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If your dog is unwell

What if my dog gets sick during board and train?

Nobody books a stay expecting a vet visit, which is exactly why the arrangements deserve ten minutes before drop-off. This page sets out how illness during a stay is normally handled, what we confirm with you, the local emergency options, and a one-page card that makes a hard phone call easier.

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A veterinarian in blue gloves holds a stethoscope to the chest of a tan dog on an exam table.

Last reviewed October 10, 2026 · by the Dogtown team · reviewed by Gabriella Pope, Director of Training & Canine Behaviorist

The short version

The vet protocol is agreed with you at the consult, so a bad day has a plan before it happens

We do not publish a single illness policy for board and train, because the right plan depends on your dog's health, your vet and how reachable you will be. At the consult, ask four things: who will call you, and how quickly; which practice would see your dog, your own or another; who can approve treatment if you cannot be reached; and how vet costs are handled. Have the answers written into the agreement with the dates.

Training stops being the priority the moment a dog is unwell. A dog that is off its food, coughing or unusually flat is not pushed through sessions, and the daily update tells you what changed. Gabriella Pope would rather pause a program than train a dog that feels poorly, and any change to the dates or the go-home lesson is settled with you.

  • Who calls you, and how quickly
  • Which practice sees your dog
  • Who approves treatment if you are unreachable
  • How vet costs are handled
  • What happens to the dates and the lesson

Coughs

A cough changes the plan for every dog nearby, which is why timing matters before and during a stay

Kennel cough is the illness owners ask about most. Merck's Veterinary Manual describes its characteristic goose-honk cough and says it should be suspected when that cough appears 5 to 10 days after exposure to other dogs. It usually eases over the first 5 days but can last 10 to 20, and Merck advises housing affected dogs separately from other dogs. Fever, a thick nasal discharge, dullness or a lost appetite point to something more serious, such as pneumonia.

That timeline cuts both ways. A dog exposed somewhere in the week before drop-off can start coughing during its stay, and a dog that meets an infection in any group of dogs may cough after it goes home. So a dog that coughs before the stay should stay home and see its vet, and the front desk needs to know. Bordetella, one of the three vaccines Dogtown requires, lowers the risk without removing it.

Local options

Know the local emergency options before you need them

The City of Gloucester publishes a page of local and emergency veterinary offices, split into everyday practices and emergency hospitals, and it is the best single list to start from on Cape Ann. Among the emergency options, Massachusetts Veterinary Referral Hospital at 20 Cabot Road in Woburn describes itself as a 24-hour emergency and specialty hospital; its number is (781) 932-5802. If your own vet has an after-hours arrangement, write that down too.

Poisoning is its own emergency. ASPCA Animal Poison Control answers at (888) 426-4435, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and notes that a consultation fee may apply. Ask at the consult which of these options the team would use for your dog and in what order, and add your own vet's preference to the agreement. If you live in Rockport, Essex or Manchester-by-the-Sea, name your usual practice as well.

  • Gloucester's list of local and emergency vet offices
  • Massachusetts Veterinary Referral Hospital in Woburn, open 24 hours
  • ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435
  • Your own vet's after-hours number

The sick-day card

Fill in a one-page sick-day card and hand it over with the food

Phone calls go wrong when the facts are scattered. Put everything on one page the evening before drop-off, copied from labels and your vet's records rather than from memory, and hand it to the front desk with the pre-portioned food and medications. Keep a photo of it on your phone, and send an update through the Dogtown app if anything changes during the stay.

Name a local contact who can collect your dog or make a decision if you are traveling, and decide on a spending limit you are comfortable with before anyone has to call you. Our food and medication page covers the instructions sheet for daily doses; this card is for the day something goes wrong. Our board and train page sets out the two programs this card travels with.

  1. 01

    Your name, two phone numbers and your travel dates

  2. 02

    Your vet's practice, phone number and after-hours number

  3. 03

    A local contact who can decide and collect your dog

  4. 04

    Any condition, allergy or past reaction to a drug

  5. 05

    Current medications with doses and times

  6. 06

    The amount you approve for treatment before you are called

At Dogtown

Care around the training

Board and train nights are spent in Dogtown's overnight suites with 24/7 monitoring, and the front desk is your line to the team throughout.

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Asked and answered

Questions people ask about this

Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.

Will you call me if my dog seems unwell?
How and when you are contacted is agreed at the consult, so ask for it in writing: who calls, at what point, and what happens if you do not answer. Meanwhile the daily update reports eating, rest and anything unusual. Give us two numbers and a local contact, so a decision never waits on a single phone.
Which vet would see my dog during the stay?
That is confirmed at the consult rather than published. Tell us your own vet and its after-hours arrangement, and ask which practice the team would use in an emergency. Gloucester's city list of local and emergency vet offices and the 24-hour hospital in Woburn are both worth having on your card.
Who pays if my dog needs a vet during board and train?
Costs are one of the terms confirmed when you book, so ask at the consult and have the answer written into the agreement. Ask who pays the practice, whether emergency care needs your approval first, and what spending limit you want to set. If your dog is insured, put the policy details on the card.
What if my dog is sick the week before the stay?
Keep a dog that is coughing, vomiting, feverish or off its food at home, call your vet and tell the front desk as soon as you can. How the dates move in that case is part of the terms confirmed at booking. A dog recovering from illness should not be starting a week of new places and other dogs.

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

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Next step

Plan the bad day in advance.

Send the training form and ask how illness, vet visits and contact are handled for your dog's stay. The training team answers within one hour on business days.

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