They had a perfect game going.

They were following the book to a tee, until they were in the back of sh*tload's truck. Then they completely glossed over like 100 pages of the freaking book! I understand that wasn't a very easy part to translate, and it would have made the movie at least an hour longer, but I think Don would have made a better movie if he had that in. Also, why was the beginning riddle in the movie if the shadow people weren't? Other than that, Don if you're reading this, you did a stellar job up until the back of sh*tload's truck, then it got better in Sh*t Narnia (Eyes Wide Shut world) then it omitted the philosophical stuff between Dave and Arnie, then it got better, mixed bag, but overall a solid adaptation.
Also, your reasoning behind the name change of the dog was pretty legit
Regards
-Carter Thomas Krebs, From WIsconsin