How to book holiday boarding on Cape Ann

Write down the night you leave and the day you return, including the travel day itself, since many families drop off the morning they go and collect the morning after they land. Then write each vaccine's expiry date from your vet records. Note whether your dog is already a Dogtown regular or has never been evaluated, because that decides how early you need to start. Last, note whether you will need a groom before pick-up for a house full of guests.

Check the license too. In Gloucester, dog licenses are due by April 30 each year, with renewals online and new licenses by mail or drop box; if you adopted or moved this year, the dog may not have one yet. Dogtown needs a current city license on file alongside the vaccines. Rockport, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea license through their own town offices, so check yours early rather than the week before the trip.

We do not publish a booking cutoff, because the answer depends on the dates. What we can describe is the order in which our calendar fills. Thanksgiving week usually tightens first, since the Wednesday and the Sunday around it are heavy travel days. The run from Christmas to New Year follows, with the longest stays of the year. The February and April school vacation weeks, summer weekends, the July 3 fireworks in Gloucester and the Schooner Festival on Labor Day weekend fill early too.

Unlimited daycare members, at $700 a month, have priority on holiday overnight-stay reservations, which matters most when suites are close to full. For everyone else the rule is simple: ask early and get a confirmation for your exact nights. The published suite rate is $78 a night, with the Dogtown Classic at $10 more or the Deluxe at $15 more, and add-ons and the Pup Van at their published prices; confirm holiday dates and terms with the front desk.

If the holiday is a few weeks away and you have no confirmation, call 978 491-5922 rather than waiting for the online calendar. We will tell you what is open for your dates and, for a new dog, how quickly an evaluation can happen. Call as well if your dog takes medication, is a senior, has never stayed away from home or gets anxious with change, so the stay can be planned around it.

For noise-sensitive dogs, the AVMA's advice on fireworks is worth reading before New Year and July 3. A bath before pick-up, from $55 by size, sends your dog home clean for guests, and the Classic and Deluxe bundles take 10 or 15 percent off grooming booked onto the stay. Write the routine down once, send it with the booking, and the holiday itself becomes the easy part.