First winter
Your dog's first winter on Cape Ann: coats, salt, snow days and boredom
Puppies born in spring and dogs that arrived over the summer meet their first nor'easter this year. This is the month-by-month version of what our front desk tells those families, from the coat question in November to the mud in March.
What changes
What changes: the days shorten, the sidewalks salt over, and a young dog's energy has nowhere to go
By December the evening walk happens in the dark, the morning one on frozen ground, and the long weekend hike is off because the trails are glazed. A young dog that ran itself tired on the beach in October is suddenly getting twenty minutes a day, and the surplus comes out as chewed shoes and a dog that cannot settle. Boredom, not cold, is the problem most first-winter households bring to us.
The cold itself is manageable if you read the dog. The AVMA's cold weather guidance is that tolerance varies by coat, size, age and health, that short-coated, small, elderly and very young dogs lose heat fastest, and that shivering, whining, slowing down or looking for shelter mean the walk is over. A husky and a whippet are having different winters on the same street.
- Boredom is the real first-winter problem: less daylight, iced trails, a dog with energy to spare
- The AVMA: short-coated, small, old and very young dogs chill fastest
- Shivering, whining, slowing or seeking shelter ends the walk
The plan
The plan, month by month: the coat in November, the salt routine in December, the treadmill in January, the beach in February
In November, decide about a coat by watching the dog on the first cold morning, and book a bath from $55 with the toe hair trimmed level with the pads so ice has nothing to grip. If the dog is new to us, do the free evaluation now, on a weekday between 6:30 and 9:30 AM, before the first storm. In December, set the door routine: a shallow tub of lukewarm water, a towel, and every paw wiped after a salted sidewalk.
January is the month for daycare. Two full days a week at $42, or the full-day 10-pack at $380, replace the walks the ice has taken, and a supervised treadmill session on the dogPACER at $10 can be added to any day. In February the beach comes into its own: Gloucester's sand is open to dogs until April 30, with Good Harbor on even-numbered days and Wingaersheek on odd, at low tide. March is mud, and a bath.
- 01
November: the coat decision made on the dog, a bath from $55 with toe hair trimmed, and the free evaluation if the dog is new
- 02
December: the door routine set, lukewarm tub and towel, every paw wiped after a salted walk
- 03
January: two daycare days a week at $42 or a 10-pack at $380, with a $10 treadmill session added on iced weeks
- 04
February: the beach on the right day, Good Harbor even and Wingaersheek odd, at low tide
- 05
March: mud season, a bath, and a note that ticks return in April
Cape Ann specifics
The Cape Ann specifics: the odd-and-even beach rule, salted downtown sidewalks, snow-day news in the app, and the van
The beach rule confuses every first-winter owner. At the time of writing Gloucester's public beaches take dogs from October 1 to April 30, but Good Harbor only on even-numbered days and Wingaersheek only on odd, and Good Harbor closes to dogs from April 1 for the piping plovers. Rockport's beaches are open to dogs outside the June 1 to September 15 ban. Check the date before you drive to the lot.
Main Street in Gloucester, Bearskin Neck and the station platform on the Rockport line are salted all winter; wipe paws after every walk there. On a snow day, any change to our hours or drop-off windows goes out through the Dogtown app and the front desk at 978 491-5922. The Pup Van runs for $10 each way in Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea when the roads allow; ask the front desk on the morning.
- Gloucester beaches: October 1 to April 30, Good Harbor even days, Wingaersheek odd, Good Harbor closed from April 1 for plovers
- Downtown Gloucester, Bearskin Neck and the station platform are salted; wipe paws after every walk there
- Snow-day hours come through the app and the front desk; the Pup Van runs when the roads allow
What not to do
What not to do: leave the dog out, skip the paw wipe, use the frozen pond, or let a bored dog stay bored
Do not leave a dog outside in a storm or for long in the cold; the AVMA's position is that pets belong indoors in severe weather. Do not skip the paw wipe; salt works in minutes. Do not let a dog onto Niles Pond or a Rockport quarry because the ice looks solid, and do not leave antifreeze where a dog can reach a puddle of it; the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center is the number if it does.
Do not let boredom run for weeks. A bored young dog in January becomes a destructive one by February, and the fix is cheap: a daycare day, a puzzle game at $7 or a frozen Kong at $6 added to it, and a shorter walk that actually happens rather than a long one that does not.
At Dogtown
The winter fixes: daycare, the treadmill and the bath
Turf and indoor floors when the trails ice, a supervised treadmill session for the surplus energy, and a bath that rinses the salt out.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
Does my dog need a coat for a Cape Ann winter?
Is Dogtown open on snow days?
How do I stop road salt hurting my dog's paws?
Which Cape Ann beach can my dog use in winter?
More questions? Read the full FAQ
Sources
- AVMA: cold weather animal safety
- Gloucester beaches: detailed information
- Rockport beach and park regulations
- ASPCA Animal Poison Control
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
A plan for the first winter.
Book the free evaluation for a weekday morning before the first storm, and the daycare days are there when the sidewalks ice over.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
