Notes from training
Graduation week: a Tiny Tails class finishes (with the families' permission)
Four to eight weeks after a room full of tiny, squeaking puppies walks in for the first Tiny Tails session, the same room is quieter. Nobody is named here; the families decide what gets shared. This is what the last week of a block looks like.
The last class
The final session is the first session, done calmly
Tiny Tails is built around life skills, confidence, socialization and enrichment for pups between 8 and 16 weeks, and heading off the common puppy problems before they set. The last class runs the same stations as the first: a greeting at the door, a settle on a mat, a loose-leash pass, a handling exercise for paws and ears.
The difference is what the puppies do with them. The pup who hid behind a chair in week one walks up to the trainer for a treat. The one who mouthed every hand offers a sit instead. Our trainer runs each station once, quietly, and the families watch what a few weeks of consistent, force-free work looks like.
- Greeting at the door without the bolt
- A settle on a mat while another pup walks past
- Paws and ears handled for a treat, not a wrestle
Permissions
Photos and stories leave the room only with each family's permission
Graduation week produces the best photos of the year, and none of them appear on this site or on our Instagram until the family says yes. A puppy's people decide whether their dog is named, pictured or mentioned. That is why this note has no names in it: the class is described, the individuals are not.
Families take their own photos at the last session and leave with notes on what to keep practicing. If you would rather your pup never appears in a Dogtown post, say so at sign-up and it will not. The graduates whose families did say yes end up in the gallery and on the Dogtown Instagram.
- No name or photo leaves the room without a yes
- Say so at sign-up if you prefer no posts at all
- Graduates whose families agreed appear in the gallery and on Instagram
What next
After Tiny Tails: Bright Beginnings, S.T.A.R. Puppy or the daycare evaluation
A 16-week-old graduate has options. Bright Beginnings picks up basic obedience and socialization from 4 months, in 4, 6 or 8 weeks. Brave & Balanced is the confidence builder for a pup still worried by strangers or handling. AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy runs 6 weeks and 12 sessions for pups up to 6 months.
Many families choose the free daycare evaluation next, on a weekday between 6:30 and 9:30 AM, so the puppy joins a group of 7 to 10 dogs. Puppies need Rabies, DHPP and Bordetella on file and a current license first; in Gloucester that is the City Clerk at 9 Dale Ave, $20 for a spayed or neutered dog plus a one-dollar fee.
- 01
Ask the trainer at the last class which path fits your pup
- 02
Finish the vaccine series and get the city license
- 03
Book the free daycare evaluation for a weekday morning
- 04
Enroll in Bright Beginnings or S.T.A.R. Puppy through the contact form
Signing up
The next Tiny Tails block starts when the next pups are 8 weeks old
Tiny Tails takes pups from 8 to 16 weeks, so a block fills with dogs who arrived on Cape Ann in the same few weeks. Sessions start from $94; the program itself is quoted after a short assessment with our trainer. Enquiries go through the contact form, and we reply within one hour on business days.
The AVMA's vaccination guidance and your vet decide when a puppy is ready to be around other pups, so tell us where your puppy is in the series when you enquire. Once the evaluation is done, the Pup Van at $10 each way in Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea can bring a puppy to a daycare day.
At Dogtown
From puppy school to the playgroup
Tiny Tails and the programs after it, and the daycare day most graduates move into.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
How long is a Tiny Tails Puppy School block?
Will my puppy's photo be posted at graduation?
What should my puppy be able to do by the end?
Can a graduate start daycare straight away?
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
Graduated? Book the evaluation.
A free weekday evaluation places a Tiny Tails graduate in a small, matched group. Training questions go to the contact form; we reply within one hour on business days.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
