War dog - stressed to the Max

WAR TEAM: Robbie Amell as dog handler Kyle Wincott, and Carlos as Max. PHOTOS/AP

WHEN IT comes to canine stars, as with their human counterparts, sometimes it's all about the look.

Before he'd even conceived of what would eventually become Max, director Boaz Yakin knew what he didn't want: something cute.

"It'd been a long time since anyone made a movie where the dog was just treated as a hero, as the protagonist, without any cuteness or cloying," says Yakin.

His friend and eventual co-writer, Sheldon Lettich, a Marine and a Vietnam veteran, suggested basing it on a military working dog (MWD), and the narrative began to take shape.

Casting the eponymous hero of Max, a PTSD-afflicted military dog that moves in with his deceased handler's family, was its own beast.

Yakin decided the breed should be Belgian malinois, a staple in military and law enforcement agencies in the United States. But not just any Belgian malinois; he needed a one-in-a-million pup.

The breed typically sports black snouts that extend to the eyes like a mask. Yet that was going to present a major problem on camera.

"It's very hard to read their eyes on film," says Yakin, who knew that expressive, distinctive eyes were going to be essential to telling the emotional story of Max's return from Afghanistan.

So Yakin challenged Hollywood critter company Birds and Animals Unlimited (whose credits include Marley and Me, The Shaggy Dog and Hotel for Dogs) to find a Belgian malinois with lighter fur on its face.

After a worldwide search, they found what they were looking for in Kentucky: a spirited, untrained 2-year-old Belgian malinois named Carlos.

"He's got the most beautiful face and he's really smart," says Mathilde DeCagny, a trainer on the film. DeCagny worked with Carlos five days a week for three months to prepare him for his role, which would require the dog to squirm, fight, bite and emote on command.

But following in the tradition of all great movie mutts, Carlos wasn't the only Max in Max.

"We didn't want to use him for stunts and things where he could potentially get injured and tired," explains DeCagny.

There were five Belgian malinois on set, their faces professionally dyed to match Carlos's unique look.

If Carlos is the star, Jagger is the pinch-hitting understudy. Decidedly mellower than the "eccentric" lead, Jagger was called to bat when a scene required more emotion. Still, Yakin says, when Max has a close-up, it's probably Carlos.

The others were used for wide shots and action sequences - which were staged with the utmost care. In order to show two rottweilers running after Max, for instance, the production filmed each dog running separately and edited the footage together to look like a suspenseful chase.

Ultimately, Max earned the highest possible grade for animal safety from the American Humane Association.

"I was shocked at how well-trained they were," says star Josh Wiggins. "It was very specific stuff that they told him to do. They could tell him to kiss, and lick and put their tongue back in their mouth. It was crazy."

While Yakin didn't have to do much directing of the pups, since everything was co-ordinated by trainers in pre-production, much of the responsibility was on the canine actors.

They had to stay composed and focused even when the trainers were behind the camera shouting commands.

For Wiggins, whose character helps Max re-enter the world, it wasn't much of a stretch to spend his days with a pack of dogs. Wiggins and his family have three (a rottweiler, a labrador-retriever and a chiweenie), his father trains bomb-sniffing dogs for the Houston Police Department.

"A lot of people don't recognise what bomb dogs really do," says Wiggins. "A lot of times they go through the same emotional trauma as people."

AP