- Home
- Board and train
- How many dogs are in board and train at once?
Capacity and dates
How many dogs are in board and train at once?
People ask about numbers for two reasons: attention for their own dog and a place on the calendar. This page explains what limits a board and train calendar, what Massachusetts does and does not set yet, and how to get a clear answer about your dates in a single exchange.
What sets the number
The number of dogs a program can take is set by trainer hours, not by empty suites
A suite is the easy part of a board and train. The harder part is the day: several short training blocks for each dog, rest between them so the learning can settle, a playgroup once the dog is ready, an update every day, and at the end one go-home lesson for Foundation or two for Advanced. Each of those takes a trainer's time, and a trainer's day does not stretch. That is why a program can have quiet suites and still be full for the week you want.
Two numbers often get mixed up. Dogtown publishes its playgroup size, 7 to 10 dogs matched by size and temperament, and a board and train dog joins one of those groups only when it is ready. The number of dogs in the training program at the same time is a different figure, and it shifts with the season and the mix of one- and two-week stays. We would rather give you the real figure for your dates than print one that is wrong by next month.
- Several short training blocks per dog, every day
- Rest between blocks, which also takes a place in the day
- An update for every dog, every day
- One or two go-home lessons at the end of each stay
The law
Massachusetts sets no number yet, but Ollie's Law lets MDAR regulate ratios and group sizes
Ollie's Law, in effect since December 19, 2024, added a section to chapter 140 of the General Laws telling MDAR to write rules for commercial boarding or training kennels. The topics it lists include provider and staff to animal ratios, group sizes and supervision, minimum housing and care requirements, injury reporting, and the education and training of kennel staff. It names topics rather than figures. The regulations were due in 2026 and had not been released as of the March 18, 2026 advisory committee minutes.
So when any program in the state answers a capacity question today, it is describing its own practice, not a legal minimum. The mass.gov Ollie's Law page carries the current status of the rules. Until they are final, judge a board and train on what it will tell you about your own dog's week: how many dogs its trainer will be working with, who runs the training blocks, and how the overnight suites are monitored.
A complete answer
A complete answer about capacity names the trainer, the number of dogs in training and the shape of the day
Ask at the consult how many dogs will be in the program during your dates, and how many of them the person training your dog will be working with. A useful answer is specific to the week rather than an average. It says who leads your dog's training blocks, roughly how the day divides between training, rest, enrichment and group time, and when the daily update arrives. It also says what changes if your dog is not ready to join a playgroup.
Use one simple rule. If an answer cannot name who trains your dog and roughly how many dogs share that person's day, ask again before you pay anything. A program that says a week is full is not giving you a bad sign; it is telling you it will not squeeze one more dog into the days you asked for. What matters is that it offers dates that work, and that the answer you get is the same one you would get in writing.
- Who leads your dog's training blocks
- How many dogs that person trains in the same week
- How the day splits between training, rest, enrichment and group time
- What changes if your dog is not ready for a playgroup
Checking your dates
To check open dates in one reply, put everything the team needs into the training form
Board and train is not booked online the way daycare or a groom is; it starts with the training form, because the plan and the quote come first. The quickest route to an answer about dates is a form that already holds the details the team would otherwise have to ask for, and the steps below list them. After the assessment, the free evaluation follows on a weekday morning between 6:30 and 9:30, and dates are confirmed once both are done.
Plan around your own calendar as well as ours. The go-home lesson needs you, in person, at 210 Eastern Ave in Gloucester, inside a pick-up window: weekdays 6:30 to 9:30 AM, 12 to 1 PM or 4 to 6:30 PM, and Saturdays 8 to 10 AM, 12 to 1 PM or 4 to 6 PM. On Sundays the building opens only for overnight-stay drop-off and pick-up, 8 to 10 AM and 4 to 6 PM, so ask before planning a Sunday start or finish.
- 01
Your dog's age, breed and what you want to change
- 02
The program you think fits: Foundation for one week, or Advanced for two
- 03
Your first-choice start date, plus the earliest and latest you could accept
- 04
The days you could attend the go-home lesson, or both Advanced lessons
- 05
Whether your dog has done the free evaluation, and when its vaccines expire
- 06
Any second dog you hope to send at the same time
At Dogtown
What fills a board and train calendar
Each stay uses trainer time from Dogtown's training programs and a suite from our overnight stays.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
Why don't you publish how many dogs are in board and train?
Does a busy week mean less training for my dog?
How many dogs are in the playgroups my dog may join?
What if the dates I want are full?
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
Ask which dates are open
Send the training form with your first-choice start and how far you can flex. 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
