Simba
Who Simba is
As the trainers describe him
Chilled out and affectionate, and indifferent to the handler the moment the petting stops. That is why the new trainer made engagement the first day's goal instead of skills.
On film
me so right now I just kind of want him to like bond with me get engaged with me because as you can see right now he could care less if i exist he likes the rubs and the pets but
i kind of wish he did a little bit of the jumpies just so he'd give me a hug or something
see i didn't give up made him like go into it he doesn't have an option and the thing he loves most in the world is to be that all day like if i just pet him forever he would be like this is a life
High energy without 'fight'. He is excitable and easily distracted, but not oppositional.
On film
boy yeah he's a pretty high energy but not he doesn't have a lot of like fight so he just kind of like just has fun does what you want to do
bit of effort. He's a little distracted today, like more so than usual.
a fantastic dog i'm envious of his actual owner
Quick to learn. Every trainer says so, and at the handover he is contrasted with Cosmo as the faster of the two.
On film
that down's gonna be he'll get it real quick he's a smart boy
Simba's a goofball, but he gets it really fast. He's super smart.
Passive with Cosmo. Cosmo is the dominant one of the pair, and when Cosmo mouths him Simba backs off.
On film
he's kind of like passive as like personality wise and cosmo's not cosmo's got got a lot he's very he's like way more dominant
And Simba's just like, okay, fine. And he, like, kind of backs up.
He reacts to the e-collar in an odd way but does not shut down. The first trainer is explicit that the reaction is unusual but not distress. Later trainers treat the level as something to calibrate, not as a welfare concern.
On film
buddy my thing is he's not really like fazed like i mean he's not like shut down by the collar it's kind of funny he just has this very like really kind of reaction to it
Not reactive to people or dogs, by the account of a trainer who does not work him. The only fault named is wiggling out of position.
On film
i'm not training them personally but uh a couple of our other trainers are training two golden retrievers right now simba and cosmo yeah they're not too bad the only thing that they ever do they're just like they're just wiggly
the good thing about both of those dogs is they typically don't have any kind kind of like they're not unless some unless they got like some stuff going on they're not super like reactive to people or dogs
One unexplained moment. In the store he shakes while sitting and the trainer asks why.
On film
Simba sit there we go why are you shaking buddy
As his family describe him
At the handover a voice in the room, probably the owner though speakers are not marked, calls him a pride and joy and the most retriever retriever. The owner's own history is that Simba learned most things by himself and that his only earlier problem was jumping as a puppy, which Christian trained.
On film
yeah yeah dude he's he is my pride and joy he just he smiles all the time and he's happy
he's just he's like the most retriever retriever i've ever met simba
somebody had no problem i mean he pretty much learned everything on his own i just had the jumping problem when he was small yeah christian had him
The program, stage by stage
An earlier stay as a puppy, off camera
Before 2026, undated. Called 'several years ago' and 'a couple years ago' on film. The intake's date of birth (7/25/2023, source: intake) puts it in late 2023 or 2024.
Simba had been trained by the company before, by the owner's account for jumping when he was small, and the owner and the go-home trainer both say Christian did it. The 2026 trainers know it happened but not what it covered. One of them points out that the program has since added commands, down among them. Nothing from it is filmed.
On film
was here several years ago so we're just kind of giving him like a tune-up see where he is
if you will or if he genuinely just maybe didn't get taught to command because it was a couple years ago and we've since added commands to our contract
So, I can't do the follow-ups, but I want to say it was Christian that trained him the first time.
Intake and arrival, off camera
Intake 4/30/2026, preferred pickup 5/7/2026 (source: intake). He is in the kennel by about 2026-05-19.
Their top priority was loose-leash walking, and the named problems were pulling, jumping and barking (source: intake). He arrived with a second young retriever, Cosmo, whom the first trainer can only call a brother 'or just another retriever'. He first appears on film as a name greeted in the kennel.
On film
um he came with i don't know if it's brother or just like you know just another retriever but
Hi, Simba.
Day one with a new trainer: bond first, then find out what he knowsTurning point
This is the baseline. The trainer's stated goal is engagement, not skills, and the commands are run as a check. On let's go and the recall, the trainer weighs whether Simba is testing a new handler or was never taught them, and concludes he probably does not know them. A first down is tried with leash pressure and then with kibble from a pocket, and it lands twice. When people appear he breaks toward them, and the trainer names that as next week's work. He pulls into the collar. The same day the trainer is about to start Cosmo from nothing, and says so.
On film
okay so i'm not sure if he's testing me or if he's just in need of a tune-up
didn't say sit because i don't want to have to lick markets where i have to make them go into sit every time but it's just you can social pressure into the position and
whoop all right so it's pressure all right okay good boy
well i guess we know we need to we need to work on next week huh
cosmo is the like i said so he's the second other retriever that i have in my set he knows absolutely nothing
Mid-stay, seen only from other dogs' sessions
Late May to mid-June 2026. watch published 2026-06-04; watch published 2026-06-12.
No Simba session survives from this stretch. He appears as a calm dog walked past Fiona for her recall and reactivity check, where she shows no interest in him off leash. He is also named as one of the two retrievers in a trainer's current set. The trainer who names him has injured arms at that lesson.
On film
I was gonna bring Zuri-chan in, but then Simba and Cosmo showed up, so that was helpful.
go get him seems to have no interest i think it's because there's no leash tension
Cosmo and Simba are pretty cartoony too those are two retrievers that are part of my set right now
The down gets its word, and the collar level gets a range
Mid-to-late June 2026, after Neo finished; on or before 2026-06-23. watch.
This is a trail session. He is 'rusty' and more distracted than usual, so he gets a sniff break. The collar is calibrated aloud: 18 is too high, 15 is right, 10 does nothing, and the range is 15 to 25 depending on distraction. The trainer admits one call was wrong. Walking past people he is redirected with let's go, not corrected, and the trainer explains why. The down moves from food lure to having its word attached, which the trainer calls the roughest transition of all the commands. The verdict is that he is on track and going home on time, with the down as the one big remaining item.
On film
all right so we're gonna try to food lure into it
the 10 didn't do anything so looks like we're somewhere sitting on about a 15 to like a 25 anywhere in that range 25 being very high distractions
where with the down that you have to start connecting the actual word i find it to be the roughest transition personally out of all the commands
Overall, he's very much on track and will be fine and be going home on time.
Last week: off leash in Home Depot, and the collar becomes part of the downTurning point
Late June 2026; published 2026-06-23. watch.
This is the only off-leash footage in Simba's file. He is on leash in the parking lot with a slight pull, then off leash inside the store with the collar still on ('you're not free'). Heel, come, sit and let's go all work, and the trainer says he looks really nice off leash. The down needs a string of 'eh' corrections. Then the trainer notices that Simba has started going down in anticipation of the collar, and says so on camera. The trainer did nothing in the moment and Simba went down, and the trainer says it needs proofing. He runs up to a person and licks their legs.
On film
pretty good all right i'm gonna test you out okay i still have an e-collar on you so you're not free
So as you can see, he looks really nice off-leash, too, which is always fun.
Down. Eh. Down. Eh. Down. Eh.
i actually panicked a little bit there and then like i didn't do like any form of negative reinforcement because he uh right there predicted the e-collar he associated the e-collar with down which is a really bad idea
okay simba can't be running up on people like that
A go-home that was announced and never filmed
Late June to early July 2026, from Cosmo's sessions. watch is undated but falls after the 2026-06-12 lesson where the same trainer's arms were injured.
Cosmo's trainer, out with him alone for the first time now that his arms work, says Cosmo goes home in a couple of days. Whether that go-home happened is the open question of this case. Nothing of Simba is filmed between here and late July.
On film
Cosmo's doing really really well, and he's going home in a couple days
his brother was pretty much good when he came just because we already worked with him before it was just like a one-week refresher thing um taught him a new command which would be the down
The extension: a strict refresher and the neutrality lecture
July 2026; queued 2026-07-30. watch and watch, counted once.
A different trainer, over a year at the company and not there for Simba's first stay, runs a refresher with no second chances, on the grounds that he knows everything. The down is presented as new and lands at once. The radius is worked on a locked leash. The trainer gives the fullest statement in Simba's file of why the approach to people is not corrected with the collar. Other items follow: a light fixation caught, a 'big test' past nesting birds with a lot of tapping, a road-edge correction with the red button and its reason, a heat break, a freeze the trainer blames on their own conflicting cues, and a collar turned down after a high reaction. The stay is described as extended for circumstances nobody explains, and Simba is said to run off more than when he arrived.
On film
now i was very strict with him on that because the thing is it's a refresher for him like i said so he he came to us like a while back i wasn't working yet um i've been here for about over a year now
if you e-collar everything they run up to them to the car then you create a different thing it's not neutrality it's fear and so it's just all about what you want to create so like with people i don't e-collar when they're running over the person because what you can teach them is that the people are bad not the action
Yeah, so that I was pretty like, I tapped a lot, and he was like, I don't like that. But I had to do it. It's the rules.
like with a dog like Simba he's got to know that because honestly if he did he he would just take off in the street and might get hit by a car
got a little confused there I confused him that's why he kind of like froze up
The handover at home: rusty, both dogs, and a problem between themTurning point
A Saturday no later than 2026-08-08; published 2026-08-11. watch.
Both dogs are returned together, and the trainer says they are wilder than he usually brings dogs home, and 'rusty'. He does not demonstrate the commands as he normally would. Instead he offers free follow-ups: once or twice at the house, then at a store for off-leash work, in a hybrid of board-and-train and sessions that he calls unusual. For Simba he reports a city outing in which, by the end, Simba approached nobody. The main teaching is about the pair. Cosmo mouths Simba to keep him in place, and Simba gives way. Corrected silently, that could lead Cosmo to blame Simba and start a fight, so the marker must always come before the collar, and the program's new two-marker split is explained. Jumping is expected to go within a day or two of 'nope'.
On film
Cosmo does have this tendency to, like, he likes Simba to, like, stay put. And so he'll, like, start to, like, mouth him and stuff.
So, in this case, if you just hit the e-collar without anything while Cosmo's doing his, like, biting Simba, what could happen is he could think Simba did that.
usually if i'm doing the drop-offs i kind of like demonstrate all the commands and everything but because things are a little bit rusty uh we can just kind of like plan those follow-ups
But just because of just every, like, this is more of, like, a unique thing, I'm just going to kind of do a hybrid with both.
Skills
Down
How it was taught
Three trainers and three methods, each described by the trainer using it. Day one: leash ('social') pressure into the position, with no sit first so the down does not come to depend on one, then kibble from a pocket. Mid-June: a food lure, then attaching the word, which that trainer ranks as the hardest transition among the five core commands. Store week: on cue with 'eh' for errors and the collar behind it. That is when the anticipation problem appears and the trainer holds back. July: persistence on the leash ('i didn't give up ... he doesn't have an option'), with the collar at the setting the trainer judges gives the best response. He crosses one paw, and the trainer wants it to 'look really nice'.
On film
we're just just kind of warm up tune up we have added some things to our program since then such as the down command so gonna try to teach Simba a down while
whoop all right so it's pressure all right okay good boy
we're gonna try to mark the down all right
it wasn't too bad like i just didn't do anything it kind of was like oh okay and then it like down which is fantastic um we're gonna have to proof that just a teeny bit
simba down down he likes the cover of one paw no matter what side he's on which is interesting
I tried to do that with some of the last time, but I made our big goal, which is down, which is the latest thing.
Not going to people (public neutrality)
How it was taught
Two trainers teach the same doctrine independently. Let's go and turn away every time a person appears, so that seeing someone comes to mean re-engaging with the handler. The collar is not used on the approach itself, because that risks teaching the dog that people are bad rather than that running to them is. Both call this the way the company does it. The store trainer, whose dog licks a stranger, handles it with words only.
On film
well i guess we know we need to we need to work on next week huh
first way which is the way I don't do it is where you you eat collar every time they try to go up to a person but it is too much room for confusion with that method
what we do is we do let's go that way every time the dog sees somebody
okay simba can't be running up on people like that
so, in this case, we're talking about, like, public neutrality, right, a lot of, it's, like, a big thing that I find with the retrievers, it's all about public neutrality
When I took him to downtown Raleigh, I don't think he'd ever been around that much distraction before. And by the end, he didn't go up to anybody at all. He just followed me around, did his commands.
Leash pressure, the radius and the heel
How it was taught
Lock the leash at a set length and let him find its end. Tap when he hits it. Do not back off when the dog backs off. The July trainer prefers this to a long leash that tangles under the legs. The heel is taken off leash only at the store, with the collar on.
On film
he does a little pull just a little we're gonna lock the leash here every time he hits the end of it oh sorry buddy it's way too high for you
that's what i did there i tapped it when he hit the end of my leash again
His radius needs a little bit of work,
The main thing is, like, don't back off when the dog backs off, or else you kind of transmit the wrong idea there.
will say he just run off a lot more than he did when he got with us
Let's go and the recall
How it was taught
On day one the trainer weighs testing against 'never taught' before deciding how to handle errors, and puts him back where he started when he fails. From June on, let's go is the tool for people and for anything he should not chase. In July the trainer does not make him repeat a recall he had already been released from ('i said okay').
On film
so he he kind of jumps out like so i think he may not know it
It's going to be the big test for Simba right here, and we're going to see what he does.
he's checking in with me it's really good obviously we're gonna keep tuning him up as long as he's here
Impulse control at a sit
How it was taught
Sit, a wait, a release with 'okay'. In July the trainer will not repeat a cue: 'i'm not gonna tell you it again'.
On film
definitely a tough black lab so but his impulse control is pretty good
So we're gonna test Simba's impulse control.
i would put him in a sit and he'd kind of like do that thing where he's like he starts like walking in place
Jumping on people
How it was taught
Only described, at the handover: say 'nope' with the collar behind it, on the grounds that the training is 'already in there' and the dog is only testing what he can get away with.
On film
But, again, like, if you just use the nope with that, you can correct that, like, really fast.
I mean, you could probably get him to stop doing that jumping within, like, a day or two, you know.
Leash pressure, the radius and the heel
On film
super excited start hopping around and go sniff like every single dog that you see it's important
Impulse control at a sit
On film
he's in a sit and just this kind of impulse control where he's like i can't get up but
applied to everything else okay good boy all right see you next session
From the Shorts
Short clips posted from Simba's training. They are undated, so they sit beside the program rather than inside it.
Excited by other dogs: impulse control, not reactivity
At the end of a session the trainer says Simba's pulling is fine when it is just the two of them or other people, but the second he sees another dog he gets very excited and wants to go and sniff every one. The trainer says that is not really reactivity but impulse control, and that it matters for off-leash work: a dog that runs up to everything interesting is not an off-leash dog, just 'a dog that is not wearing a leash'. He closes on Simba holding a sit, as an example of the self-control he wants everywhere.
On film
pulling that he's got going on it's pretty good when it's just me and him or just other people
second he sees like another dog though let's go he does kind of go crazy
so he just goes like just crazy so what we're gonna have to do is just it's not even really
reactivity right it's just impulse control just like hey every time you see a dog you can get
if you have a dog that's off-leash and it runs up to every single thing it finds interesting
whether you don't really have an off-leash dog now do you you have a dog that is not wearing a
he's in a sit and just this kind of impulse control where he's like i can't get up but
Group rest on the cots
A staff member films several dogs, Simba among them, on long lines in a room with cots and the TV on. The dogs prick their ears when dogs bark outside, and the staff member says they are nice and calm on the cot.
On film
They've got long lines on you got Simba.
Think the dogs like it probably fill those cots in a minute
there's a couple of dogs outside
They're doing good. They're nice and calm on the cot. Good job guys. Sleepy cot TV time.
How the method adapted
Simba is not a behaviour case. What his file records is how a returning, easy dog is handled by at least three trainers across a stay that ran long. They adapted in two directions: toward caution about what he actually knew, and toward strictness because he 'knows everything'. Neither ever mentions the other's view.
Day one was spent on the relationship, and every lapse was read as possibly the program's gap rather than the dog's defiance.
The trainer was new to him, and the program had added commands since his earlier stay. So a missed let's go might be a command he was never given.
On film
if you will or if he genuinely just maybe didn't get taught to command because it was a couple years ago and we've since added commands to our contract
okay so i'm not sure if he's testing me or if he's just in need of a tune-up
Two months later, the opposite rule: no second chances, because it is a refresher.
The July trainer's stated principle is that a dog in first-time training gets a second chance and a dog who knows the command does not.
On film
but if he was in his training like you know i give him a second chance okay good job but he knows everything so we just gotta be real strict
The collar level was treated as a range to be found live, not a setting. It was lowered whenever the distraction dropped or he reacted strongly.
A small jump read as too high. A let's go at 10 that did nothing read as too low. The same principle is stated in July in reverse: less distraction means the dog feels the collar more.
On film
the way he jumped a little bit was just a little bit too much so it shows the collars it's a little too high so i turned down to 15.
yeah maybe it's still a little too high i was in fact wrong but that's what dog training is all about is experimenting
high reaction so i'm going to turn it down a lot because the distraction is probably a lot less now
When he began going down in anticipation of the collar, the trainer deliberately withheld it.
An association between the collar and the position is 'a really bad idea'. Doing nothing let the down happen on the word alone.
On film
i actually panicked a little bit there and then like i didn't do like any form of negative reinforcement because he uh right there predicted the e-collar he associated the e-collar with down which is a really bad idea
Sniffing and petting were used as the currency, and the work was kept short and cool.
'He's a retriever and he needs to sniff'. Retrievers can be overworked. Heat combined with intensity is what overworks a dog.
On film
drill him too hard like you know retrievers they they can they can do a lot
it's it's warm outside so i just you can overwork a dog sometimes it can be hot but it's the heat combined with the intense activity
okay let's go yeah so he's figuring out pretty quickly now it is hot as blazes outside
At home, the pair became the unit. The marker must come first so that Cosmo attributes a correction to the handler and not to Simba.
A silent stim while Cosmo is mouthing Simba could teach Cosmo that Simba hurt him, and 'then you start a fight'.
On film
When you say the word and then the e-collar comes after, there he knows it was you not simba
for now then i'm gonna say the e-collar is definitely gonna want to be on cosmo right i mean ideally you might want both especially when you first start walking them together
The handover was cut short and turned into follow-ups, because both dogs came home rusty.
The trainer judged that a demonstration of rusty commands was not the right handover, and offered follow-up sessions at no extra charge instead.
On film
usually if i'm doing the drop-offs i kind of like demonstrate all the commands and everything but because things are a little bit rusty uh we can just kind of like plan those follow-ups
What the family was told
Marker before collar, and the two markers
you don't like just hit the e-collar without saying a word first because then the dog's like what did i do right
difference is we used to just say nope for everything now and is a reinforcement and nope is our punishment
a reinforcement so if Simba gets out of a sit right Cosmo gets out he doesn't listen to the recall that's an ant
The two dogs together
The reason I say we're going to work on that is because if you do it the wrong way, you can start a dogfight.
cosmo will do this thing where he starts like kind of biting him a little bit it's not like an aggressive bite or anything it's more of like he's trying to correct them
When you say the word and then the e-collar comes after, there he knows it was you not simba
What the first days will look like
they both had their training so i think it should probably pop into place pretty quickly
home cool yeah so it's the same thing right they come home and you're like this isn't allowed and like they act a fool for like maybe a couple days and then everything sits back into place
so it's that idea of Simba. It's like, he's just like, what can I get away with? Both of them are going to do that.
What comes next
And we can meet at, like, a Home Depot or some kind of, like, place that we can do, like, actual, like, off-leash work with them.
so um but that's really like as far as the training goes with them that's about it
In the family's own words
The owner's account of Simba's history: he learned most things on his own, and the one earlier problem was puppy jumping, which Christian trained.
On film
somebody had no problem i mean he pretty much learned everything on his own i just had the jumping problem when he was small yeah christian had him
A goal for next year: service-dog or public-access training for the dogs. Reported as the owner's hope, not as a plan.
On film
Are you trying to get them, like, service trained, too? Yeah.
Outcomes
What the trainers reported
On track, knows everything, going home on time. The down is the one big remaining item.
The trail trainer, mid-to-late June 2026
On film
Overall, he's very much on track and will be fine and be going home on time.
pretty much he knows everything at this point we just got like number one big thing with it down
He looks really nice off leash.
The store trainer, late June 2026
On film
So as you can see, he looks really nice off-leash, too, which is always fun.
He remembers nearly everything. What is left is the radius and the down.
The July trainer
On film
simple heel good job so he pretty much remembers everything at this point
In downtown Raleigh, by the end, he approached nobody and followed the trainer doing his commands. Impulse control improved.
The go-home trainer, at the handover
On film
When I took him to downtown Raleigh, I don't think he'd ever been around that much distraction before. And by the end, he didn't go up to anybody at all. He just followed me around, did his commands.
Both dogs came home wilder than usual and rusty. The trainer expects them to settle within days.
The go-home trainer, at the handover
On film
now they're both definitely more wild than i usually have dogs when they come home they're not this wild but you know that you've worked with us before you know that it's just it's circumstances
What the footage shows
The down being produced at every stage: twice with pressure and kibble on day one, food-lured and then worded in June, off leash after several 'eh' corrections in the store, and on the first ask in July. Whether he downs on the word alone under distraction is not shown.
On film
whoop all right so it's pressure all right okay good boy
Down. Eh. Down. Eh. Down. Eh.
retrievers go into it pretty easily okay good down
Off-leash obedience in a store with the collar on: heel, come and sit, demonstrated for a shopper.
On film
pretty good all right i'm gonna test you out okay i still have an e-collar on you so you're not free
Going to people persists in every filmed stay session. He breaks toward people on day one, strains toward passers-by in June, runs up and licks a stranger in the store, and in July runs off more than when he arrived. The only claim that it stopped is the unfilmed Raleigh outing.
On film
well i guess we know we need to we need to work on next week huh
okay simba can't be running up on people like that
Calm around another dog. He is used as the walk-through dog for Fiona's reactivity check, and she shows no interest in him off leash.
On film
look at simba it's simba go get him
The ideas Simba's case runs on
Cosmo
Who Cosmo is
As the trainers describe him
He arrived knowing nothing and 'crazy'. This matches the intake, which marks every one of thirteen cues as 'Doesn't Know At All' (source: intake).
On film
All right start here with Cosmo for his first session he's crazy
Now he's so he knows like absolutely nothing this is our first session
he's a little puppy he hasn't he doesn't know anything so be working with him later today
High energy that comes in bursts. He runs on momentum, and when the momentum drops he lies down. Two handlers independently describe the energy as the thing to manage.
On film
all right i got it again with cosmo he's got energy for days
one thing with cosmo is he's very like momentum based i've noticed so i keep everything super
just like all right i want to lay down now he's a high energy but in like sporadic doses of high
Impulse control is the deficit that defines him, named on Day 1 as the breed's weakness and named again at the go-home as the thing that has slipped.
On film
of like ran into or trained myself um they all like want to do the right thing their biggest
thing is just the frankly lack of impulse control there's just just like no impulse control
yeah so the big thing with Cosmo is just like that impulsive type stuff with the jumping we're
Wary of the world during the stay. Three staff independently say he is in a fear period, and all three say in the same breath that he is not a nervous dog. The reading is 'confident puppy working out what to be unsure of', not 'fearful dog'.
On film
but we're not ready to to get him like not fixated on people quite yet in fact he's very
weary of them even though he likes them and that's why I think pretty sure he's
like a confident dog but he's trying to figure out he should he's trying to figure out if he
impulse control right Cosmo yeah Cosmo see he's scared of everything right now
we're out here at the park so cosmo is in i believe he is in his fear cycle so he is a little
he's not a nervous dog but he's just figuring out what's bad what's good what he should be
But like even Cosmo's in a light fear cycle.
Jealous of Simba and 'way more dominant' than him. He mouths or play-bites the older dog when Simba gets the attention or will not stay put. Two separate staff describe it, one in the kennel and one at the handover. Both read it as a correction or a play-bite, not aggression.
On film
like his name is Cosmo and he's just like he hates it if the other one gets
more attention than him. So, he'll just like like play bite him and stuff.
well cosmo does not like it i i'm not gonna lie i did rub on simba a lot more
got a lot he's very he's like way more dominant so you're just so cute I really want to just not
doing that uh cosmo will do this thing where he starts like kind of biting him a little bit it's
Gentle with people, including small children, and physically sturdy under pressure.
On film
Very gentle.
Nice and calm.
so good you're not even jumping oh thank you yeah have a good day thank you to
A little slower than Simba. The go-home trainer says so directly, and the Day 1 trainer predicted it.
On film
Cosmo, I will say, does take a minute.
He takes a little bit longer to catch on, just a little bit.
Actually, he's got the makings to be absolutely fantastic,
The program, stage by stage
Intake, off camera
Form submitted 4/30/2026; pickup requested for 5/7/2026 (source: intake). Nothing filmed.
A six-month-old intact male golden retriever, given as a Christmas present, who knows no cue at all, has never been walked, and lives alongside an older golden retriever, Simba. The family names jumping, pulling and barking as the problems and crate training, obedience and public training as the priorities (source: intake). There is no evaluation footage and no history-taking on film.
Day 1 and the first May sessions: engagement, the leash, and the reward question
In the building by 2026-05-20. Day 1 uploaded 2026-05-26.
The Day 1 trainer does Simba first and Cosmo second on the same day. Cosmo is 'crazy', ignores his name, pulls, will not sit, and resists social pressure. The trainer's plan is engagement and loose-leash walking: he may go anywhere on a loose leash but must not hit the end, and the moment the leash tightens is paired with the e-collar so that the two become 'one in the same'. By the end, by the trainer's own account, he is mostly not pulling and responds to his name. The trainer reads a confident puppy in a fear period who locks up around people, and routes around the crowd. He works with kibble but says a ball is the right currency for a retriever, and closes on the rule that the dog decides what the reward is. In the undated WtX session another handler is coached to put Cosmo on place with one criterion (all four paws), not to repeat 'wait', and to reward him with pets.
On film
are basically one in the same in his mind every time he yanks on me and he feels the pressure from his collar and literally at that exact moment that the pressure hits he gets a knee collar too
saying like when he first got out here he was pretty much like he's not pulling on me for the
And now he responds to me, so I can kind of quickly get his e-collar on.
all you're wrong but as far as a dog and the reward goes as far as the dog deciding what
place is that all four paws have to be on the place type so whether he's sitting or standing
Early park work: a lured sit, the last of the treats, and the first proofing
Late May to early June. watch uploaded 2026-06-01, watch 2026-06-03, the Fiona walk-through 2026-06-04, watch 2026-06-06.
In what the trainer thinks is their second session, he lures the sit with treats, which he says he almost never does, because this 'spazzy' puppy is scared of everything and luring looks more efficient. The session gets 'an okay recall, like an okay sit'. The next outing refers back to that ('like I said'). The sit hold is raised to about ten seconds as 'the rule'. A resisted sit is finished so that he does not learn that doing nothing works. The trainer announces one of the last days of treats. 'Let's go' works on the marker, but the trainer doubts Cosmo understands it and plans to pair it with leash guidance. The session ends when he is exhausted in the heat, and the trainer regrets the last rep. Around the same time he and Simba walk through the yard as live distractions for another dog's recall proofing. Indoors, with a loud dog in the room, a trainer reports his impulse control 'looks really really better' but says he gets distracted before he is put into the command.
On film
I'm using the treats, luring him with the sit.
I think this is our second session.
he's gonna get it cosmo sit good boy this is like one of the last days you're gonna get treats in
let's keep walking for a second cosmo cosmo sit oh you almost i just need to do like 10 seconds that's like that's the rule buddy that's all we're trying to get to
Yes, we are using you for proofing, Cosmo.
um he's still some of his big things he can get distracted before I put him in the command.
Mid-June: public exposure, and other hands on the leash
Festival uploaded 2026-06-12. Cross-references uploaded 2026-06-12 to 2026-06-25.
A festival outing in which young children pet him and the handler calls him 'very gentle' and 'nice and calm'. No training is narrated. Around the same time his trainer tells another dog's owner that Cosmo and Simba are 'part of my set'. The next references show other staff taking him: one handler working him alongside Anna, another dog's trainer saying 'a couple of our other trainers' are training the two retrievers, and a Lake Benson outing where 'they're taking Cosmo out'. This stage is the thinnest part of his record.
On film
Very gentle.
yeah her and uh and honestly Cosmo and Simba are pretty cartoony too those are two retrievers that
trainers are training two golden retrievers right now simba and cosmo yeah they're not too bad the
They were probably I think taking Cosmo out. They're taking Cosmo out.
The last week that was not the last week: the down, a double session, and 'end of his program'Turning point
The richest teaching in his record. A trainer taking him out alone for the first time says he has 'really proven out' impulse control, which he defines as teaching the dog to chill out rather than suppressing him. The down is still in 'the manual phase': he is pressured into position 'however long it takes', and the collar is turned down when a noise startles him. The trainer keeps his finger resting on the button so that Cosmo cannot learn the hand movement. He lays out a three-phase model for teaching any command: mechanical placement plus the word, then aids with faster pressure, then the word alone. One rep near the end looks like phase two, and he will not call it. The same day there is a store session at Cabela's/Bass Pro as the second half of a 'double session'. It is strict, sniffing people is not allowed, and it ends with 'absolutely marvelous'. Another trainer, at the end of a day that included place-cot work with other staff, sharpens a straight, snappy recall. He sensitises the release word with big gestures that are later faded, and warns that a tug on the leash with 'okay' teaches the dog to wait for the tug. He explains why he paces reps rather than grinding them. A third trainer calls it the end of the program: everything is solid except down and heel, and one down comes on the word alone. A staff member says he will be ready to go home on Sunday, 'sits good' and 'downed with like a little bit of snap'.
On film
not with any dog we work with with the impulse control not suppressing the dog but just teaching
cosmo down you got it down come on there we go all right still in the manual phase
will I'm not gonna use any like technical jargon here I'm gonna make it very simple your first phase is basically mechanically teaching the dog what the position is and then linking the word
these behaviors we work on them all week this is like the final section where
is that the recall just needs to be very snappy.
which is the only thing really left for him everything else is pretty solid for cosmo
all right now that I took him out he's good he needs to be tuned up but it sits good he
The extended stay
About July. Two owner lessons for other dogs are undated. The Cosmo and Simba recordings of 2026-07-30 are upper-bounded.
The go-home does not happen. In another household's first owner lesson, a trainer explains that the retrievers are being kept longer and will go home probably in August. In another dog's lesson a different trainer describes the pair as 'here with us for extended' for the owner's reasons. He also describes Cosmo in the kennel play-biting Simba whenever Simba gets more attention, until Simba looked 'sad', and bringing the e-collar in to mark each attempt 'Nope'.
On film
Simba and Cosmo not yet no okay no probably in August okay I was like I'm not ready to say
e-collar in here and just like every time he like goes to bite him just be
boy, that's Kyle for today, so, like I said, he's already trained, but I'm just keeping up with his training, so he doesn't forget.
The go-home lesson: rusty, wild, and converted into follow-upsTurning point
On or before 2026-08-11, probably a Saturday in early August. At the owner's house, on the trainer's body cam.
Both dogs are delivered together. The trainer says plainly that they are 'more wild than i usually have dogs when they come home' and that they are 'rusty' on impulse control and jumping. He puts it down to circumstances. Instead of the usual demonstration of every command, he offers follow-up sessions at no extra charge, first at the house and then somewhere like Home Depot for off-leash work, and calls it a hybrid of board-and-train and sessions. The owner is told not to take Cosmo off leash until then. The substantive teaching is about the pair. Cosmo mouths Simba on walks to make him stay put, and doing it wrong can start a dogfight. So the marker must always come before the e-collar, so that Cosmo knows the correction came from the handler and not from Simba. Jumping should settle within a day or two because 'it's already in there', and the trainer compares it to children coming home from their grandparents.
On film
now they're both definitely more wild than i usually have dogs when they come home they're
this kind of stuff that he's like rusty at now right like that impulse control type stuff i
So, like I said, what we'll do, if you're cool, not charging extra or anything,
So, in this case, if you just hit the e-collar without anything
When you say the word and then the e-collar comes after,
commands and everything but because things are a little bit rusty uh we can just kind of like
Skills
Loose-leash walking (not hitting the end of the leash)
How it was taught
A long loose leash with freedom everywhere except the end. The instant the leash tightens, the e-collar is paired with the leash pressure, so that eventually the leash alone carries the meaning.
On film
pretty much let him like loose leash over here start to build some stuff but just like loose leash he pretty much allowed to go anywhere he wants on the loose on the leash being this loose but he cannot hit the end
he's not trying to pull me once which is fantastic i spoke too soon
It's not cool anymore.
Sit
How it was taught
Social pressure and repeated cues on Day 1, released to sniff as the reward. Then a treat lure, which the trainer calls unusual for him and uses to build impulse control. The lure is phased out within days. A resisted sit is always finished. Duration is raised to about ten seconds.
On film
Hey, he's fighting me pretty good on this.
that so with the treat Lauren to the sit I should be able to build a lot of
merely just couldn't let him win that exchange because then he kind of develops a little bit of a thing that i'm like oh i can just kind of like not do anything and it works
reset so what i'm doing is i'm trying to do an implied sit because whenever i give him a recall he's coming sits
Down
How it was taught
Leash pressure into position 'however long it takes', with 'all the way' for partial downs and 'eh' as the no-marker. The down, like the sit, carries an implied stay. The collar is turned down after a startle. Then the word is sensitised in new places after indoor work, and finally the word stands in for the collar because the two have been paired.
On film
possible try to get the recall as far as possible and then i'll introduce the heel or the down
you want to pressure him in there it's going to force him into it however long it takes
down down that right there so that is kind of that's a phase two action right there now whether
that word because he uh he knows what it means for the most part we're just gonna have to because
energy you know Cosmo down down it all right so I did not hit the color I just
use that word because he's so used to the color being turned on with that word
downed with like a little bit of snap his recalls early night and walk by he's not bad at all yes
Recall
How it was taught
'Come' into a sit, with no partial arrivals. Late on, he is sent ahead and called straight in, the angle is corrected, and many reps are done off camera.
On film
cosmo hey cosmo come come here oh no you gotta come on you gotta make it all the way
is to get him to like run straight at me right there was a little bit of an angle like Cosmo
so we're gonna tune that up a little bit it's not bad though he's looking really nice okay
Place
How it was taught
Say the word once. It opens his window, and if he gets up he is put back. Any posture counts if all four paws are on. Reward with love and pets.
On film
don't say wait or anything if once you say the word it's his window if he gets up then he gets
he was uh he's kind of been training all day um we had him who are the trainers we're doing some
Heel
How it was taught
Not shown. One trainer says heel is the one command taught without faded aids: 'you just gotta figure it out'.
On film
of his uh his program with us he's doing really good we're tuning up um the down in the heel
right we do that for us it we do that for our downs we do that for pretty much everything honestly except the heel
Release ('okay')
How it was taught
Say 'okay' with large, animated body language and fade the gestures toward the word alone. Never tug the leash with it.
On film
sometimes and it's like you do have to sensitize the word like just saying okay might not be enough for every dog you may have to get really big and really animated at first and wean them off of it
And what that teaches the dog is that you gotta, they have to feel a slight leash pull with the okay.
Impulse control and jumping
How it was taught
Through everything else: the lured sit, holds, a loud dog in the room, a strict store visit with no sniffing people. At home, 'nope' for jumping, which the trainer expects to settle within a day or two.
On film
So what we're going on with him now. He's just really proven out that
No, Cosmo. Stop it.
I mean, you could probably get him to stop doing that jumping within, like, a day or two, you know.
Place
On film
And you can see he gave up entirely.
He's not planning on getting out anytime soon.
I did do a mistake.
I didn't press the button at all,
Release ('okay')
On film
which is okay, but like a high pitch.
From the Shorts
Short clips posted from Cosmo's training. They are undated, so they sit beside the program rather than inside it.
Staying on place when someone knocks
A helper steps outside to knock or ring the doorbell while Cosmo waits on his place bed, and the handler praises him for holding it. The handler keeps him there longer, saying he stays now and has given up on getting off, then releases him with 'okay' said in a high pitch, and says he is doing pretty good.
On film
You go out like this door and knock or like do the ding dong or whatever
knock and then I'll see what he does
place
you did so good
I'm doing it longer though, right now.
He stays now.
So I give him the release command,
which is okay, but like a high pitch.
How the method adapted
Cosmo is not a fear case, a bite case or a reactivity case. His file records a program fitting itself to a bouncy puppy who wanted to please and could not hold still, and then to a pair of housemates who had been kenneled together for too long. Most of the adaptations are small. The largest one is not a training move at all. It is the handover being turned into follow-up sessions.
Food lures for the sit, which the trainer says he almost never uses, and then an early exit from food.
He was too wired to be placed, and luring 'could be more efficient for certain dogs'. Within days, though, it is 'one of the last days you're gonna get treats in the training'.
On film
in several sets but just goes to show you that sometimes you know there's a way to do it that could be more efficient for certain dogs and like learning what moves them and motivates them the most
and i'm treat luring him like i said i don't usually do treat lures with a sit like i pretty much never do but he is so high energy
Fear period read as a developmental phase, and handled by routing rather than exposure.
The Day 1 trainer is not ready to make him neutral to people yet, and reads the lock-ups as a puppy thing. The key tool is 'let's go'.
On film
probably just gonna carve out most people here because he's just park's great to do your training
gonna be at a puppy but we'll see the main main key for that is just like
Momentum over repetition. Reps are chained and kept exciting, paced by the dog, and never ground out.
He flops down when the chain breaks. He can take a quicker pace between reps than a doodle who needed a minute and a half. And grinding would not transfer to a family's walk.
On film
one thing with cosmo is he's very like momentum based i've noticed so i keep everything super
not grinding commands with Cosmo, especially because he is tired. Grinding commands in general is not a fantastic idea.
that dog took like a it was like a minute at least a minute minute and a half cool down because she would get overwhelmed really easily um for cosmo i can go pretty quick
Dose stopped for heat and fatigue, with the trainer owning one rep too many.
Two early sessions end with him exhausted. In one the trainer says he should not have asked for the last sit.
On film
him do it yeah i really shouldn't have made him do that last time he's exhausted cosmo it's okay i'm not doing it anymore don't worry
The collar turned down when he startled, and the handler's hand kept still on the remote.
A noise startled him in the middle of down work. Separately, the trainer keeps his finger on the button the whole time so the dog cannot learn to predict the correction from the hand.
On film
hey what hey what's that noise buddy oh all right let's turn you down a little bit
if the dog notices it every single time you touch the collar then if something bad
Two outings in one day, the second in a store, to test the week's work under distraction before go-home.
It is the 'final section where really everything starts to come together'. The trainer calls the double session something he is trying out.
On film
or I need to teach them to get down or a heel doing a double session which is
today we are working pretty hard so I just want to test him out a little bit
The marker-before-collar rule taught to the owner as a safety rule for a two-dog house, not only as a clarity rule.
A silent correction while Cosmo is mouthing Simba could make him blame Simba and start a fight. In the kennel, one trainer had already corrected the same behaviour with 'Nope' and the collar.
On film
while Cosmo's doing his, like, biting Simba,
what could happen is he could think Simba did that.
gonna want to be on cosmo right i mean ideally you might want both especially when you first
The go-home demonstration dropped and replaced by free follow-ups, first at the house and then off leash at a store.
The dogs were 'rusty' after the extended stay. The trainer calls the arrangement a one-off hybrid of the two usual formats.
On film
And we can meet at, like, a Home Depot or some kind of, like, place that we can do, like, actual, like, off-leash work with them.
But just because of just every, like, this is more of, like, a unique thing, I'm just going to kind of do a hybrid with both.
What the family was told
Where the dogs are, honestly
now they're both definitely more wild than i usually have dogs when they come home they're
not this wild but you know that you've worked with us before you know that it's just it's
circumstances it's all it is what it is
No off-leash until the follow-ups
really would not take him off leash until we've done like some of our follow-ups because right
Cosmo and Simba together: e-collars on both, and why
Cosmo does have this tendency to, like, he likes Simba to, like, stay put.
gonna want to be on cosmo right i mean ideally you might want both especially when you first
not like an aggressive bite or anything it's more of like he's trying to correct them yeah but it's
The word before the collar, and the two correction markers
you know about like i said where you have your like chain of events you don't like just hit the
difference is we used to just say nope for everything now and is a reinforcement and nope
nope, exactly same, looks the same.
When you say the word and then the e-collar comes after,
Jumping, and what to expect in the first days home
But, again, like, if you just use the nope with that, you can correct that, like, really fast.
I mean, because it's already in there.
home cool yeah so it's the same thing right they come home and you're like this isn't allowed and
The follow-up plan
is maybe like once or twice we'll do like some follow-ups here right and then
And we can meet at, like, a Home Depot or some kind of, like, place that we can do, like, actual, like, off-leash work with them.
In the family's own words
The owner already knows the older marker system from before, because the household has worked with the company before (Simba's first program, which the owner credits to Christian and a jumping problem).
On film
he pretty much learned everything on his own i just had the jumping problem when he was small
A hope for service or public-access training for the dogs in the future. It is the owner's aspiration, raised in passing, and nothing is planned on camera.
On film
Are you trying to get them, like, service trained, too?
An opening remark, speaker not certain, that the dog has 'never been this calm', which sits oddly beside the trainer's 'more wild than usual'.
On film
of course he's never been this calm yeah yeah cosmo or oh oh good he's older now wasn't
Outcomes
What the trainers reported
Impulse control 'really proven out'; 'doing really really well'.
The trainer who took him out alone in the last week (watch)
On film
Cosmo's doing really really well, and he's going home in a couple days
In a distracting store, 'doing absolutely marvelous'.
Same trainer, same day (watch)
On film
in the store with lots of distractions and he's doing absolutely marvelous so
Everything solid except down and heel at the end of the program.
On film
which is the only thing really left for him everything else is pretty solid for cosmo
Ready to go home: good sit, down with some snap, recall and walk 'not bad at all', needs a tune-up.
A staff member, in another dog's recording (watch)
On film
all right now that I took him out he's good he needs to be tuned up but it sits good he
'Already trained'.
The handler in the July maintenance clip (watch)
On film
boy, that's Kyle for today, so, like I said, he's already trained, but I'm just keeping up with his training, so he doesn't forget.
At handover: rusty on impulse control and jumping, wilder than the program's dogs usually are, a little slower than Simba. The training is 'already in there' and should 'pop into place'.
The go-home trainer (watch)
On film
that um like i they they both had their training so i think it should probably pop into place
What the footage shows
On Day 1, pulling reduced within one session and the dog responding to his name, by the trainer's running account. This is the clearest before-and-after in his file, and it is narrated rather than measured.
On film
Yeah, so, like, within most control, like, from now, from when we left,
if I said his name, he could care less.
A down on the word alone, with the trainer stating he did not press the button, at the end of the program.
On film
it's conditioned for he to are the same I didn't have to hit the button that
Calm, gentle greetings with young children at a festival, by the handler's remarks.
On film
Nice and calm.
At the go-home, a jump on the trainer that he uses on the spot to explain rustiness.
On film
the huggies yeah this is what happens when you get rusty you start jumping on people again because
The ideas Cosmo's case runs on
- Control what the dog blames
- Don't accept the almost
- Drilling is what represses a dog
- Food facilitates calm, it cannot create it
- Meaningful release
- Pick the place for what it contains - life is the training ground
- Pressure, release, reward
- Reading the dog
- Switch him on, then ask for off
- Teach the move, then the word
- The dog tells you the reward
- The marker vocabulary: eh, good, okay - and two corrections
- The method the case can afford
- The settling week