You can get away with a lot in Hollywood, but feeding a puppy laxatives is way beyond the pale.

A dog in John Wick (2014) Photo: John Wick Official Trailer #1 (2014) – Keanu Reeves, Willem Dafoe Movie HD/Rotten Tomatoes Trailers YouTube

You can get away with a lot in Hollywood, but feeding a puppy laxatives is considered way beyond the pale.

And yeah, we get it. That’s straight-up animal abuse and would never fly with the American Human Association. So what do you do when you absolutely need to show a creature defecating onscreen? Well, you turn to CGI, of course, though the resultant digital imagery may end up taking a crap-load (pun intended) out of your overall production budget. Okay, maybe not a crap-load, but just roll with the joke.

Why the first John Wick movie spent around $5,000 on CGI dog poop

In the commentary track for the original John Wick movie, director Chad Stahelski and co-director/producer David Leitch reveal that the turd dropped by John’s ill-fated beagle puppy, Daisy — may she Rest In Peace — was entirely brought to life with VFX and cost around $5,000. That’s one expensive deuce!

“They wouldn’t let us give laxatives to the puppy,” Stahelski says (our astute colleagues over at /FILM were first to point this out this fun bit of fecal trivia).

“Actually, we turned that shot back in about 25 times,” Leitch adds. Stahelski continues: “Yeah, the poop just wasn’t makin’ it.” This exchange was most likely a joke between the filmmakers, but we wouldn’t put it past a franchise known for its meticulous fight choreography to agonize over a single shot of puppy scat.

The John Wick saga officially continues Sep. 22 when the first episode of The Continental limited series drops onto Peacock. Episodes 2 and 3 are slated to premiere on Sep. 29 and Oct. 6, respectively.

Serving as a prequel to the hit blockbuster films, the show explores how a young Winston Scott (played by Colin Woodell) took control of the assassin-centric hotel in ’70s-era New York.