Breed: Maltipoo
Date of birth: 28/10/2025
Gender: Female
Weight: 3.6kg
Neck circumference: 21cm
Chest circumference: 33cm
Base of neck to base of tail: 32.5cm
Height to shoulder: 21cm

General Description

At home she is known as the princess, mostly because she tends to get her own way. Nessie is barely three and a half kilograms of apricot fluff broken by soft white markings, and she carries herself with the poise of a dog who has never doubted her own importance for a second. Trainers and boarders alike describe her as unusually mature, which is a surprising thing to hear about a dog this size and this sparky. She is playful, opinionated, extremely bright and she takes new situations entirely in her stride. Training has not flattened any of her character, and that combination of polish and cheek is precisely what makes her watchable.

An F1 Maltipoo is a first-generation cross, one Maltese parent and one Poodle parent, which gives the fullest expression of both sides. The Maltese half reaches back further than almost any companion breed alive: small white dogs of this type were carried around the ancient Mediterranean as prized lap companions, and the Roman poet Martial wrote a whole epigram in praise of one named Issa. The Poodle half began in Germany as a water dog, its name derived from puddeln, meaning to splash about, before France adopted it and turned it into an emblem of elegance. Apricot doodle-type dogs now occupy a particular corner of contemporary culture, having become one of the defining silhouettes of the social media era, and Nessie already has a following of her own across Instagram and TikTok plus branded content produced for hotels.com to her name.

She adores people, greets them with real enthusiasm then settles quickly rather than fizzing on. She stays composed under pressure, is comfortable being handled by unfamiliar hands, enjoys grooming and blow-drying and travels without fuss. One item for the diary: she has a chicken allergy, so all treats on set must be chicken-free.

Small, expressive and immaculately mannered, Nessie belongs in domestic storytelling. Romantic comedies, warm family narratives and anything built around a much-adored little dog in a stylish flat play directly to her. She takes a mark, holds a stay, drops on request, lowers her head to the floor and stops dead on an emergency cue, which makes her straightforward to place precisely within a busy frame. She gives a paw for the affectionate beats and springs up onto furniture or into a lap where the blocking asks for it.

Her real distinguishing move is a backwards shuffle, a reverse walk she performs on request. That kind of comic retreat is difficult to fake and gives directors a genuine gag rather than a cutaway. A dependable recall over distance means she can be released to run to a cast member across a room or a lawn, always a reliable emotional beat. She responds to non-verbal cues too, so scenes requiring silence on the floor present no difficulty. Her handler is happy to appear alongside her where a script calls for an owner and dog pairing.

Apricot and cream photograph gorgeously in warm, soft-lit interiors, which places Nessie squarely with boutique hotels, travel and hospitality brands, interiors labels, wedding and events suppliers and gifting ranges. She has already delivered commercial content in exactly that world, so she arrives with an understood workflow rather than a learning curve. She holds a pose, which is the single most useful thing a small dog can offer a photographer, and she wears clothing willingly, opening up pet fashion, knitwear, harness and carrier brands where XXS sizing is genuinely hard to cast.

Because grooming and hairdryer work please rather than trouble her, coat-care, shampoo and salon brands can shoot process and result in one session. Her tolerance of handling by strangers lets stylists reposition her freely between frames. Given her existing audience and her comfort in front of a phone camera as much as a lens, she is well suited to influencer-led collaborations, short-form video and social-first campaigns where personality carries the piece. Add her happy demeanour around children and she suits family lifestyle, nursery and childrenswear shoots too.