Moseley Woods in Newburyport with your dog: off leash all day

The city's facility listing for Moseley Woods says it in bold: dogs may be off leash from dawn to dusk, year-round, but not in the parking lot, playground, pavilion or picnic areas. The animal control department's table of designated areas gives the same hours and lists the playground, the pavilion and the picnic areas as exclusions. The listing names four areas in the park, the lawn, the pavilion, the playground and the trails, so the dog is clipped on near the cars, the play structures and anyone eating.

Year-round matters more than it sounds. Unlike March's Hill, where the leash goes back on whenever children are sledding, Moseley's rule has no seasonal pause, and unlike Cashman Park, which allows loose dogs only from 7:30 to 9 AM and 4 to 7 PM, it has no midday gap. That makes it the choice for a lunchtime run or a winter afternoon. Dawn and dusk set the edges, so a dark January evening is leashed time even if the clock says it is early.

Section 3-26(e) of the city code sets conditions for all three off-leash areas, and several matter most in a park this busy. Owners must remain with their dogs and monitor them, and must leash them whenever a police officer or the Animal Control Officer directs; refusing is a $50 violation like any other. Unattended dogs are not allowed. Biting, fighting and excessive barking are not allowed either, and an owner must muzzle a dog that shows dangerous or aggressive behavior.

The practical conditions are about numbers and mess. No owner may have more than two dogs off leash in the area at once, and each dog needs its own leash in the owner's hand or pocket. Owners must carry enough bags and use them, whether the dog is loose or not. Digging is banned and any hole must be filled in. The city says the off-leash areas are monitored daily for compliance, and questions go to the Newburyport Health Department at (978) 465-4410.

Moseley's conditions assume a dog that plays well with strangers' dogs and leaves people alone. Daycare at Dogtown works on the first half in a setting built for it: playgroups of 7 to 10 dogs matched by size and temperament and watched by our handlers, at $42 a full day or $33 a half day. For the second half, the recall, Dogtown Academy days at $89 add a training session with our trainer, using positive reinforcement. We do not take dogs to Moseley Woods; the park visits are yours.

Every new daycare or Academy dog begins with a free evaluation on a weekday morning between 6:30 and 9:30, bringing Rabies, DHPP and Bordetella records and a current license. Newburyport is outside the four Pup Van towns of Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea, so ask us about pick-up, or plan on the drive down Route 1A and Route 133 to Route 128. A first daycare visit booked with FIRST15 is 15 percent off.