Dogtown for Newburyport, MA dog owners: daycare, boarding, grooming and training

The city's animal control office puts the Plum Island rule plainly: no dogs, even leashed, on the beach from May 15 to September 15. In the off season dogs may be on the beach on a leash; they are not allowed off leash there at any time. The city asks owners to keep dogs well away from nesting shorebirds, seals and any stranded wildlife, and to bring a leash, waste bags and fresh water.

On land, Newburyport's leash ordinance, section 3-26 of the city code, is strict: a dog outside its owner's property must be held firmly on a leash, with fines of $50 for a first offense, $75 for a second and $100 after that. A separate waste rule requires you to carry the means to pick up whenever you are out with a dog in a public place, on the same $50, $75 and $100 scale.

The exceptions are three designated off-leash areas, listed in the table below, each with its own exclusions. Their rules are detailed: dogs licensed and vaccinated, leashed on the way in and out, at least four months old to go off leash, no more than two dogs off leash per owner, none off leash on playgrounds, courts or athletic fields, and a $50 fine for breaking any of them.

Maudslay State Park, at 74 Curzon Mill Road, is the state's walking ground in Newburyport: 19th-century gardens, meadows, tall pines and one of the largest naturally occurring stands of mountain laurel in Massachusetts, with about 16 miles of trails. DCR lists it as dog-friendly on one firm condition: dogs must remain on a leash. The park is open sunrise to sunset, swimming and hunting are not allowed, and a daily parking fee applies all year, $5 for a Massachusetts plate.

If leash walking at Maudslay is a struggle, that is a training question rather than a daycare one. Training sessions at Dogtown start from $94, and the one-week Foundation board and train works on leash skills, place, stay and recall, and impulse control, with daily updates and a go-home lesson. We quote board and train after a short assessment rather than list a price here.

From downtown Newburyport, head south on Route 1A through Newbury and Rowley into Ipswich, turn east on Route 133 through Essex, and join Route 128 in West Gloucester for the last stretch to its end; Eastern Avenue runs about a mile from there to number 210. It is about 45 minutes outside rush hour, by our estimate. The route passes through Essex, a Pup Van town, but Newburyport itself is outside the Pup Van towns; ask us about pick-up.

The free evaluation runs Monday to Friday between 6:30 and 9:30 AM, by appointment: a temperament test, then a few supervised hours in a group. From Newburyport that means an early start, so book it for a day when you can work from Cape Ann or wait nearby. Grooming-only visits skip it entirely, so a Newburyport dog can come straight in for a bath.