Please join me in welcoming the most adorable “mini” Golden to the RAGOM family. Tinkerbell is a 30-pound female mini Goldendoodle—she’ll be 6 years old next month. She is cute as a button and the sweetest girl ever. She came to us from a couple who were facing major health challenges, so they needed to simplify. We are so grateful they reached out to us—she is a gem.

Tinkerbell lived out in the country and spent most of her time in the barn, so she is pretty shy. When she first got here, she didn’t know about being in a house, riding in a car, and many other things. She is a super-fast learner though, and she has mastered many aspects of daily life such as potty training, excitedly running to the door to go for a walk, and eating dinner with the other dogs.

The first few days she was here, when she was in her dog bed in her crate, or on the couch, she would put her snout in a corner and curl up and make herself as small as possible. We called this being a nugget. With each passing day as she’s gotten more relaxed, she now rests on the living room rug, or on the dog bed in the living room, all stretched out.

One thing that really stands out for Tinkerbell is her love of being touched and petted. I think she was so touch deprived when she first got here, she would lay next to me on the couch, in her nugget position, really still, and just soak up pets. She continues to love being petted, and she’ll seek me out now for pets or attention. It has been a joy to watch her unfold and open up.

Her favorite place to be is outside. She loves the smells, sounds, and just laying in the sun. She gets really excited and loves our walks. We walk close to home about 2 miles, or a county park that has groomed trails, or the local town on a paved trail so she practices walking where there is the sound of traffic and other people walking.

I use an Easy Walk harness with the loop on the top, and that works well. She never pulls and walks beautifully in heel position. Sometimes I have to coax her if she starts smelling something along the way. It’s a balancing act because I want her to smell and engage in her surroundings—just to be a dog. She does need a nudge once in a while though!

One of the things she quickly learned was how comfortable the bed is. She follows the resident dogs, and I swear she learns more from them than anything. Here she is the first time she jumped up on the bed because she saw Charlie taking a nap. It looked pretty comfy so she had to give it a try.

Fast forward a few days as she learned how fun toys are to carry around. Toys + comfy bed = hoarding toys on the bed!

Now every room of the house is populated with toys. And she just learned that they squeak! She also started carrying a stuffed toy to the door when she goes out to go potty. It’s pretty adorable—she is getting in touch with her inner Golden Retriever—even if it’s a mini version!

Some of the logistics stuff: Tinkerbell has been to the vet for her wellness check, and she’s up to date with vaccinations and preventatives. She is spayed, and the only thing left to do is a dental procedure. She has some pretty rough looking teeth and will need at least six extractions and a good cleaning. That is scheduled, and once she has that, she is ready for her new home.

She also had a professional groom and I think that really helped her self-esteem. The groomer said if she didn’t already have a full house, she’d love to adopt her because “she’s perfect.” She loved her temperament and soft personality.

Tinkerbell is quite shy and startles easily. This is getting better with each passing week, but her new family will need to continue to work with her to build her confidence and acclimate her to different environments and people. She loves people, and LOVES going for car rides, so that won’t be challenge.

I believe a quieter home (not crazy active) will be the best fit for her. She is drawn to kids, but I’d say a tad older: 8+ and dog savvy. I haven’t tested her with cats but she lived with cats in her previous home. She also LOVES other dogs. I took her to doggy daycare and she had a ball—loved playing with dogs of all ages.

As I mentioned above, she takes her cues from our resident dogs, so I’d like her to go to a home with at least one other dog for modeling.

I’ll write more as I get to know this little peanut!