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Spring, first year

Your dog's first spring on Cape Ann

A dog that came home last summer or fall has met a Cape Ann winter but not the season after it. From mid-March to early June the ground thaws, the beach calendar contracts one closure at a time, the ticks wake up and the winter undercoat lets go. Here is what shifts, how to set up the first two weeks, and where our grooming studio and daycare fit.

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A golden retriever covered in mud lies in a puddle at the edge of a green field.

Last reviewed October 10, 2026 · by the Dogtown team

What changes

Spring changes four things at once: the clock, the beach calendar, the coat and the bugs

Spring arrives on Cape Ann as a run of dates rather than a single warm day. The clocks go forward on the second Sunday of March, which puts the early walk back in the dark for a few weeks. Then the closures start: at the time of writing Good Harbor shuts to dogs on April 1, Wingaersheek, Plum Cove and Cressy's on May 1, and Rockport's beaches on June 1, through September 15. Each one removes a stretch of sand your dog has been running on all winter.

Underneath the dates, the dog itself changes. VCA's coat-care guidance says double-coated dogs such as huskies, malamutes, shepherds and many retrievers go through two heavy sheds a year, one in late spring and one in late fall, while short single coats shed lightly all year. Blacklegged ticks wake up in the same weeks; the CDC places them in leaf litter, brush and tall grass, which describes most trail edges at Ravenswood and Dogtown Common. A puppy born last year meets all of it as a gangly adolescent.

  • Clocks forward on the second Sunday of March: the early walk is dark again
  • Closures at the time of writing: Good Harbor April 1; Wingaersheek, Plum Cove and Cressy's May 1; Rockport June 1
  • Double coats shed heavily in late spring, per VCA
  • Ticks back in the leaf litter and trail-edge brush from April

The yard

The spring yard brings fertilizer, cocoa mulch, compost and bulbs down to nose height

The first warm weekend sends everyone into the garden, and a young dog follows. The ASPCA's compost and fertilizer guidance lists what to watch. Fertilizer can cause severe vomiting and diarrhea, and in some dogs neurologic signs such as hind-limb weakness, wobbly walking and tremors; some blends also carry insecticides, so read the bag. Cocoa mulch, made from cocoa bean hulls, can cause the same stomach, heart and nervous system effects as chocolate itself.

Compost is the other draw. The ASPCA warns against putting grape, onion and garlic waste where a pet can reach it, and bulbs dug up by a curious puppy can upset and badly irritate a dog's stomach. Store fertilizer bags off the floor, keep the dog off a lawn on the day it is treated and follow the label after that, choose bark rather than cocoa mulch where the dog walks, and put a lid or a fence on the compost. If the dog gets into something, call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435, which may charge a fee.

  • Fertilizer: vomiting, diarrhea and sometimes tremors, per the ASPCA
  • Cocoa mulch acts on a dog the way chocolate does
  • Compost with grape, onion or garlic waste behind a lid or a fence
  • ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435; a fee may apply

The first two weeks

The first two weeks, from mid-March: closing dates in your phone, a tick plan, the license and the coat appointment

Most spring trouble is cheap to prevent with a fortnight of setup in the middle of March, before the plover closure and the coat blow land in the same few weeks. The order matters. The dates come first because they decide where the dog runs in April. The tick conversation with your vet comes next, since the trail walks pick up again as the ground dries, and the coat appointment comes last, timed to the first soft tufts of undercoat on the brush.

The license belongs in the same fortnight. Gloucester dog licenses come from the City Clerk at 9 Dale Ave and are due by April 30, with a current rabies certificate; renewals can be done online, and new licenses go in by mail or the drop box. Fees have changed recently, so check the city's licensing page for the current figure rather than last year's. We ask for a current city license at the evaluation, so one errand covers both.

  1. 01

    Days 1 and 2: put the closing dates in your phone: Good Harbor's last even-numbered date is March 30, Wingaersheek's last odd one is April 29, and Rockport closes June 1

  2. 02

    Days 2 to 4: ask your vet about a tick preventive before April, and start a fingertip check at the car after every trail walk

  3. 03

    Days 4 to 6: renew or apply for the Gloucester license, rabies certificate in hand, well ahead of April 30

  4. 04

    Days 6 to 9: sweep the yard, shed and garage for fertilizer, cocoa mulch, open compost and loose bulbs

  5. 05

    Days 9 to 12: brush daily once the undercoat starts to lift, and book a bath with Shed Release for the first heavy week

  6. 06

    Days 12 to 14: if the dog is new to us, book the free evaluation so a daycare day is ready for the first closed-beach week

Where Dogtown fits

A bath with Shed Release fits the coat blow, a daycare day fits the closed beach, and some dogs need neither

The coat blow is the spring job our grooming studio sees most. A bath is priced by size: $55 up to 25 pounds, $65 from 26 to 50, $75 from 51 to 90, $85 over 90 and $95 for an extra-large long-haired dog, with a warm bath, blow-dry and brush-out. Shed Release adds a de-shedding treatment and brush-out for $10. Book before loose undercoat felts into mats, because dematting is charged at $15 per 20 minutes. Our de-shedding treatment page explains the add-on in detail.

Daycare fits the weeks when the sand closes and the trails are under water. A day at 210 Eastern Ave is spent on turf and indoor play floors in a matched group of 7 to 10, at $42 for a full day or $33 for a half, and the Pup Van collects from Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea for $10 each way. New dogs complete the free evaluation first. What does not fit: a smooth-coated dog shedding lightly all year gains little from Shed Release, and a dog with a full spring of walks with you may not need a daycare day at all.

  • Bath from $55 by size, plus $10 for Shed Release
  • Dematting at $15 per 20 minutes once the undercoat has matted
  • Daycare $42 full or $33 half, after the free evaluation
  • Smooth single coats rarely need Shed Release

At Dogtown

Spring services for the coat and the closed beach

Grooming books online with no evaluation; daycare, Academy and overnight stays start with the free evaluation on a weekday morning.

Groomer blow-drying a red goldendoodle in front of the Dogtown Grooming sign Dog GroomingFrom $55 · Explore Husky standing on the turf play yard at Dogtown, looking at the camera Dog DaycareFrom $33 · Explore

Every price on one page

Asked and answered

Questions people ask about this

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

When does my dog lose the beach in spring on Cape Ann?
In stages. At the time of writing Gloucester closes Good Harbor to dogs on April 1 for the nesting piping plovers, then Wingaersheek, Plum Cove and Cressy's on May 1, and Rockport's beaches close on June 1, all until fall. Singing Beach in Manchester-by-the-Sea takes dogs only through April 14. Check each town's page before you drive, because the posted sign outranks any website.
When does a double-coated dog shed in spring?
VCA places the two heavy sheds of a double-coated dog in late spring and late fall, so on Cape Ann the spring one tends to overlap the May and June beach closures. You will see soft tufts on the brush and the floor. Brush daily through it, and book a bath with the $10 Shed Release add-on in the first heavy week; grooming needs no evaluation.
Is cocoa mulch dangerous for dogs?
It can be. The ASPCA says cocoa mulch, made from the hulls of cocoa beans, can cause the same toxic effects as chocolate, affecting the stomach, the heart and the nervous system. Choose another mulch anywhere your dog walks or digs, and if your dog eats some, call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435, which may charge a fee.
Does my dog need tick prevention from April?
That is a decision for you and your vet, and early spring is the time to make it. The CDC describes blacklegged tick habitat as leaf litter, brush and tall grass, which covers most Cape Ann trail edges, and the ticks are out once the ground thaws. Whatever product your vet picks, keep the fingertip check after every trail walk; no preventive replaces it.
Can I book a spring de-shed without the evaluation?
Yes. Grooming is the one Dogtown service that needs no evaluation, so you can book a bath with Shed Release online, in the Dogtown app or by phone at 978 491-5922. If your dog already comes to daycare, add the groom to a daycare day and it goes home clean, brushed out and tired.

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

De-shedding treatment and Shed ReleaseYour dog's first fall on Cape AnnYour dog's first summer on Cape AnnYour dog's first winter on Cape Ann Guides

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