In the 2000 historical film, “The Patriot” General Cornwallis (Tom Wilkinson) had two pet dogs, both were Great Danes. Mars (played by Charity) and Jupiter (played by Vanilla). Of course, Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) adopts these two dogs and while Cornwallis states that they’ve probably been eaten – the next scene shows that Benjamin is treating them very well – feeding them meat (while the troops were low on food). Later in the film, Benjamin returns the dogs to Cornwallis only to call them back as he exits the gates – much to Cornwallis’ anger.
Great Danes are very large dogs (one of the largest breeds in existence) and were considered a status symbol in England royalty at the time (1700s).
Elizabeth McMullan and Kathleen Pirelli are credited for being the dog trainers on the set.
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In the 1986 cult-classic film, “Ferris Bueller’s Day off” there is a scene when principal Edward Rooney (played by Jeffrey Jones) tries to break into Ferris’ house to catch him playing hookey red handed. Of course, no one his home except The Bueller family’s dog – an unnamed Rottweiler who proceeds to chase Rooney out of the house. Later on, Rooney is able to knock the dog out with a floral arrangement that was delivered for the ailing Ferris (don’t worry – they just put the dog in a “play dead” command while they had the debris around him). Don’t worry, the dog did get his revenge when towards the end of the film, Ferris’ sister, Jeanie, slams a door shut with Rooney in the back yard. Of course, this wakes the dog up and you can hear a “vicious” attack going on behind the door with Rooney screaming.
Rottweiliers are commonly used in movies as “tough” dogs due to their bulky appearance and reputation when in reality a well bred and trained Rottie is actually a very sweet and cuddly dog but they can be protective of their family and can be trained to look aggressive.
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The 1985 “in your face” comedy sequel featured the least likely of additions to the police force: Officer Vinnie Schtulman (Peter Van Norden) and his K-9 Newfoundland dog, Lou. Of course, Officer Lou is the exact opposite of your traditional police dog – slow, cumbersome, clumsy, messy, and seemingly unintelligent (in reality Newfies can be smart). The K-9 compliments Officer Schtulman who is also messy, slow, less intelligent than the others, and quite stubborn. Of course, it hads to the comedy when they both eat form the same plate.
Officer Lou was played by the most titled Newfloundland dogs to date, Kodiak (aka VN Ch. Riptide’s Brown Kodiak Bear, CD, WRD, DD). Of course the dog was a big teddy bear on the set and was quite stubborn – quite often dictating how many takes he’s want for a shoot. Don’t let this get you, though, he did alert his owner, Kathie Cullen, to a dangerous fire that was burning in her home. Kodiak has also earned the Newfoundland club’s prestigious “Versatility” award. (more…)
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The 1986 future-star studded film was about four young boys on their way to find a dead body. Their journey proves difficult for them and they come across many tests of courage during their trip. One of them was to face “Chopper”, a guard dog at a junkyard where they took refuge one afternoon. There is a rumor that the owner of the dog taught him a command that would strike the fear into any young man’s heart – “Chopper – sick balls”.
Chopper was a golden retriever named Popeye who was also in the films “War of the Roses” (1989 as “Benny”) and “Out of Bounds” (1986 – as Barney the Dog). Golden retrievers love to play fetch, catch, and any other “game” that requires retrieving. They are also trained to retrieve shot-down foul for hunters. They can easily be made to look like a dangerous mutt with good speed and agility – and when needed, to bite Corey Feldman in the rear end.
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In the middle of the first season of Stargate SG-1 the team comes across a young girl who ends up carrying a massive bomb in her that is set to destroy the SGC. Luckily, the bomb does not go off and the girl ends up bring adopted by Dr. Fraiser.
Towards the end of the episode Col. Jack O’Neill tells her that there is a rule on Earth, “Every kid gets a dog” and then hands her a Shiba Inu. Shiba Inus are a spitz breed (very similar to Finnish Spitz) and are smaller in size. They probably used a dog this size so the little girl could carry it (not too well, though).
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In the 2004 film, “The Day After Tomorrow”, a homeless man named Luther (played by Glenn Plummer) always had his best friend by his side – a border collie named “Buddha”. Ian Doig was the animal trainer for this film.
The wolves in the movie were CGI but during shooting, real trained wolves were used and during post-production CGI animated wolves were inserted over the real wolves (presumably to make them look bigger and badder).
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K-9 was a 1989 film starring James Belushi (as Officer Mike Dooley) and “Koton” (as K-9 Officer Jerry Lee) about an officer (Mike Dooley) who needs to find, and bring to justice, a drug dealer who tried to kill him. He is given a German shepherd who is trained as a narcotics dog to assist him. Of course, Mike has never worked with a K-9 before and his lack of experience comes out when Jerry Lee starts off very independent. K-9 also had a sequel, the 1999 film K911 also starring James Belushi and another German shepherd, “Mac”.
Koton also starred in TV series, K-9 where he starred as “Rondo the Dog”.
(more…)
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The film “Marley & Me” stars Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston. It is a biography (based on a true story book), from the point of view, of a dog that they receive as a puppy (a yellow lab named Grogan – played by “Jonah” (he was also in the 2007 documentary “Zoo“) and have the dog for a pet for 13 years. The puppy is a typical dog in many ways – untrained, high energy, destructive (but not though malice), and eager to please his humans (from a dog’s point of view).
As the family and their canine family member grow, the humans have children as they accept (and love) Marley the way he is until his dying days. (more…)
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In 2006 Tim Allen starred in the remake of the 1959 film, “The Shaggy Dog” gets bitten on the hand by a dog that was used for animal testing. In the process Dave (played by Tim Allen), at times, turns into a bearded collie which helps him solve some mysteries as well as solving problems at his home. (more…)
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For close to 20 years Fox has shown the weekly show, “Cops” and since then there have been many spin-offs (best police chases, best police videos, etc..) and quite often you see the K9 officer being involved (nothing beats a video of a K9 taking down a criminal). 
From what I’ve seen, the vast majority of these K9s are either German shepherds or Belgian malinois. In all the years of watching Cops, I think I can count on one hand the number of non-malinois and non-GSD K9 units in the show (once I did see a Dobie and it was interesting to watch).
Why GSDs and malinois? These two breeds are easily trained (both being very intelligent), have stamina to be able to work a long day, are herding dogs (so they are very attentive and protective to their “pack” (meaning the K9 handler)), have a relatively long working life span (roughly 7-10 years for a GSD, 10-15 years for a malinois), can be very powerful (their size, the momentum they can build up while running, and powerful bites), plus the sight of a good example of these breeds can be extremely intimidating.
Don’t think these two breeds are killers – they make great pets (GSDs are far easier than malinois, though) and raised correctly they can be a very loyal companion to any family.
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