Why We Offer Free Group Classes for Shelter Dogs

Being a shelter dog is hard.

Most of these dogs are in small kennels for more than 23 hours a day. They’re exposed to bright lights, so much noise (like loud barking echoing off all the walls), and a ton of stress. They typically get limited exercise, enrichment and human contact.

Post pandemic, things have gotten even tougher for many of these dogs. The average length of time a large dog spends in a shelter has doubled since 2019, and in August 2025 median length of stay for shelters was 46 days.

In a No Kill city like Austin, many dogs are in shelter much, much longer: medium and large dogs, particularly those with behavioral quirks, might stay in the shelter for months or even years. This leads to major challenges, like decreasing welfare and quality of life or worsening behavioral issues due to long-term stress. But there ARE solutions.

Short outings away from the shelter play a critical role in improving a dog’s wellbeing. Every Dog makes these moments possible by offering free training classes for shelter dogs from Austin Animal Center, Austin Pets Alive!, and Austin Humane Society, along with free gym rentals that provide one-on-one time in a calm, spacious environment.

Let’s talk about the benefits!

For dogs:

Interactions with people outside the shelter environment may be more beneficial to the dog’s stress levels versus similar interactions within the shelter. So getting time with their favorite people outside the shelter can do wonders for shelter pups.
Outings have also been correlated with higher adoption rates.
Training sessions (like Basic Manners classes) give these shelter pups new skills to show off to potential adopters.
These classes also offer lots of opportunities for cute photos and videos, which help with finding fosters or adopters for long-stay dogs. This is also paired with additional information- how the dog does in the car, whether they like learning new tricks, and how much they calmed down when not in the noisy shelter.

For people and shelters:

Volunteers learn valuable training skills that they can use with all the other dogs they meet at the shelter.
Volunteers and staff can pass this information on to future fosters and adopters, which can help keep dogs in homes and avoid returns.
These programs allow volunteers to help dogs outside the kennel environment, which can be intimidating and stressful for many potential volunteers.
And outings give volunteers the opportunity to see their favorite dogs thriving outside the shelter week after week, while they work to find these dogs a home. This has a huge emotional impact on the volunteers who love these dogs!

This is what capacity-building looks like, supporting dogs while strengthening the humans and systems around them.

Every Dog provides these programs free for shelter dogs but community support makes them possible. Friends of Austin Animal Center generously covers participation for AAC dogs. With your support, we can continue offering free group classes and gym rentals for dogs from Austin Pets Alive and Austin Humane Society.

Your donation directly fuels proven solutions:

$30 covers a 1-hour gym rental and a much-needed quiet space for a shelter dog

$200 covers the cost of a Basic Manners class to give shelter pups new skills

$250 offers a specialty class like Fearful Dogs to help shy shelter pups come out of their shells