $20 surcharge for the extra time and hands.
| Grooming add-on | Price | When it tends to come up |
|---|---|---|
| Nail clipping | $16 | A routine trim alongside any bath |
| Shed Release | $10 | Double coats in a seasonal shed |
| Dematting | $15 per 20 minutes | Curly and drop coats after water and play |
| Sanitary trim or face trim | $10 each | Tidying between full grooms |
| Teeth brushing | $10 | Added to any bath |
| Behavior or handling surcharge | $20 | Dogs that need slower, careful handling |
| Cancellation fee | $10 | A grooming appointment canceled without notice |
Enrichment
Enrichment is part of both programs, but one paid item repeated daily adds up, so ask which items are charged
Both stays list enrichment, and the consult is where you learn which items your dog's plan uses and whether any carry their own charge. Dogtown's enrichment menu, bookable on overnight days, is a frozen Kong or a homemade pupsicle at $6, a puzzle game or the sniff room at $7, a lick mat at $5 and a supervised session on the dogPACER treadmill at $10.
Small prices grow across two weeks, so do the arithmetic before agreeing to anything daily. Worked example: if a plan added a lick mat every evening of a 14-day Advanced stay at the menu price, that would be 14 times $5, or $70, and a treadmill session every other day would be 7 times $10, another $70. Your dog's plan may include neither. The point is to ask item by item and see the answers written into the quote.
- Ask which enrichment items the plan uses
- Ask which of those carry a charge
- Multiply any daily item by the number of days
- See the answers written into the quote
Pick-up timing
Late pick-up terms are set at booking; the windows are published, so build slack around them
We do not publish what a late collection costs or whether it turns into an extra night, because those terms are confirmed in writing when you book. What is published is when the doors open for drop-off and pick-up: weekdays 6:30 to 9:30 AM, 12 to 1 PM and 4 to 6:30 PM; Saturdays 8 to 10 AM, 12 to 1 PM and 4 to 6 PM; and Sundays, for overnight guests only, 8 to 10 AM and 4 to 6 PM.
The cheapest late fee is one you never trigger. Book the go-home lesson early in a window, not in its last half hour, and give the front desk a local contact who can collect your dog if a flight or a nor'easter holds you up. Message through the Dogtown app the moment plans slip. In winter, check the National Weather Service forecast for Boston before a travel day, and ask at the consult whether a Sunday window can serve a board and train.
- 01
Ask how a late arrival is handled before paying anything
- 02
Book the lesson early in a window rather than at its end
- 03
Name a local contact who can collect your dog
- 04
Message the front desk in the app as soon as you are delayed
- 05
Check the winter forecast before travel days
At Dogtown
Where the published extras come from
Grooming, enrichment add-ons and the Pup Van each have a price list of their own, separate from the training quote.
Pick-up & drop-off
The Pup Van comes to you.
Pup Van pick-up and drop-off is available for $10 each way in the Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea area. Not in the area? Ask us for pricing.
- Rockport
- Gloucester
- Essex
- Manchester-by-the-Sea
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
Is there a fee for the evaluation or the assessment?
Does giving medication cost extra during a stay?
How much would dematting add for a doodle after two weeks?
Is a second coaching lesson extra?
Can I cancel the groom booked for pick-up day?
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
No surprises at pick-up.
Ask on the training form for the quote, the terms and a list of any optional extras you plan to add. The team replies within one hour on business days.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
