Detailed Animal Action Report

In the scene where a boy sees an old woman sitting on a bed, with her dog on the ground growling at him, this scene was filmed on a stage. American Humane checked the stage for hazards before working. The trained dog had a reliable sit/stay, so he was experienced and capable of the mild action. The dog and the actress were acquainted prior to shooting. On action, the trainer cued the dog to look at food, which caused him to bark.

In the scene when the boy walks through the front yard and kicks at a bunch of chickens, and the chickens disperse, he never kicked any of the chickens. Trainers showed the actor how to kick the dirt, merely causing the chickens to react. Trainers placed chickens on their mark. On action, the actor walks near the chickens, kicked the dirt. All the chickens were checked between takes.

In the scene where we see the team of policemen searching through a field with dogs on leashes, American Humane and trainers checked the area prior to shooting the scene. On action, the search party advanced through the field.

In the scene where the dog grows and barks at the closed door, and the policeman fires at the door, the gunshots were never fired. They added the sound of gunfire in post production. Prior to filming, the trainer brought the dog to set, placed him on his mark, and practiced getting the dog to bark off camera with hand cues.