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Canine cop Jerry Lee keeps partner Dooley (James Belushi) on his toes in K-9 P.I., the third installment of the popular buddy-cop film series. Watch Jerry Lee help save the day--and his reputation--when he and his two-legged partner are falsely accused of stealing precious computer chips and demoted to being private investigators.

Goodness, Gracious, Great Dogs Of Fire!
Four German Shepherd dogs, King, Ponya, Sontal, and Ace, shared the role of doggy detective Jerry Lee. The dogs were alternated throughout filming depending on their talent specialties and moods. King, for instance, was the resident climber, and spends some time on top of a refrigerator in one memorable scene, while Ace was the expert stunt dog.

Many of Jerry Lee’s scenes require the dog to act like, well, a dog. Whether it’s chasing a remote-control car or lapping apple juice (disguised as beer) out of a glass, or just plain following Dooley’s lead, all it takes is a little doggy sense and some off-camera direction from a trainer. A naturally curious canine, in one scene, Jerry Lee nuzzles his nose in Dooley’s backside as he walks down the hallway. A piece of tape scented with food was placed on the actor’s pants and the dog sniffed at the tape as the actor walked ahead of him.

Yet these dogs are stars for a reason. More intense action requires Jerry Lee to growl on command, crawl through an air vent, and chomp a stunt actor when the scene calls for it. Of course the actor was well-padded in all the right places. Jerry Lee was even trained to dial a cell-phone with a pencil in his mouth!

You can also add budding action hero to these dogs’ resumes. In one scene, Jerry Lee jumps through a window. A special ramp was built by the trainer to give this stunt dog a running start. The window was covered with a safety material called candy glass, which feels like soft plastic but looks like the real thing. A padded mat was on the other side of the window to soften the dog’s landing. The trainer released the well-rehearsed dog onto the ramp and verbally cued him to run up the ramp and jump through the window. Jerry then grabs hold of Dooley’s pant’s leg and pulls him to safety. The trainer doubled for the actor in this scene, moving his body to fake the dog’s dragging action.

Ace the Pet Detective
Jerry Lee chases a masked man across several long tables in a laboratory, which were secured to the ground prior to filming. Ace, an experienced stunt dog, had no problem following the trainer’s hand signals to jump from table to table in this scene. Soon, a masked man hangs from the ceiling on a rope and the dog bites at his legs. The masked man was actually the trainer doubling as an actor. Ace was trained to bite the pants on the trainer’s verbal command. The actors used fake guns and the sound effects were added later in post production.

Day at the Dog Park
The dog park scenes were filmed at an actual dog park that was closed to the public for filming. Dogs and their handlers were brought in for these scenes. All of the dogs that attended were socialized, and some were even dog park connoisseurs! Several of the more outgoing pooches mugged for the camera by playing frisbee and catch. The puppies, however, were provided by a trainer and were introduced to the two dogs that played their parents before filming.

Mate Montage
Vying for Jerry’s attention, various breeds of female dogs pose for Dooley and Jerry hoping to snag the role as Jerry’s main squeeze. Trainers dressed the dogs in the specially-fitted costumes and kept them on leashes, holding them briefly in front of the camera.

Dogs on Wheels
Several scenes show dogs riding in cars. The dogs were all safely secured inside f the vehicles, while the car traveled at a slow speed and not more than fifty feet at a time. The streets were closed to all other traffic during filming.

More Dogs
Molly, a Standard Poodle, shares several scenes with Jerry Lee. The dogs are seen lying together playing, and later in the film, Jerry Lee takes Molly’s collar off with his teeth and brings her a bone. The trainers placed the dogs on their marks and cued them from off-camera to achieve the action.

Another dog tries to entice Jerry Lee by disguising herself as a Poodle. Again, the trainers placed the dogs on their marks and cued them from off-camera to achieve the action.