Regan Burns is very happy to be on the successful Disney show “Dog with a Blog” for many reasons. One reason is because he feels that the show is funny while tackling real family issues. Another reason is that his kids love the show.
On the show the family has a dog, named Stan who can talk. The children know this, but the parents do not. Now in their second season, “Dog with a Blog” will be dealing with the possibility of other family members or friends finding out Stan’s unique ability.
One episode that viewers should look out for is the one titled “Twas the Fight Before Christmas.” The kids look to create the perfect Christmas in anticipation of a visit from their Aunt Sigourney, played by Cynthia Watros. Plus, Stan invites a stray dog named Sparky to spend the holiday with the family. This special holiday episode premieres Friday, December 6th on the Disney Channel.
Also make sure you check out this week’s episode called “Don’t Karl Us, We’ll Karl You.” After Tyler, Avery, and Chloe are forced to hang out with their annoying neighbor Karl, they quickly device a plan to keep him away. This new episode of “Dog With a Blog” premieres Friday, November 22 (8:30 pm, ET/PT) on Disney Channel. This episode guest stars L.J. Benet as Karl Fink.
Regan was kind enough to chat with me about the show and fatherhood on the set and in real life.
Art Eddy: Season 2 of “Dog with a Blog” is in full swing. I am a fan of the show. I think you and rest of the cast have great chemistry. How has the bond between the cast evolved since Season 1?
Regan Burns: When you jump on board with a show, especially with a family show, there is usually a learning curve. There is a period where you kind of find the ins and outs of each other and not only what you have in common with characters, but as actors. You hope that it all gels.
Before you actually start shooting you may have a few chemistry reads. You might meet the cast briefly at a table read. It is also figuring it out as you go. The unique thing about this show is that we are a blended family. When the show starts we only have been a blended family for a very short period of time. We are figuring out how we all get along as a family on camera. We are also finding out how we all get along as a cast as we film more and more episodes. It kind of ran in parallel. If that makes sense.
AE: It makes perfect sense to me. What are some of your favorite moments so far from this season?
RB: Disney does a great job of balancing and bringing in the secondary characters like the kids’ friends, neighbors, and teachers. I always love having guest stars on the show and exploring outside of the world with the family.
I would be lying if I didn’t say that my favorite moments or my favorite episodes are the ones that are about the family. When it is the five or six of us, if you are including Stan obviously, where things happen inside the house. They are a bit more endearing because they are moments that deal with the family. Anytime we are dealing with a crisis or when I am bonding with the kids I find that those episodes to be really special.
AE: The show is geared to be funny and entertaining. When you guys are working with the writers do have any input on what topics you would like to see on the show?
RB: We want to keep it light. We want people to have fun and enjoy the show. I don’t know if this is coming down from the writing staff or the network, but they already without us having to suggest it dealt with issues that I think are pretty important in today’s society.
We have dealt with internet safety. We have dealt with the power of peer pressure and fitting in. We fit those in. It is nice to see a show where it is not just about something like, ‘Oh look Bob and Alice got stuck in the meat locker.’
We have the shenanigans going, but where we address certain issues. We live in a society where kids are technology savvy. They are exposed to a lot more than we were as kids like five or ten years ago. I am pretty young Art, I act a lot older. (Both laugh.)
It seems like the network, the show producers, and writers are taking a fast forward approach and being proactive on issues in a responsible manner.
AE: I know that on each set there are funny moments where the crew has to do a few retakes. With having a dog as one of the main characters on the show, is there ever a time where Stan needs a few more retakes for a scene?
RB: Well first off Art I never make mistakes. I am a professional. How dare you even imply that I would do that. (Both laugh.)
AE: Sorry about that. My apologies.
RB: I’ll let it slide. (Both laugh.) I know you are doing to find this hard to believe, but sometimes the dog doesn’t necessarily do what he is supposed to do. You would think he would understand right now. He is the best dog in the world. He is an animal. There are going to be certain days where it might not be that he doesn’t want to do something, it is just that he doesn’t understand.
You got to have a lot of patience as a performer to realize that we might have to do something 15, 20, 30 plus times until we get the shots and the attitude from the dog we need. There are certain days where you have to wait a little bit longer to exhale a bit. The good thing is that we got such a great group of people that they know what types of shots we need to make the scene realistic.
AE: When you first saw the script and the plot for the show what was your initial take about the series?
RB: When you get a call from your agent, who says, ‘We got a show and it is about a talking dog.’ There is a moment as an actor, as an adult where you go, ‘A what?’
Luckily I heard that there were some people already attached to it. I think Beth (Littleford) was already attached to it at that time. She plays my wife Ellen. I am a huge fan of her work. I have done some work with the producers of the show. Once I read the script I knew it was an intelligent script. It just isn’t about a talking dog. The talking dog is a fun part of the show to help tell the tale of a family.
I was hooked. It is very easy to take a gimmick like a show with a talking dog or a horse and lose some of the heart. This show had heart from the beginning. That is what locked me in.
AE: Can you tell us what we can expect for the rest of this season?
RB: We got two big episodes coming up. Obviously it wouldn’t be a Disney show without a Christmas episode. So we have another one this year. This one will be interesting because we bring in a new cast member. We have the lovely Cynthia Watros, who people know from “Lost.” She plays Ellen’s sister, who unbeknownst to us is going to spend the holidays with us. There are some issues that they have to work through. I don’t want to give anything away, but I am just going to say that in this episode a turkey and a stray dog play a very big role in a very funny Christmas episode.
Then we have another episode called, “Don’t Karl us, we will Karl you.” That can mean only one thing, which is that the very funny Karl is coming back to the show. He plays a pretty significant role this season. His face is going to appear with us a couple of times. Let’s just say he is not giving up on the secret that we are hiding in our home.
AE: Switching from the set to your real life what are some of the values that you want to instill in your children?
RB: The thing that I am learning most about “A Dog with a Blog” and my own kids is that even though it is pretend I am getting to raise teenagers on the show. My kids in real life are 11 and 8 years old. As they get to hit these deadly 12’s, 13’s, and 14’s I am going to have to guide them in a world that I did not grow up in.
I don’t know about you Art, but there wasn’t a lot twerking, googling, and the Instagrams. It is a fine line where you want them to make the right choices and you want to protect them. We are fighting a lot out there in the real world to keep our kids grounded and centered. With my kids I find myself looking to keep the lines of communication open.
If I am not talking to them and telling them about do’s and don’ts then it is someone else. It could be their friends, the internet, TV, or that crazy MTV. What is going on over there? You got to be more proactive with your kids, more than our parents were with us.
AE: Do your kids think that you have the coolest job in the world? 
RB: I am so grateful to be a working actor. I am so grateful to be on a show that is successful and is still going. This is just a blessing to have a show like this at this point in my life. If I have done a show before I had children it wouldn’t have meant as much to me. They love the show. They worship the cast. They are friends with all of them. They love to hang out on the set.
I make sure I keep it grounded. They have kids at school who know who their daddy is. I try to remind them all the time that what I do is not special. It is fun. It is exciting. I try to make them understand just because someone has a poster with daddy’s picture on it doesn’t make me any more special. Yet, it is so cool to have a show like this when they are at the age where they would watch it and really love it.
AE: Was there one thing about parenting that completely threw you for a loop?
RB: Are you really asking me this question Art? Have you never changed a diaper?
AE: (Laughs.) Of course I have. I know what you mean.
RB: If you want me to get all fancy on this answer and say that I never knew that just looking into my kid’s eyes and know that I was there to guide them, no I am not going there. I am not going to lie to you Art, it is changing the diaper.
Nothing prepares you for the first six months of diaper training. I will take molding the mind of a youth over working my way through that black tar diaper changing stage any day of the week. There weren’t enough books to get me through that period.
