How we found a group class for safe dog exposure

Part of rehabilitating our fear reactive blue heeler

Shortly after we adopted her as a stray, our blue heeler was attacked on a walk. She developed fear-based dog reactivity as a result.

This inspired me to learn more about dogs than ever before. About a year and a half into our life together, I felt good about our approach to train through her reactivity. I understood the foundational resources that drove our work. She was making progress!

But I wanted to do more.

In the fall of 2020, we started looking for a group dog training class to get more structured, safe exposure to other canines. Since October, we’ve attended classes at two (update 2023: five) different facilities. It’s ultimately been a great experience!

Here’s exactly how we found a group training class that worked for us.

Why were we looking for a group dog training class?

For a long time we struggled to get consistent, safe exposure to other dogs. Our apartment complex was full of blind corners—and the COVID-19 pandemic messed up my plans to get established with an in-person tra…