Chico's Training

    One of my responsibilities not listed in the official schedule is training our demon dog, Chico the chihuahua. I began training Chico as soon as the idea of using him in the film came to my mind. Going into our training, Chico was unexperienced as he had never been trained before, outside of potty training. He is naturally respectful and calm, so there was never any pressing need for me to train him in the past. However, this comes with the consequence of taking extra time to teach him the concept of training before beginning with sitting, staying, and coming when called. When starting our training, I used pumpkin biscuits and began with sitting, which for the most part included me pushing his rear to the ground to gently force him into the sitting position. Unfortunately, the biscuits were too big for him to eat quickly, so I was only able to give him one or two a day. The biscuits became a bigger issue when Chico began disliking them, due to the frequency of having them, so he was less motivated to train. Seeing the signs, I took a trip with Chico to the pet store and found a self-serving dog treat buckets with scoops. Most of these treats were tiny and cheap, perfectly sized for Chico and my budget. Specifically, the small duck-shaped turkey biscuits, bone-shaped steak biscuits, and carob chips were huge successes. With the new flavors, variety, and much smaller sizes we trained faster and more efficiently, nearly mastering sitting and making progress on staying and coming when called. Chico also began to memorize the sound and image of the treat bag. When training to stay, I would tell Chico to sit then hold my flat palm in front of him and clearly say "stay" before backing to the other end of the room, at which point I would visually count to five before letting Chico move. This came easier to Chico than sitting but wasn't nearly as easy as training Chico to come when called. Unknowingly, I had already been training Chico to come when called by calling his name whenever I would feed him or start training for the day, so formally training him in this was incredibly simple. I plan to continue training Chico up until we finish filming with him to ensure he knows what to do when the time comes. I also plan on prioritizing the use of carob chips as they are the smallest treats we have, perfect for travel and continuous training. When it comes to the scene with Chico standing over a body, I will use our stay method and bait his attention to the camera by putting a treat above the camera. Plus, to prevent confusion, I will remain Chico's sole trainer and advise others not to direct Chico or hold his treats. (Pictured are the carob chips I used in Chico's training)