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Choosing a daycare
How to choose a dog daycare
The MSPCA publishes a long checklist for anyone leaving a pet in someone else's care, and most of it applies to daycare. This page turns that list into an order of work, answers each item for Dogtown, and marks the answers we give in person rather than in print.
Before you start
Before you start, write down what your dog needs from a day and what you need from drop-off
Start with your dog, not the daycare. Note its age, size and energy, how it greets a strange dog on a walk, and how long it stays happy in company before it looks for a quiet corner. A young retriever who wrestles for hours, a terrier who likes two friends and no more, and a ten-year-old who mostly wants to sniff are three different daycare customers. Add anything a handler must know on day one: a health condition, a medication, a fear of loud men or of one particular breed.
Then write down your own day. Drop-off windows decide more than people expect: at Dogtown they run 6:30 to 9:30 AM, 12 to 1 PM and 4 to 6:30 PM on weekdays, and 8 to 10 AM, 12 to 1 PM and 4 to 6 PM on Saturdays. If you commute from Rockport, Essex or Manchester-by-the-Sea, the Pup Van covers your town at $10 each way. Last, gather the records a careful daycare asks for, so no comparison stalls on a missing paper.
- Your dog's age, size, play style and how long it enjoys company
- Health notes, medications and anything that frightens it
- The drop-off windows you can actually make on a workday
- Rabies, DHPP and Bordetella records plus a current city dog license
The checklist, answered
The MSPCA's questions have specific answers, and a careful daycare gives them without hedging
The MSPCA's checklist was written for kennels and pet sitters, but its play questions are the heart of a daycare choice: how dogs are grouped for play, whether they are temperament-tested and sorted by size and age, and how many dogs each staff member watches. Its general questions cover the last inspection, whether violations were corrected, whether cameras exist and where they point, and who seeks medical care for a hurt dog. VCA Animal Hospitals adds a ceiling worth remembering: no more than 15 dogs per person.
The table shows how Dogtown answers each item and which answers we give face to face. Some are published, such as the group size of 7 to 10. Others depend on the group, the day and the season, so we answer them at the free evaluation, where you can watch a group yourself. Put the same questions to every daycare on your list, and treat a vague reply as the start of a follow-up rather than the end of the conversation.
| Question | What a specific answer sounds like | Dogtown |
|---|---|---|
| Are dogs temperament-tested before joining a group? | A named test and time in a group before the first booked day | Free evaluation: a temperament test, then a few supervised hours in a group |
| How are dogs grouped? | By size, play style and temperament, with small and large dogs apart | Groups of 7 to 10, matched by size and temperament |
| How many dogs does one person watch? | A number for the busiest hour; VCA's ceiling is 15 per person | Confirmed for your dog's group at the evaluation |
| When was the last inspection? | A date, the license, and what the inspector found | Ask us to show you, as you would any daycare |
| Who handles medical care after an injury? | Who examines the dog, which vet, how you are told | Walked through with you at the evaluation |
| Are there cameras, and what do they cover? | Which rooms, which hours, who is with the dogs | Report cards and photos in the app; ask us about cameras |
| Which vaccines are required? | A written list, checked against records | Rabies, DHPP and Bordetella, plus a city license |
The steps
Compare daycares in seven steps, from the first phone call to the evening after a trial day
Put every daycare through the same order and let each step remove names. A phone screen takes ten minutes and rules out places that cannot answer the checklist. The visit rules out places whose answers do not match what you see on the floor. The trial rules out the one that looks right on paper but sends your dog home flat or wired. By the end you are choosing between one or two, on evidence rather than on a website.
Licensing earns its own step because Massachusetts treats daycare as a kennel. State law defines a commercial boarding or training kennel to include day care, and outside Boston the city or town clerk issues the license. Ollie's Law, in effect since December 19, 2024, says a license must be denied until the kennel passes an inspection by an animal control officer, and the license must state the maximum number of animals. A daycare that will not share that number has answered a different question.
- 01
List the daycares you can reach inside their drop-off windows on an ordinary workday, and cross off any you would only make on a light-traffic morning.
- 02
Phone each one with the same four questions: how dogs are tested, how groups are formed, how many dogs one person watches, and what happens after an injury. Write the answers down word for word.
- 03
Ask which kennel license the town issued, the maximum number of animals it names and the date of the last inspection, and check with the town clerk if an answer sounds off.
- 04
Visit while dogs are playing. Stand where you can see one group for ten minutes and count the dogs and the people with them.
- 05
Look for the quiet places: where a tired dog rests, where the water bowls are, and where a dog goes when it wants out of a game.
- 06
Ask how you will hear about the day: report cards, photos, messages, and cameras if there are any, with the rooms they cover.
- 07
Book the evaluation or a trial day, then judge it at home that night and the next morning. Tired and normal is a pass; flat, sore or wired is a question to ask.
Mistakes we see
The usual mistakes are choosing on the day rate, the nearest door or a tidy lobby
Price per day is the easiest number to compare and the least useful on its own. A cheaper day in a crowded room costs more if your dog comes home sore, and a membership only saves money if your dog wants to go that often. At Dogtown a full day is $42 and a half day $33, and the 10-packs bring those to $38 and $29 a day. Compare prices only after the checklist answers are in.
The nearest door and the tidy lobby are the other two traps. A daycare five minutes away that mixes a Chihuahua with a Great Dane is not convenient for long, and a lobby is staged for visitors while the play floor is where the decision lives. The last mistake is skipping the trial because the visit went well. How your dog behaves that evening counts for more than your impression at the front desk.
- Comparing day rates before the checklist answers
- Choosing on drive time alone
- Judging the lobby instead of a playgroup
- Buying a package before a single trial day
When to call us
Call us first when your dog is new to groups, very young, older or on a tight schedule
Some dogs need a conversation before a booking. A puppy needs its vaccine series and a city license before the evaluation, so ask us about timing. A senior may suit half days and the quieter corners of the floor. A dog that stiffens around strange dogs may do better on Adventure Academy, our socialization path, before it joins a group. Call 978 491-5922 during opening hours and tell us which of these describes your dog.
When you are ready, book the free evaluation for a weekday between 6:30 and 9:30 AM at 210 Eastern Ave in Gloucester. Bring the records and the license, and send the new customer form ahead. The code FIRST15 knocks 15 percent off a new customer's first daycare visit. If another daycare is still on your list, compare us on the same questions; that is how we would want to be chosen.
At Dogtown
Daycare at Dogtown
Matched playgroups of 7 to 10, Academy days with a trainer, and the Pup Van from Rockport to Manchester-by-the-Sea.
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.
How many dogs should one staff member watch at a daycare?
Does Massachusetts license dog daycares?
Should I see a daycare in person before my dog's first day?
What should a daycare ask me before it accepts my dog?
How long should a trial last before I buy a daycare package?
More questions? Read the full FAQ
Sources
- MSPCA: questions to ask before boarding
- VCA Animal Hospitals: how to choose a doggy daycare
- Massachusetts General Laws c. 140 s. 136A (kennel definitions)
- Acts of 2024, Chapter 213 (Ollie's Law)
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
Bring the checklist and watch a group.
Book a free evaluation on a weekday between 6:30 and 9:30 AM, ask every question on this page, and see a playgroup for yourself before your dog's first day.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
