Daycare plus groom
Grooming during a daycare day: one drop-off, home clean
Most of the grooming in our studio happens on daycare days, because it is the easiest way to do it. No second trip, no dog waiting in a car, no strange building. This page explains how the two fit together, how to book it, and what it costs.
Who uses it
Daycare regulars, commuters and dogs who hate a second car ride
The families who use this most are the ones already here two or three days a week: the goldendoodle who comes Monday and Thursday and gets a full groom every sixth Thursday, the lab who is bathed after a beach weekend on Tuesday, the husky whose spring Shed Release lands on a daycare day in April. It also suits commuters, who drop off at 6:30 AM before the train from Gloucester and collect a clean dog at 6 PM, and the dog who finds any new building stressful but knows this one.
It is not for a dog who has never been to Dogtown. Daycare requires the free evaluation first, on a weekday morning between 6:30 and 9:30 AM by appointment, so a first-time grooming customer who is not yet a daycare dog books a stand-alone groom instead. Once the evaluation is done, every future groom can ride on a daycare day, and most owners find they never book a separate grooming trip again.
- Dogs already on a daycare schedule of two or more days a week
- Commuters on the Rockport line who need a 6:30 AM drop-off and a 6 PM pick-up
- Dogs who are calm in the building but anxious at a new one
- Not for a first visit: daycare needs the free evaluation, grooming does not
How the day runs
Play first, groom after lunch, rest, then home
Your dog is dropped off at the morning window and joins its usual matched playgroup of 7 to 10 dogs on the turf or the indoor floors. Around midday, once the first play block is done, a handler walks the dog to the grooming studio inside the same building. The groom happens while the rest of the group settles for its own rest. Afterwards the dog goes to a quiet spot to stay clean, or back to a calmer group if the coat allows, and is collected at the 4 to 6:30 PM window.
Groomers schedule daycare grooms so that a freshly bathed dog is not sent straight back into the pool. If your dog is booked for a full groom with a long dry, we may keep it out of the afternoon group entirely and let it rest; if it is a quick nail trim or a teeth brushing, the dog is back with its friends in ten minutes. You see the groom noted on the report card in the app, alongside the usual note on who your dog played with.
- 01
Book the daycare day and add the groom or add-on in the same MoeGo booking or in the app
- 02
Morning drop-off inside the 6:30 to 9:30 AM window, or 8 to 10 AM on Saturdays
- 03
First playgroup block on the turf or indoor floors
- 04
Walk to the studio around midday for the bath, groom or add-on
- 05
Rest in a quiet spot, or a calm afternoon group for a dog with a quick add-on
- 06
Pick-up at the afternoon window with the groom noted on the report card
Price
The daycare day plus the groom, nothing extra for combining them
You pay the daycare day and the grooming service at their normal prices. A full day is $42 and a half day $33; a bath is $55 to $95 by size and a full-service groom $75 to $120. Add-ons are the same on a daycare day as on their own: nails $16, teeth $10, Shed Release $10, face trim $10, sanitary trim $10, de-matting $15 per 20 minutes. There is no combination fee and no discount for combining, but daycare packs and the membership do the saving.
The unlimited daycare membership at $700 a month includes 15 percent off grooming, which on a $110 doodle groom every six weeks adds up. Full-day and half-day packs bring the daycare side down: a full-day 10-pack is $380 and a half-day 10-pack is $290. Rebook the groom at pick-up and $5 comes off the next one. New daycare customers use FIRST15 for 15 percent off the first daycare visit; that discount is on the daycare, not the groom.
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Full daycare day | $42 |
| Half daycare day | $33 |
| Bath only, by size | $55 to $95 |
| Full-service groom, by size | $75 to $120 |
| Nail clipping / teeth brushing | $16 / $10 |
| Membership grooming discount | 15 percent off |
Why here
The studio is down the corridor, not across town
Dogtown's grooming studio is inside the 10,000 square foot building at 210 Eastern Ave, a short walk from the play floors. That is the whole advantage. A dog is handed from a handler it knows to a groomer it has met, in a place that smells familiar, and goes back to its group afterwards. There is no crate wait, no second car ride and no stranger's salon. Owners of anxious dogs tell us this is the only way their dog has ever been groomed calmly.
The handlers also act as your eyes. Because they see your dog several times a week, they notice the nails clicking, the mat forming behind the ear, the coat starting to blow in March, and they mention it at pick-up so you can add the groom to the next day. For a doodle or a Bernese that catches problems weeks earlier than a six-week appointment would.
- Handler-to-groomer hand-off inside one building
- No crate wait and no second trip on grooming day
- Handlers who flag nails, mats and coat blow between grooms
- A report card that shows the groom alongside the day's play
Getting here
One drop-off, the Pup Van and the commuter's schedule
Drop off at 6:30 to 9:30 AM on weekdays or 8 to 10 AM on Saturdays and collect at 4 to 6:30 PM or 4 to 6 PM respectively; the groom happens in between. For $10 each way the Pup Van picks up and returns in Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea, which turns a grooming-plus-daycare day into a day you never leave the house for. Outside those towns, ask the front desk for a van price.
The schedule is built for commuters. The MBTA bars dogs from the Rockport line during the 7 to 10 AM and 4 to 7 PM peaks, so a Boston commuter with a dog cannot use the train for a grooming errand anyway; a 6:30 AM drop-off before the train and a 6:15 PM pick-up after it brackets the whole day. After a beach weekend at Good Harbor or a muddy Saturday on Dogtown Common, book the bath onto Monday and start the week with a clean dog.
At Dogtown
The two services, and the van between them
The grooming studio, the daycare it sits inside, and the Pup Van that makes the whole day hands-free.
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.
Do I need to book the groom in advance or can I add it at drop-off?
Will my dog go back into the playgroup after the groom?
Does my dog need an evaluation for grooming during daycare?
Is grooming cheaper when combined with daycare?
Can I do this with a half day instead of a full day?
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
One drop-off, one clean dog.
Book the daycare day online or in the Dogtown app and add the bath, groom or add-on in the same booking. New to Dogtown? Start with the free evaluation on a weekday morning.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
