Bing the Great Dane is a very good boy.
That’s always been clear to his owner, Bev Klingensmith, who began training the future movie star from the time he was eight weeks old. Today, at nearly seven years old, Bing knows far more than just the basic commands — the clever pup has also earned himself nearly a dozen awards, including American Kennel Club champion and several performance titles.
Now, Bing is making his big screen debut alongside Academy Award nominees Naomi Watts and Bill Murray in The Friend, set to open in select theaters March 28 with a wider release April 4. Without giving too much away, the film — based on the novel of the same name by Sigrid Nunez — focuses on the relationship between Apollo (played by Bing) and Iris (Watts) when they’re forced together due to circumstances beyond their control.
At a recent advance screening in New York City hosted by The Westminster Kennel Club, Klingensmith — a breeder and trainer — revealed a few fun facts to The Independent about her beloved dog, who was on hand for photos and petting.
Klingensmith described Bing as a classic Dane who is “very sensitive and sweet.”
He loves puppies. He is scared of cats. He thinks they're very suspicious creatures,” she laughed.
And while Bing was well-trained long before he was a movie star, there were two specific tricks Klingensmith had to teach him in preparation for making the film.
Most dogs have the natural instinct to scratch at doors or objects; it’s a territorial behavior. But not Bing. “That wasn't something he had done,” Klingensmith said. But Bing picked up on that skill “very quickly” and didn’t require much additional training.
Learning to carry an item in his mouth, on the other hand, posed a challenge.
“That did not come easy to him,” Klingensmith said. “We actually worked on that one for a long time.” Klingensmith relied on friends at her local obedience club for assistance as they figured out how to make Bing more comfortable with the new skill. That involved “placing [the object] in his mouth and kind of encouraging him to not drop it,” she shared.
Movie star persona aside, Bing is a “is just such a sweet, silly dog” who works hard for his owner’s affection, Klingensmith said. “He definitely works for the cookies, too. He does love the cookies,” she added.
Bing also has a Golden Retriever brother whom he “loves to torment,” Klingensmith added. But don’t worry — there’s no sibling rivalry, even if one is off befriending Hollywood A-Listers and appearing on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
“Fortunately, the Golden is pretty level-headed with that,” Klingensmith joked. “He’s not swayed by the stardom.”
