The Shaggy Dog is a 2006 American science fantasy family comedy film directed by Brian Robbins and written by The Wibberleys, Geoff Rodkey, Jack Amiel, and Michael Begler. It is the fifth overall installment of the titular franchise, and is a reboot of the 1959 film of the same name and its 1976 sequel The Shaggy D.A., both of which were loosely based on the 1923 novel The Hound of Florence by Felix Salten. The original film had a character named Wilby Daniels transforming into an Old English Sheepdog after putting on a magic ring, whereas the remake presents a character named Dave Douglas transforming into a Bearded Collie after getting bitten by a sacred dog. It stars Tim Allen, Robert Downey Jr., Kristin Davis, Danny Glover, Spencer Breslin, Jane Curtin, Zena Grey and Philip Baker Hall.
The Shaggy Dog was released on March 10, 2006, by Walt Disney Pictures. It received negative reviews from both critics and audiences alike, and grossed $87 million against its $50 million budget, becoming a box office flop.
Plot
Dave Douglas is a deputy district attorney in Los Angeles County who is prosecuting social studies teacher and activist Justin Forrester for firebombing the pharmaceutical corporation Grant and Strictland. Forrester denies this, but claims that Grant and Strictland have been engaging in illegal animal experimentation. This distances Dave from his daughter Carly, one of Forrester's students. As Dave is also a workaholic, his relationships with his wife Rebecca and son Josh are strained.
The greedy geneticists working for Mr. Lance Strictland, led by Dr. Kozak, have stolen a 300-year-old sacred dog named Khyi Yang Po (a Bearded Collie) from a Tibetan monastery. The scientists determine that Khyi Yang Po's genetic sequence, when isolated and put into a vaccination, invades and alters the cells and DNA of a victim.
Carly brings Khyi Yang Po, who she calls 'Shaggy', home. When Dave returns from work, he takes Khyi Yang Po out in the garage, then the dog runs to get the newspaper. Khyi Yang Po gives him his newspaper, and Dave reaches for it, only to be bitten on the hand by Khyi Yang Po. Khyi Yang Po's saliva and cells infect Dave and is taken to be tested for rabies and the tests came back negative. Over the next few days, Dave realizes that he uncontrollably transforms into a sheep dog exactly like Khyi Yang Po when prompted by distractions and activities typical of a dog, such as a stick thrown through the air and chasing cats. These transformations can be reversed by sleeping, but Dave's human absence from his family further strains his relationships. During this time, his family, unaware of Dave's condition, continue housing Dave as a dog, thinking it's Khyi Yang Po. Dave slowly learns just how little he understands his kids and wife and resolves to make amends.
In the ongoing trial, Forrester testifies seeing the animals behaving like dogs and the presence of a bearded collie he identifies as a giant sheepdog, which sparks Dave's suspicions about Grant and Strictland. When his dog-like behavior annoys the judge, Dave is removed from the case. Seeking answers to his transformation, Dave heads to Grant and Strictland. He has a homeless man help him transform so that he may sneak in through a vent. Hidden in the laboratory, Dave witnesses Dr. Kozak injecting company president Lance Strictland with a drug that will paralyze him for several months, giving Kozak enough time to usurp control of the company. After viewing security cameras, Kozak and his minions realize that Dave is capable of transforming into a copy of Khyi Yang Po.
When Dave returns home, still in his canine form, he overhears a conversation between Carly and Josh that he and Rebecca may be splitting up. After hearing this, Dave then knocks over a Scrabble game and uses the letters to reveal his identity to his kids. But when Dave gets out of the house, he is tased by Kozak's minions. His kids attempt to save him, but end up picking up the real Khyi Yang Po instead and rush to their mom at work to report recent events.