Elisa Donovan On Why Having a Dog Costar Is Ruff

"I don't know if you know how unattractive it is to be photographed from below, but it's not flattering," says Elisa Donovan, star of The Dog Who Saved Summer . As the title suggests, the film co-stars a canine. And while few can argue that being in the presence of a lovable, fluffy, Golden Retriever wouldn't be a pure delight, acting opposite a dog certainly has its drawbacks. "When you're working with a dog and the dog is talking to you, he's looking up at you," Donovan explains, expressing how much she dislikes the awkward camera angles. "Now when they are doing my close-ups, sometimes they'll joke and put the camera on top of an enormous ladder or something."

The Dog Who Saved Summer is the sixth installment in a franchise of family friendly films. This time, Zeus the dog destroys a summer party planned by Belinda Bannister (Donovan), and it's suggested that the family send the dog to obedience school. This and that go amuck, and soon, it looks like Zeus could be headed for the pound. This forces the Bannister children to enact a plan to save their beloved pup from the slammer. Needless to say, this film is ripe with puppy puns. "The cast is all like a family at this point because we've been doing it for so long. We look forward to it every year," Donovan says. Pawesome.

"The main challenge working with a dog is that nine times out of ten, when the dog gets it right, you didn't get it right," Donovan says. "So you have to deal with the fact that they may choose the dog's performance over yours, and everybody just has to roll with that."

Donovan's character Belinda is a mother, and not too long ago, Donovan became a mom herself. "[Since motherhood] I certainly have a greater consciousness of what I do in terms of what I put out into the world," Donovan says. "It's not that everything has to be happy and friendly, but I do think there is something quite nice about being able to share what I do with her. During The Christmas Eve movie I was pregnant with her, so she'll be able to see the progression of me and her and I'll be able to show it to her when she's a little bit older. Maybe she'll even be in the next one, you never know."

So does Donovan have any dogs herself? "My family is very much a dog family. I grew up with horses and dogs. Now, I don't have any dogs. My husband and I talked about it, and right after we had Scarlett we said, no way are we having a dog," she says, adding: "People who get a puppy when they have a baby are out of their minds. Maybe when Scarlett's in college we'll consider it. Maybe."

Watch an exclusive clip from The Dog Who Saved Summer below, and see the film on DVD and OnDemand now.

Images: Elisa Donovan