Cosita | Golden Retriever | Studio City, CA | In Training

Meet Cosita! She's a six month old Golden Retriever from Studio City, California here for our Two-Week Board and Train Program! She's a sweet girl but she loves jumping and play biting! She's also known for digging and tearing up gardens. While out on walks, she pulls heavily on her leash and often times becomes too distracted to listen to any commands. Over the next fourteen days we will work on her obedience skills, especially around distractions, show her proper manners in and out of the house, work on her impulse control, and help her become the best pup she can possibly be! Stay tuned for Cosita's two week transformation!

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Pupdate: 4/27/2025

Today I picked up Cosita and we spent some time together at the park to start getting to know each other. She definitely has a lot of energy — she’s a strong puller on the leash and got pretty excited, barking and jumping a few times during our walk. Despite her big personality, she’s already taking to me really well and has been very friendly and sweet once she had a chance to settle a little.

After some exploring and bonding time at the park, we headed home so Cosita could start getting familiar with her new environment. I let her sniff around the house at her own pace, and she seemed to really enjoy checking everything out. It didn’t take long for her to start relaxing and showing even more of her affectionate side. The one thing she had a little extra trouble with was the stairs! She wasn't a huge fan of them at first, but we'll work on her confidence there.

So far, Cosita seems happy and curious about her new surroundings. She’s already showing that she likes being here — and she seems to like me too! I’m excited to keep building our relationship and help her settle in even more over the next few days.

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Pupdate: 4/28/2025

Today Cosita and I went to Whittier Narrows Park, where we met up with some other trainers and their dogs. Cosita was curious and interested in several of the dogs we passed. At times, she wanted to slow down and check them out a little more closely, but she stayed relatively manageable and responsive throughout the session. We spent a good amount of time simply sitting together and practicing staying calm in a busy environment, which was a great opportunity for her to practice settling even with distractions nearby.

We also introduced Cosita to her e-collar today and started working on her foundational commands. We focused mainly on Heel and Come To Sit. For Heel, I want Cosita to walk politely at my left side, keeping her ears aligned with my knee. For Come To Sit, the goal is for her to come to my right side when called, loop around behind me, and sit neatly at my left side with her ears at my knee.

One thing that really stood out today was how motivated Cosita is by food. When using food as a lure, she was willing to do just about anything asked of her! This is a great tool for teaching new behaviors, but I also want to make sure she learns to follow through even when food isn’t visible or directly offered, so we’ll be working toward that balance as we continue.

Overall, Cosita did a great job today and I’m excited to see her progress!

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Pupdate: 4/29/2025

Cosita had a fun and productive day at Almansor Park! There was no shortage of excitement—especially with all the geese and ducks around, which definitely captured her attention. We spent a good amount of time near them, using the opportunity to practice staying focused around distractions.

Our main training focus today was her Down command. Cosita is very willing to lay down when there's a treat involved, but she's still working on responding to the verbal cue alone. We're continuing to reinforce the command so it becomes more consistent, even without a snack.

After all the mental and physical work, Cosita was more than ready for a nice nap. She’s making progress each day and is always a joy to work with!

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Pupdate: 4/30/2025

Cosita and I went back to the park today for more training, and she had a solid session! She did well with each of her commands, even though she’s still very aware of her surroundings and pays a lot of attention to distractions. To help her work through this, we focused heavily on calmly laying down and holding position without getting up or locking in on everything happening around her.

One highlight from today was how much more polite and composed she was right from the start. Compared to previous sessions, she needed far less time to settle in, which shows real progress in her ability to regulate her excitement and stay focused.

She’s heading in the right direction—just needs continued exposure and consistency!