Editor’s note: About a year ago, I sold a plain
fawn puppy dog (“Tonka”) from my last litter to Kate Connick, who already had a
neat assortment of dogs, including “Bungee,” the big white boxer with the fawn
eye patch pictured below. Kate is a real dog person, and her dogs are not only
beautifully trained, but also participate in her very athletic lifestyle in the
tiny village of Ardsley ,
New York
A “Commercial” Thanksgiving,
Starring…Bungee!
Bungee was at it again with another shoot
yesterday. This one for a brand of chewy dog treats. The company ad reps
saw Bungee on John Oliver’s show & said, "Ooo, he's our
dog!" The shoot was at somebody's house that had been rented for the
purpose – not a studio. Two photographers took stills and video all
day. They told me that the theme of the product is related to dogs being
regular dogs, so Bungee was basically supposed to misbehave throughout.
The material they got is intended for a social media promotion. I think
the idea was to show what a dog goes through at Thanksgiving.
The photographers loved Bungee. They
were also shooting a Berger Picard who has the look of a cuddly family dog, but
was apparently more business-like and less touchy-feely than Bungee. The
Berger was their "main" dog, because of his really adorable appearance. (They might have been using him for a TV commercial, but I'm not
sure.) Beautiful dog!
The funny thing is that various cast members
(and the homeowner) kept coming over and cuddling with Bungee and telling me
how much they liked him. It figures! I think the expectation is that a
muppety-looking dog like the Berger should be a big stuffed animal, and a
formidable-looking boxer should be a thug, so Bungee was a pleasant surprise
for them (but not for boxer owners, of course). "Bungee is soooo
sweet. THIS is the kind of dog I should have! But...I guess
that takes a lot of training, huh?" I tell people how much exercise
he gets, and they look sort of confused – mountain hiking, swimming, sheep
herding? He comes by those muscles honestly! That being said, he really
IS a sweet, mellow boxer. We were there all day, and they took tons
of footage. I think Bungee was more tired than when we climbed mountains
in July & September! He was limp by the time we got home last night.
First thing in the morning, the photographers
wanted shots of him running towards the camera. That was easy and he enjoyed
it. Simple stay & recall, over and over and over, in the
backyard. My sister Peggy, who came along to help when more than two hands were needed, said they
commented on how fast he was. They also wanted him nosing the camera
lens, which was a slobbery mess, but they seemed happy about that. I
can’t imagine how they could’ve gotten anything they could use – Bungee was
sliming their Canon lenses in a big way.
Next, they wanted him playing with a football
(piece of cake). They brought out two little kids who had completely
ignored the dog inside. The first thing the kids announced was how they
hate football (and they didn't seem too into dogs, either). But it didn't take
long before they were hysterically laughing and chasing Bungee as he ran around
in circles, teasing them with the football he'd stolen from them. He was
really sweet with them. Bungee would lie down, let them take the ball,
and then attack the ball with gusto when they threw it. I'm sure they got
some good shots of that stuff. The football looked pretty war-torn
by the time we were done. The photographers also wanted him to paw at the back
door to let himself in, but Bungee is kind of polite, so he wasn't going for it
initially. He quickly got the idea, though, and ultimately was throwing
himself at the door and blasting it open, so the photogs got just what they
wanted.
We moved to the front yard. The kids threw
leaves at his head, buried him in leaves, and continued to be silly.
Truth be told, Bungee looked pretty miserable; he wasn't exactly loving that
part. Even so, he was a good sport. In the afternoon, other outdoor
shots in the front yard had even more kids playing with him with a small,
orange ball. They were throwing it, often straight up in the air, and
he'd run laps around them before lying down and waiting for them to take it and
throw it again. They got some shots of kids petting him, too, although
the kids were all a bit intimidated by his size and strength. Amusingly,
the women who owned the house fell in love with Bungee. She said she's
not a "dog person," but was totally smitten. She kept inviting
her friends over to meet him.
The photographers also took a couple of shots of
him eating their product. Lots of spit and slobber. They liked his
drooliness. I was surprised that they didn't take more shots like that,
but they only got a couple of snapshots on the front porch of one woman feeding
him treats. I think the dog treats were made of chicken, but I'm not sure
– they may have been promoting turkey treats for Thanksgiving? I was too
focused on the dog to pay much attention.
There were also shots of kids walking him down
the sidewalk themselves, and they got the entire "Thanksgiving
family" together on the front porch for a family photo type of situation,
in which the dog is supposed to misbehave. Bungee was supposed to not sit
still politely, so I'd call him out of the photo, they'd call him back and try
to position him, and I'll call him out again.
Indoors, they had Bungee rummaging through shoes
left by the front door. He sat awkwardly in a little girl's lap
while she tried to see over him to watch the TV. He sat in the kitchen,
ostensibly looking up at a grocery bag with the treats in it, but that was
hard, because his eyes tend to be glued to me. I think they might have
gotten some shots of him looking over his shoulder with streams of drool coming
down instead. He does a good "woe is me; I'm a starving
orphan" face. Then the photographers had Bungee sitting by the
Thanksgiving turkey while it was being carved, staring at the turkey and
drooling. Photographer: "Drool is crucial here."
Another indoor scenario had an arm throwing a
coat on a bed where other coats were lying. Bungee was supposed to jump
up and lie on the coats. The bed was the highest bed I'd ever seen!
He'd jump up and lie down easily (Bungee loves
comfort). So then they asked if he could turn a circle like dogs do
before they lie down. Uh... okay? So I'd have him jump up, spin in
a circle, lie down, and drop his chin. I have no idea if it looks
authentic, but he's a really good sport about doing what I ask of him.
I think (?) that's pretty much everything.
The photographers were taking shots of him all day, and Bungee was
enjoying being petted and fussed-over. The very last thing they did was
for their own amusement. He gave one of the (two, young, blonde, female)
photographers his trademark "hug" (paws over her shoulders, licking
her face), and the other photographer said, "Wait! Wait! I need to
get that! It's so cute."
Anyway, they seemed really happy with the big
guy. He was an angel. This was at a regular house, so we were
working outside with no leash or fence, near an active sidewalk and (quiet)
road, with neighbors and dogs and other distractions. He's a good
guy. I think having a chance to play with a bunch of sugared up kids was
just one big party for Bungee.
Today, Bungee is sound asleep with Tonka
lying next to him, snuggled up to his back.
