Board and train while you’re on vacation

Board and train while you’re on vacation: time a 1 or 2 week trip around a fear-free training stay in Gloucester, MA, so your dog comes home with new skills.

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Golden retriever lounging in a blue splash pool

Why combine travel with a training stay

If your dog is going to board anyway, the nights are already paid for in time and money. A training stay uses that time: instead of a week in a kennel run, your dog spends the week learning crate and house manners, leash skills, place and recall, with daily training and a matched playgroup when ready.

You also avoid the hardest part of board and train for busy families: being without your dog. You are away anyway, so the stay costs you nothing in missed walks or empty evenings.

Matching your trip to a program

The two programs map neatly onto the two most common trip lengths. A long-weekend-plus-a-few-days or a one-week holiday fits Foundation; a two-week trip fits Advanced, which adds distraction proofing, real-world outings and two coaching lessons.

Let the dog decide the program, not the trip. If your dog needs Advanced but you are away for a week, it may be better to plan the stay around a longer trip, or to book Foundation now and follow up with private sessions or Canine Campus later.

Your trip	Program that fits	Watch out for
5–8 days	Foundation, 1 week	Return before the go-home lesson
About 2 weeks	Advanced, 2 weeks	Second coaching lesson comes after some practice at home
3 weeks or more	Ask at the assessment	Extra boarding nights and how they fit are confirmed at booking
Weekend only	Too short for a program	Consider overnight stays instead

A planning timeline that works

Start early. The assessment and the free evaluation must happen before the stay, and the evaluation runs only on weekday mornings between 6:30 and 9:30 AM. Vaccines also need to be current through the last day, and Bordetella is best given at least a week before boarding.

Here is the order most families follow. Busy travel periods fill earlier, so add more lead time for summer and holiday trips.

As soon as dates are set: send the enquiry; we reply within one hour on business days
Next: the short assessment with Gabby and your quote
Several weeks out: book the free evaluation and check vaccines and license
The week before: pack food and medications, practice short crate naps
Travel: daily updates while you’re away
Back home: go-home lesson, then the first week of practice

Drop-off and pick-up days

Dogtown is open Monday to Friday 6:30 AM to 6:30 PM and Saturday 8 AM to 6 PM. Sunday is used for overnight-stay pick-up and drop-off, but whether a board-and-train stay can start or end on a Sunday isn’t something we promise here; it is confirmed when you book.

If your flight lands late or early, plan around opening hours rather than hoping for flexibility. The Pup Van can help: $10 each way in Gloucester, Rockport, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea, and pick-up from farther away can be arranged for board-and-train families, priced on request.

Staying in touch while you’re away

You’ll get an update every day of the stay, wherever you are; the format is confirmed at booking. Leave us a number that will work abroad, and a backup contact at home who can make decisions if we can’t reach you.

Give your vet’s details too, and make sure your vet knows your dog is boarding. If you’ll be out of reach for a stretch, such as a cruise or a backcountry trip, tell us in advance.

If you are flying, don’t leave packing the dog’s bag until the night before your own departure. Pack and label the food and medications a day or two early, so drop-off morning is only about saying a calm goodbye.

Coming home: the lesson is part of the trip

Build the go-home lesson into your itinerary like a flight. It is where you learn the cues your dog now knows, and it should not be squeezed in jet-lagged on the way back from the airport if you can avoid it. Allow a calm first evening afterward.

Our guide to the first 24 hours home helps with the evening your dog comes back. For longer trips, see board and train before a long trip.

The two programs

1 week · Puppies, young dogs & foundational manners Foundation Board & Train A one-week stay for puppies, young dogs and dogs missing the basics: obedience, leash skills, place, stay, recall, impulse control and household manners, with daily updates and a go-home lesson. Read about Foundation 2 weeks · Adolescent dogs & real-world reliability Advanced Board & Train A two-week stay for adolescent dogs and dogs who know their cues at home but lose them everywhere else: everything in Foundation, plus distraction proofing, real-world outings, neutrality and two go-home coaching lessons. Read about Advanced

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