Oso Yellow Labrador Retriever Male 1 Year Old ID#3488

Meet Oso! This big, handsome guy was surrendered by his owners to Brookline. Due to the owner’s age and some medical ailments as Oso grew, it was hard for his owners to manage him.  Oso just turn 1yo on June 25 and weighs in at 90lbs. Oso is now in a Brookline foster home.  Please read his blog from the bottom up to learn more about him.

July 7, 2026

As we get to know big beautiful Oso, we find ourselves asking, “What is there to be said about Oso?”

He’s got an oh-so big head and an oh-so big personality and an oh-so big heart (metaphorically speaking). See what we did there? “Oh-so…Oso,” just in case you didn’t know how to pronounce it! 😆

Oso has been with us a week, and he’s proving to be quite eager to learn and very much a gentleman on the leash.

Did you know that Oso means “bear” in Spanish?

And while Oso may be on the larger size, he is not necessarily bear-sized but rather cuddly like a teddy bear!

Some lucky person or family is going to get the privilege of sharing their space and time with a truly exceptional diamond in the rough… although after a few weeks of training with us at Tall Tails, followed by 7 owner training sessions when he is adopted, he’ll be a fully sparkling diamond with nothing rough at all!

July 1, 2026

Oso was transported to our training facility, where he will join several other dogs receiving professional training. This handsome boy is beginning the next step in his journey, and with the guidance of the trainer and her staff, we know he has every opportunity to become the very best version of himself. We have no doubt that, with the right structure, training, and consistency, Oso will thrive and one day make an incredible companion for a lucky adoptive family. We look forward to following his progress and hearing updates from the team at the training facility.

June 31, 2026

By Sunday, Oso had been with us for approximately 72 hours, and we were beginning to get a much clearer picture of who he is and what he needs to be successful.

After three days of living in a home with a resident dog, Oso continued to display persistent and obsessive greeting behaviors. His desire to interact with the resident dog never seemed to diminish, and he struggled to recognize or respond appropriately to the other dog’s cues that the interaction was no longer welcome. Even after receiving appropriate corrections from the resident dog, Oso continued to invade his space, eventually causing the resident dog to become stressed and look to his parents for relief and intervention.

Oso’s persistent greeting behaviors were also evident with the people in the home. He genuinely loves being around people and thrives on attention, but because he weighs over 90 pounds and is incredibly strong, redirecting him away from a person or another dog can be physically challenging when he becomes fixated. His intentions are always happy and friendly—there has never been any indication of aggression—but his size and inability to disengage can make those interactions difficult to manage.

On the occasions when Oso was able to truly settle, he would adorably stretch out and sleep on his back.

Unfortunately, even the slightest sound or movement would often bring him right back into a heightened state of excitement. His mind rarely seemed able to fully relax unless he was resting comfortably in his crate.

We made sure Oso received plenty of exercise in the yard before working on basic obedience. He is very food motivated and readily performs commands such as “sit” and “down” when treats are involved. However, any activity or distraction around him would immediately break his concentration, making it difficult for him to remain engaged in training. After consulting with our mentor and the rescue board, it was determined that Oso’s current needs exceed what a typical foster or adoptive home—whether with or without another dog—would realistically be able to provide. It became clear that Oso would benefit most from working with a knowledgeable, certified professional trainer who can help him develop impulse control, appropriate social skills, and the structure he needs to thrive. Given his size and the behaviors he has displayed, he is currently more dog than most people would be equipped to safely manage.

Oso has some big and exciting news to share tomorrow! Stay tuned to see where his journey leads next as this big, handsome, well-intentioned pup wraps up his stay with us.

June 30, 2026

After sleeping through the night without any issues, Oso was ready to kick off Day 2 of his weekend.It quickly became apparent that this big guy would benefit from a slow feeder after he finished the previous night’s dinner in just a matter of seconds. Breakfast was served in a slow feeder, and he did great with it.Oso has a tremendous amount of love to give and truly enjoys being around people. He loves attention, belly rubs, and soaking up affection. He was wonderful interacting with adults and teenage kids in the home. One thing to know about Oso is that he doesn’t always recognize when someone isn’t interested in being greeted. If you don’t pet Oso, there’s a good chance he’ll gently encourage you to by nonstop nudging and licking for attention!

The resident foster dog was a bit more tolerant of Oso on Saturday, although he made it clear he preferred to keep to himself. Oso was very persistent in wanting to greet and interact with him and didn’t yet recognize the other dog’s signals that the interest wasn’t mutual.

Oso knows several basic commands, including sit, down, and paw. He also definitely knows what the word “treat” means! He responds well to commands but can become easily distracted by everything happening around him.

When the house is quiet and there’s little activity, Oso is able to settle nicely and relax. As soon as someone gets up or a new person enters the room, he’s excited to greet them and happily seeks out attention however he will return to his persistent behavior.Oso seems to prefer hardwood floors over plush dog beds, although he also settles nicely in his crate where he relaxes and sleeps peacefully. One of his cutest habits is sleeping flat on his back with all four paws in the air.

June 29, 2026

Oso arrived at the Reppert household Friday afternoon and the first order of business was a bath. Oso loved being scrubbed and bathed but this 90 pound boy thought the water hose was a game so it looked a little bit like wrestling a wild boar!After bath time was done and he was dried off, he met the furminator brush which he didn’t mind one bit. About eight dogs worth of fur was removed him.

Next up was playtime. Oso found an indestructible jolly ball for horses. The resident dog carries it around by the handle but Oso didn’t quite figure that out yet and since his mouth is massive he was able to just carry the whole ball around in his mouth.Oso met the resident dog Bronco who is a former Brookline foster fail. It wasn’t exactly love at first sight so they spent the evening mostly separated with several short quick introductions. Oso appears fully house broken and crate trained. Oso slept through the night in his crate and was quiet all night. Stay tuned for night two update.