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Breed guide
Golden retrievers on Cape Ann: water dogs in a water town
Gloucester has water on three sides and a golden is a dog bred to be in it. The catch is that the beaches close to dogs for exactly the months a golden most wants to swim. This guide covers that calendar, the coat that comes home full of sand, and what our handlers and groomers do with a golden all year.
Energy
Everyone's friend at the pool: how a golden plays in a group of 7 to 10
A golden is the dog our handlers can put almost anywhere. It greets every dog as a future friend, carries a toy around in a soft mouth, and heads for the pool the moment it is filled. In a matched playgroup it is the connector, the dog who plays with the shy one, the old one and the puppy, and we usually place adult goldens with mid-to-large dogs who like a slow wrestle and a swim.
The golden who needs managing loves people more than dogs and has to be coaxed off the handler's knee into the game. A few adolescents turn the retrieve into a possession and need a trainer's help to share; Dogtown Academy days at $89 full or $69 half give that dog a trainer, a drop-it drill and a treadmill session. A senior golden with stiff hips does well on half days at $33 with the pool as the main event.
- A connector dog, placed with mid-to-large playmates who like a swim and a slow wrestle
- The people-focused golden gets coaxed into the group rather than left at the fence
- Possessive adolescents move to Academy days for a trainer and a drop-it drill
This coast
The beaches open for the cold months and close for the warm ones, so the pool does the summer
Gloucester's public beaches allow dogs from October 1 to April 30: Good Harbor on even-numbered days, and closed to dogs from April 1 when the piping plovers arrive, Wingaersheek on odd-numbered days, and Plum Cove and Cressy through the off-season. Leashed dogs can use Crane Beach in Ipswich between October 1 and March 31. A golden's ocean season runs from the first cold week of fall to the last cold week of spring, in water most owners would not enter.
From May to September the ocean is off the table and the turf yard pools become the golden's water. Our handlers fill them on warm mornings and the goldens are the first dogs in and the last to leave. It solves the summer for a water dog, with one job for the owner afterward: the feathering comes home wet and needs a proper dry, and a wet ear on a warm day is the one our team watches most closely.
| Where | When a golden can swim there | The rule to know |
|---|---|---|
| Good Harbor Beach, Gloucester | October 1 to March 31 | Even-numbered days only; closed to dogs from April 1 for plovers |
| Wingaersheek Beach, Gloucester | October 1 to April 30 | Odd-numbered days only |
| Plum Cove and Cressy, Gloucester | October 1 to April 30 | Off-season neighborhood beaches |
| Crane Beach, Ipswich | October 1 to March 31 | Leashed dogs, Trustees guidelines apply |
| Dogtown turf yard pools | Warm mornings, May to September | Filled by the handlers during playgroup |
The coat
Feathering, sand and two coat drops a year: what a golden's groom is for
A golden wears a water-resistant outer coat over a dense undercoat, with long feathering on the backs of the legs, the tail, the belly and the ears. The feathering is where the coast gets in: wet sand packs into it at the beach, salt dries into it in the car, and burrs from Dogtown Common ride in it. The undercoat sheds lightly all year and heavily twice, and a golden in April leaves a second dog's worth of hair on the floor.
A golden's groom is a bath and a de-shed rather than a haircut, and the coat is never shaved. A bath is $75 for a golden of 51 to 90 pounds, and Shed Release adds $10 to lift the loose undercoat. Full service at $110 buys a tidy: feet, ears, feathering evened and a sanitary trim. As a general rhythm, a bath every six to eight weeks with Shed Release on the spring and fall visits keeps ahead of the shed, and a slicker brush through the feathering after every beach walk does the rest.
- 01
October 1: Gloucester's beaches open to dogs and the ocean season begins; rinse the feathering after every swim
- 02
November to March: short cold-water swims, a towel before the car, a full dry of the ears and leg feathering at home
- 03
March to May: the spring shed; book the bath with Shed Release at $10 and brush the undercoat out daily
- 04
April 1: Good Harbor closes to dogs for the plovers, and on April 30 the rest of Gloucester's beaches follow
- 05
May to September: the turf yard pools replace the ocean, with an ear check after every pool day and a second Shed Release visit in the fall
Health notes
Ears, hot spots and hips: the three things our team reports at pick-up
The golden ear is a flap over a warm canal, and after a swim it stays moist for hours. Our handlers notice the golden that shakes its head walking out of the pool or scratches at one ear during rest, and we tell you the same day. Whether the ear needs drying, cleaning or a vet visit is your vet's call, and the American Kennel Club's advice for water dogs is to ask about a routine before a problem starts.
Hot spots come second: a raw, wet patch that appears overnight under feathering that stayed damp, usually under the ear or at the top of a back leg, and our groomers flag anything red. Third are the hips and elbows. A golden jumps into pools and off platforms with enthusiasm, so a stiff walk at pick-up in a dog under two or over eight is worth a mention to your vet, and we keep growing goldens off the tallest platforms.
- Head shaking or ear scratching after water: reported the same day, decided by your vet
- A wet, raw patch under feathering that stayed damp: flagged at the groom
- A stiff walk at pick-up in a young or an older golden: worth a vet conversation
- Tick checks in the feathering from April through November after any trail
Dogtown for this breed
Pool days, a bath before pick-up and a suite for the week you are away
The golden's ideal Dogtown day is simple: a full day at $42 in a matched group with the pool filled, then a bath and Shed Release in the studio before you collect a dry dog at the 4 to 6:30 PM window. Book the groom onto the daycare day. FIRST15 takes 15 percent off a new customer's first daycare visit, and the Pup Van collects in Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea for $10 each way.
For the week away, an overnight suite is $78 a night and the golden joins the same playgroups by day; the Dogtown Classic bundle at $10 more adds a daily homemade pupsicle and 10 percent off a groom. Every service except grooming begins with the free evaluation, weekdays 6:30 to 9:30 AM by appointment, with Rabies, DHPP and Bordetella records and a current city license from the City Clerk at 9 Dale Ave.
At Dogtown
A water dog's services
Playgroups with a pool, a studio that dries the feathering properly, and overnight suites where the same group is waiting in the morning.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
How often should a golden retriever be bathed on Cape Ann?
Should a golden retriever ever be shaved for summer?
Is a golden retriever a good fit for daycare?
Where can my golden swim in Gloucester in the summer?
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
Give your golden the pool all summer.
Book the free weekday evaluation, bring the vaccine records and the city license, and your golden's first pool day follows. Use FIRST15 for 15 percent off the first daycare visit.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
