Breed: Poochon (Bichon Frise / Poodle)
Date of birth: 01/08/2018
Gender: Male
Neck circumference: 27cm
Base of neck to base of tail: 37.5cm
Chest circumference: 46cm
Height to shoulder: 23cm
Weight: 7.5kg

General Description

Spend five minutes with Buddy and you will understand why people keep calling him the most human-like dog they have met. This small white Poochon tilts his head, holds your gaze and reacts as though he has followed every word, with a glint of sass that hints he might answer back. He is loving and endlessly willing, just as content running a slick routine on set as he is burrowing under a blanket with his favourite cushion at home.

The Poochon crosses the Bichon Frise with the Poodle, two breeds with showmanship in their blood. Bichons were pampered companions in the Spanish and French courts for centuries, turning up in Renaissance portraits before working as nimble circus performers once royal fashions moved on. Poodles began as clever water retrievers and became one of the great trick-and-circus breeds, widely rated among the cleverest dogs alive. Buddy inherits the best of both!

On set Buddy is wonderfully steady. He stays calm under pressure, holds eye contact on cue and is content to be handled, groomed and fussed over by people he has only just met. He travels well, works confidently off lead and is unruffled by the bustle of a busy shoot, having grown up alongside parrots and a rabbit. Two notes for the diary: he has a beef allergy, so any treats must be beef-free, though he is so motivated by sweet potato that it makes the perfect reward. He is also happiest away from fireworks and the buzz of drones.

Buddy is a character actor through and through, and that famously human quality is his secret weapon. Ask him to look sad and he gives you a heartbreaker of an expression. Ask him to play dead and he commits completely, flopping onto his back or side and holding it until the scene is done. He can drop his head low in a sulk, throw himself into a hug on cue or tumble through a rollover for comic effect, which leaves him right at home in sitcoms, emotional dramas and family films built around an expressive household dog. There is an adventurous streak in there too. He climbs, squeezes in and out of tight spaces, leaps into a pair of waiting arms and sails through a hoop, so action sequences, stunts and anything calling for a game little dog suit him well. He will also single out one specific item from a group and carry it across set, a neat skill for storylines where the dog retrieves the crucial object.

In the studio Buddy is a true professional. He locks into a pose and holds it for as long as the shot demands, fixing his attention on a mark, a person or an object exactly as directed. He never loses patience across a long session. Studio lighting and flash are old news to him, so nothing about a working set rattles him. His bright white coat photographs cleanly against almost any backdrop and grooms up a treat, which suits pet-care, grooming and wellbeing brands down to the ground. He is a willing clothes horse too, happy in outfits, hats, glasses and even a GoPro, so fashion labels and accessory ranges should find him a real catch. Whether he is sitting pretty with paws raised beside a product or standing on a platform, he holds the frame like a dog who truly enjoys the limelight, which by every account he does.