As everybody stated before me...it depends on the instructor. I lucked out and got an instructor that had 2 boxers herself which gave me a lot more confidence. She brought one of her boxers with her to each class to demonstrate everything she was trying to teach. I don't know if they are all the same but our Petsmart had a seperate private training room to minimize distractions. When it came time to interact we would walk our dogs around the store to practice in "real world" situations.