Cosita | Golden Retriever | Studio City, CA | In Training
- Tanner Strong
- Apr 27
- 9 min read
Updated: May 11
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!
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.
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!
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!
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!
Pupdate: 5/1/2025
Cosita had a well-balanced day today with a bit of outdoor time and plenty of focused work at home. We spent most of our time indoors practicing her in-home manners and reinforcing the Place command.
The goal with Place is for Cosita to hop onto a raised surface, like a place cot, and remain there until she’s either released or given a new command. It’s a fantastic way to build her confidence—especially useful when we’re out in public—and it’s proving to be an incredibly helpful tool around the house. I rely on this command whenever I’m doing something that doesn’t involve her, such as cooking, cleaning, or answering the door.
While she’s not quite ready to stay on Place for the entire time I’m cooking and eating dinner, she’s making solid progress. Cosita still wants to follow me around occasionally, but after a good trip to the park and a little energy burned off, she’s more than happy to relax on her cot for a while. She’s doing a great job overall, and with continued practice, she’ll be holding Place like a pro!
Pupdate: 5/2/2025
Cosita took an exciting step forward in her training today as we began practicing her commands with the leash dragging at the park. Letting the leash drag gives me a good sense of how she might perform off-leash while still giving me the option to step in if needed.
After a little warm-up, Cosita settled in nicely and started responding well. There were a few moments where distractions like other dogs or birds caught her attention, and I stepped on the leash to help reinforce the commands—but overall, she did well. She’s beginning to respond more reliably and consistently. It’s great to see her focus improving, and this kind of practice will help build the foundation for confident off-leash work down the line!
Pupdate: 5/3/2025
Cosita had a great day today! We continued working on her commands with the leash dragging, and she’s showing real improvement. We also started reducing the number of snacks during training, and she’s beginning to respond well even with fewer treats—proof that her understanding and consistency are growing!
Later in the afternoon, it started to drizzle a bit, so we spent most of the evening relaxing at home. Cosita stayed calm and content, making the most of our cozy indoor time.
Pupdate: 5/4/2025
Since it rained on and off more today, I wanted to go ahead and show one of the indoor manners we've been practicing—Door Manners. The goal here is to teach Cosita to remain calm and composed when the door opens, whether she's napping, playing, or even if someone knocks. In today’s video, I had Cosita sit while I opened the door. While the sit is helpful during training, the ultimate goal is for the door opening to be a nonevent, requiring no specific command.
Cosita is still working through some excitement, especially when she thinks we're about to head out, but she’s making solid progress. One of the key things we're reinforcing is that she should never try to push through the door ahead of me—she needs to wait for an invitation. This mindset extends to other thresholds too, like gates, fences, or doorways within the house.
Overall, Cosita is getting the hang of it, and with a bit more practice, she’ll have calm and respectful doorway behavior down in no time!
Pupdate: 5/5/2025
Today's main focus was polite play. Cosita has a tendency to jump up and beg for attention, which we’re addressing using the “Off” command. She’s beginning to understand that calm behavior is what gets rewarded, and she’s making steady progress.
Cosita also had several opportunities to play with other dogs this week. Learning how to read and respond to dog body language is just as important as learning people manners, and she’s getting valuable experience with both. My own dog has been especially helpful in this area, though I do find myself stepping in at times, as the other dogs are more than twice Cosita’s size.
What’s been most impressive is Cosita’s self-awareness. More than once, she chose to step back from playtime and sit quietly to the side, observing rather than engaging. This kind of restraint shows a surprising amount of maturity and social intelligence for her age. Cosita has a confident personality, but she’s also developing an impressive sensitivity to the social cues of other dogs—something that will serve her well as she continues to grow.
Pupdate: 5/6/2025
Today, Cosita and I spent the afternoon at Home Depot to get in some quality training while avoiding the drizzle. The store provided a great environment to expose her to new sights, sounds, and surfaces, and she handled most of it with grace, even if she was a bit distracted at times. As we walked through the aisles, she stayed polite and composed, showing nice leash manners and checking in with me regularly.
There were definitely a few moments where the environment pushed her comfort zone—especially when loud forklifts or other store vehicles passed by unexpectedly. Those sudden noises startled her a bit, but I was really proud of how she handled it. Instead of shutting down, Cosita kept moving with me, and after walking around a few more times, she began to settle and get used to the noise. Her ability to bounce back and adapt showed a lot of growth.
Overall, it was a productive outing. Cosita showed confidence in a busy indoor space, responded well to guidance, and remained respectful throughout. With each new experience, she continues to build trust and reliability. Great job, Cosita!
Pupdate: 5/7/2025
Cosita had a big day today—she was allowed off leash at the park for the first time! We started with plenty of warm-up time on the leash to help her settle in, and she quickly showed me that she was ready to take the next step. Once the leash came off, Cosita remained fairly responsive and did a nice job staying engaged overall. One area we're still working on is her tendency to break her commands early to follow me preemptively, which became more noticeable without the leash. That said, her off-leash debut was a success, and I’m proud of the progress she’s making!
Pupdate: 5/8/2025
Cosita had a fun and productive outing to Santa Anita Mall today! She started off a little excited with all the new sights and sounds, but she quickly settled into work mode. While she stayed on leash the whole time, Cosita was polite, responsive, and followed commands nicely throughout the visit.
One of the highlights of the day was how much of a help she was to her new pup friend, who’s still learning to be confident in new places. Cosita’s chipper and playful presence really helped him feel safe and even encouraged him to have a little fun—a true role model!
Aside from occasionally getting a bit ahead of me, Cosita handled everything beautifully and gave it her all. After such a good day of hard work, she took a well-deserved nap once we got home!
5/9/2025
Today we took a fun and productive trip to the Santa Monica Pier for training, and Cosita did a fantastic job! She got to spend about half the session off leash and handled the busy environment with confidence and enthusiasm. We used several objects around the pier to practice her Place command—even some that were a bit tall for her—but she gave it her all and managed to hop up with determination!
The biggest challenge of the day was her Down command. With so many people and distractions around, Cosita was hesitant to settle and preferred staying close to me when lying down. But we worked through it together, and she made great progress by the end of the session. Overall, it was a successful day filled with growth, adventure, and lots of tail wags!
Pupdate: 5/10/2025
Cosita had another great outing today—this time to the Santa Monica Promenade! While it wasn’t quite as busy as the pier, it was still a lively environment and a perfect place for more training and exploration. As always, Cosita was curious and playful, but she continued to remain polite and well-mannered throughout the outing. Just like yesterday, she took a nice, restful nap when we got home—likely from both the physical exercise and the mental stimulation she’s been getting. I’m constantly keeping her brain engaged, which is a great way to help her develop focus, confidence, and impulse control. She’s doing great!
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