MovieChat Forums > Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2010) Discussion > Male or female or both playing the role ...

Male or female or both playing the role of Hachi?

posted 11 years ago by hey_stella_stella
3 replies | jump to latest

Sometimes it seems to me that they used two dogs in this film (can't see the dog credited on IMDB or even a handler - maybe I'm not looking in the right place). Sometimes it's a definitely male dog with a tail that curls tightly over its back. Other times the tail droops down, and it looks like a female dog (two dark holes under the tail - isn't that a female?).

OK, I don't mean the old version of the dog, just the younger one romping around with Richard Gere.

[–] sheepie1983 11 years ago

They used multiple dogs to portray Hachi at different life stages in the film. The puppy version of Hachi was actually portrayed by a series of Shiba Inu puppies, not Akita puppies. Both male and female puppies were used. You can see one herehttp://www.shibas.net/Shibas/mariah.htm The adult Hachi was played by Akitas.

[–] Tracey73 11 years ago

sheepie, my husband kept wondering if the puppies were Shibas instead of Akitas. Was there a reason they chose to use Shiba puppies instead of Akitas? Are they easier to train when they're younger?

(Just looked up both and realized how similar they are in looks. Wow!)

I'm an automatic steeple for depressed and lonely people. ~ Blue October

[–] sheepie1983 11 years ago

Hi Tracey, it was due to the size and speed of growth of the puppies. According to the producer: “We found that puppies grew very quickly, so we were constantly replacing them over the several-month shoot. Due to this size issue, we decided to use the smaller Shiba puppies instead of Akitas.”

The full interview is worth a read. http://www.nikkeiwest.com/index.php/the-news/archived-article-list/78- producer-brings-hachi-to-america