Long overnight stays
Extended dog boarding: stays of a week or more, with daycare days
A week in Europe, a month's work contract, a move where the new house is not ready: some absences are too long for a neighbor with a key. This page explains how Dogtown runs a stay of seven nights or more, what changes in the routine, and how to keep the cost and the dog's mood steady.
Who it fits
Long overnight stays are for absences a pet sitter cannot cover
Two-week vacations are the obvious case: the family flies out of Logan for Italy or the Caribbean and the dog has nowhere to be for fourteen nights. But the longer stays we see on Cape Ann are often not holidays. A parent in for surgery at Addison Gilbert or in Boston, a fishing season that keeps someone at sea, a house in Annisquam that is being gutted and is not safe for a dog.
There is also the in-between case: the family that is moving to Cape Ann and arrives before the house does. A dog can live with us for the gap between the closing and the moving truck, and come home when the boxes are in. Ask the front desk about a stay of that length before you book; long stays are agreed case by case.
An extended stay is a poor fit for a dog who has never been in a group and whose evaluation is still ahead, and for a dog who struggles on a single night away. Both are better served by building up in stages over a few weeks: the evaluation, then a daycare day or two, then a weekend, then the long stay.
- Two- or three-week trips abroad
- Hospital stays, work contracts and time at sea
- Dogs who have already done a shorter stay with us
The routine
How a long overnight stay keeps its shape week after week
The days do not change: drop-off in a regular window, a full day in the same matched group, a quiet night in the suite with 24/7 monitoring. What changes on a long stay is the pacing. Our handlers watch for the dog who is running itself flat by day five and give it a shorter session or a quiet room, and for the dog who has found its friends and needs no adjusting at all.
Meals come from the food you pre-portioned, so pack for every day plus a spare. Medications go to the front desk with your instructions; ask them how they want long courses labelled. The Deluxe bundle is built for stays like this: an orthopedic memory-foam bed instead of the standard one, a stuffed Kong or Toppl daily and a treadmill or enrichment session every day.
Grooming fits naturally into a long stay. A bath in the middle of week two, a nail trim at $16 while it is there, and a full groom the day before pick-up mean your dog comes home in better shape than it left, with the sand and pool water gone from its coat. The studio is on site and needs no evaluation.
- 01
Do the free evaluation on a weekday morning, then a daycare day or a weekend stay to test the routine
- 02
Confirm the length of the stay and the dates with the front desk
- 03
Pack pre-portioned meals for every day plus a spare, medications with instructions and one comfort item
- 04
Choose the Deluxe bundle for the memory-foam bed and daily enrichment, or add enrichment day by day
- 05
Read the report card each evening and message the front desk in the app if something looks off
- 06
Collect in a weekday window, a Saturday window or the Sunday 8 to 10 AM or 4 to 6 PM window
Price
$78 a night for every night, and where a bundle pays off
There is no separate long-stay tariff: each night is $78, so a seven-night week is seven times the nightly rate and a fourteen-night trip is fourteen. The Classic adds $10 a night for a daily pupsicle or puppy cup and 10 percent off grooming. The Deluxe adds $15 a night and is the one we suggest past a week, for the better bed and the daily enrichment as much as the 15 percent grooming discount.
Enrichment can be added on individual days instead: a frozen Kong at $6, a puzzle game at $7, a lick mat at $5, a treadmill session at $10 or the sniff room at $7. On a long stay the day-by-day route is worth pricing against the Deluxe, because a dog who gets one enrichment a day for two weeks has already spent most of the bundle difference.
| Item | Rate | Notes on a long stay |
|---|---|---|
| Suite | $78 a night | Every night, no long-stay tariff |
| Dogtown Classic | +$10 a night | Pupsicle or puppy cup daily, 10 percent off grooming |
| Dogtown Deluxe | +$15 a night | Memory-foam bed, daily Kong or Toppl, daily treadmill or enrichment, 15 percent off grooming |
| Single enrichment add-ons | $5 to $10 each | Book by the day instead of a bundle |
| Mid-stay bath | $55 to $95 by size | Full service $75 to $120 |
Why Dogtown
Why a long overnight stay here does not feel like a long wait
A long stay only works if the days are good. Ours are daycare days: a group of 7 to 10 dogs matched at the evaluation, a certified handler on the floor, and 10,000 square feet of turf, pools, platforms and indoor floors so a group can be moved when the weather turns. In a nor'easter week the outdoor yard closes and the indoor floors take over, and the dogs barely notice.
Nights are in a suite with 24/7 monitoring by people who have seen your dog every day of the stay, which is when small changes get noticed. The report card and the messages in the Dogtown app keep you in the loop from the other side of the Atlantic. Grooming, enrichment and the suites are all under one roof on Eastern Ave, so nothing about a long stay needs a second provider.
- The same matched group every day of the stay
- Handlers who see your dog daily and notice changes early
- Indoor floors for nor'easter weeks and August heat
Getting here
Drop-off, pick-up and the Pup Van for a long stay
Drop off in any regular window: weekdays 6:30 to 9:30 AM, 12 to 1 PM and 4 to 6:30 PM; Saturday 8 to 10 AM, 12 to 1 PM and 4 to 6 PM; Sunday, for overnight guests only, 8 to 10 AM and 4 to 6 PM. Pick-up uses the same windows, which matters at the end of a long trip when flights land late. If you will miss the last window, add a night rather than rush.
The Pup Van runs at $10 each way in Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea, and it is the sensible way to start a stay when you are leaving from Logan at dawn or coming back on a red-eye. Ask us for pricing outside those towns. Taking the train from Gloucester or Rockport station to the airport works too, but not with the dog, since the MBTA bars dogs at peak hours; let the van do the dog's leg.
At Dogtown
Everything a long stay draws on
Suites by night, daycare groups by day, grooming mid-stay and the Pup Van at either end.
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 maximum length for an overnight stay?
Does the nightly rate drop for a long stay?
How will I know how my dog is doing over two weeks?
What food and medication should I send for a week or more?
Can my dog get groomed during a long stay?
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
Plan the long stay with us.
Book a free evaluation for a weekday morning, try a weekend first, then reserve the full run of nights. $78 a night, with the Deluxe bundle at $15 more for stays past a week.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
