The 10 Greatest Dogs in Movie History

Today is International Dog Day. For that reason I thought I would do a list of what I considered the 10 greatest dogs in movie history. Here I have to point out that the list is limited to real dogs only, so that such movie dogs as Tramp from Lady and the Tramp (1955) and Spike from the "Tom and Jerry" theatrical shorts didn't qualify for the list. Without further ado, here is my list of the 10 greatest dogs in movie history, from no. 10 to no. 1.

10. Einstein (from the Back to the Future trilogy): In the Back to the Future movies Einstein is Doc Brown's loyal Catalan sheepdog. In the movies he has the honour of being the first animal to ever time travel, even if it was only one minute into the future. He was played by a dog named Tiger in the first film and a dog named Freddie in the other two. Here I must give an honourable mention to Copernicus, Doc Brown's Catalan sheepdog in 1955.

9. Old Yeller (from the movie of the same name): Old Yeller is one of the most famous movies about a dog ever. It is also one of the most tragic, so much so that most people remember the first time they saw it as children as a traumatic experience (at least if they were dog lovers, as I am). Old Yeller was played by cross between a Mastiff and a Labrador Retriever named Spike. Spike was trained by Frank Weatherwax, who trained many animal stars through the years. Spike also starred in the movies A Dog of Flanders and The Silent Call. He was Brian Keith's co-star in the short-lived Western The Westerner.

8. Sounder (from the movie of the same name):  Sounder is a remarkable movie in many respects. It was a family film about African Americans released at the height of the Blaxploitation cycle. It also presented the life of a black family during the Great Depression without resorting to stereotypes. Sounder is the family's hunting dog. What is more, he is an extremely faithful dog, even to the point of putting himself in danger for his master.

7. Petey (from the "Our Gang" comedy shorts): Also known as "Pete," Petey was the American Pit Bull Terrier who was the constant companion of the kids in the "Our Gang" comedies. The original Petey was played by a Pit Bull named "Pal." Pal had an auspicious film debut, appearing in the Harold Lloyd movie The Freshman. Afterwards he played Tige in "Buster Brown" two reelers. He first appeared in an "Our Gang" short in 1927, at which time the series was still being called "Hal Roach's Rascals." Pal died from poisoning in 1930, after which his son Pete took over the role of Pete in the "Our Gang" comedies. After Pete's trainer, Harry Lucenay, was fired from the series in 1932, a number of other unrelated dogs played the role of Pete until 1938.

6. Benji: Benji originated in the 1974 movie of the same name. In the original film Benji is a mixed breed, stray dog that the children of the Chapman family want to adopt. In the first movie Benji was played by Higgins, a dog who already had considerable experience in front of the camera. Higgins is probably best known as the dog on the TV show Petticoat Junction and also appeared on the shows The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, and Lassie. His two movie appearances were in Village of the Giants and Benji (which would be his last film).  While Higgins would appear in no more Benji movies (he died in 1975 at the age of 17), the first movie would spawn a franchise Higgins's descendants would continue to play the role of Benji for some time.

5. Jack (from The Artist): Jack was George's faithful Parson Russell Terrier in the movie The Artist. Jack is highly intelligent. He knows a number of tricks and seems to understand human language. He is also loyal and brave. Not only is he constantly with George, but he even saves George from a house fire. Of course, Jack is also a star in his own right. Jack was played by possibly the most famous dog in modern day movies, Uggie. Uggie not only starred in The Artist, but also in Water for Elephants as well. There was a campaign to have Uggie given a special Academy Award for The Artist and members of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts actually asked the academy if they could vote for Uggie for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor. So beloved was Uggie that his paw prints were placed at Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

4. Toto (from The Wizard of Oz): Toto has to be one of the most famous dogs in the history of film, and it is all because of one movie. Of course, that movie is The Wizard of Oz. In many ways Toto is a typical pooch. He chases Almira Gulch's cat. He eats hot dogs without having been asked first. That having been said, in other ways Toto is a very remarkable dog. He displays more bravery than some of the humanoid characters while in Oz. He is also very intelligent. After all, without Toto we might never have known about the Man Behind the Curtain. Toto was played by a female Cairn Terrier named Terry. Prior to The Wizard of Oz she had appeared in such films as Bright Eyes and Fury. After The Wizard of Oz she would appear in The Women and George Washington Slept Here.

3.  Rin Tin Tin: Rin Tin Tin was one of the major stars of the Silent Era. In fact, there is a legend that for the first Academy Awards Rin Tin Tin received more votes than anyone else for Best Actor, but the Academy thought it would be embarrassing for a dog to win, so they gave the award to Emil Jannings instead (given Jannings would later become a loyal Nazi, in hindsight they were probably better off giving Rin Tin Tin the award...). Rin Tin Tin received his first starring role in Where the North Begins in 1923. Both the film and the dog would prove so successful that he would star in 24 more movies. The popularity of Rin Tin Tin made German Shepherds one of the most popular dog breeds in the United States in the Twenties. Following Rin Tin Tin's death in 1932, his son would begin a film career. It was the original Rin Tin Tin's grandson who would star in the Fifties TV series.

2. Lassie: Lassie is arguably the most famous dog of all time. Lassie first appeared in the short story "Lassie Come Home" by Eric Knight and published in The Saturday Evening Post. Mr. Knight expanded the story into the novel Lassie Come Home, which was adapted as the 1943 MGM feature film of the same name. The film would launch a franchise that would include several films and five different TV shows (two of them animated). Although Lassie is a female Rough Collie she has always been played by male Collies. The first of these was Pal, who played Lassie in a succession of films for the next fourteen films. Pal's descendants would play the role until 1997, when Animal Planet made the controversial decision to cast an unrelated Collie in a new TV series.

1. Asta (from the "Thin Man" movies): In Dashiell Hammett's original novel, The Thin Man, Asta was a female Schnauzer. This would be changed for the movies, where Asta was a male Wire Haired Fox Terrier. And while Asta may not be as famous as Lassie or even Rin Tin Tin, he is quite possibly the most popular dog among classic film fans. There should be little wonder why. Asta is remarkably intelligent, with an understanding of the English language better than some humans. He also comes in very handy when Nick and Nora Charles are on a case, with a remarkable ability to sniff out corpses. Nick tells Asta in The Thin Man, "You're not a terrier, you're a police dog!" That having been said, Asta is not particularly brave, often running and hiding at the first sign of trouble, leaving Nick to deal with it. Asta was originally played by one of the greatest dog stars of all time, Skippy. Skippy made his debut in an uncredited role in The Half-Naked Truth in 1932. Afterwards he would appear in such films as The Awful Truth, Bringing Up Baby, and many others. Skippy would continue to appear in the "Thin Man" movies until Another Thin Man in 1939. Other terriers would take over the role in later movies and the Fifties TV series.