PETA power: Animal rights group will protest opening night of A Dog's Life after canine was seen being forced into turbulent water on set, despite stars claims that video is misleading

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PETA has announced plans to protest the upcoming film A Dog's Life in cities around the country this Friday.

The move comes after a video emerged of a German Shepherd being forced into turbulent water on the set despite its clear attempts to get away from the rushing rapids and stay on dry land.

In the wake of the video's release however, producers on the film and its stars came forward to say that it was misleading, and that while that brief incident was inexcusable it did not paint a fair picture of how things went on the set. 

PETA however was not buying these claims. 

'No amount of spin from Hollywood will change the fact that being forced to do a terrifying stunt is not a dog's purpose,' said PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange. 

'PETA is calling on kind people to boycott this film and send the message that animals should be treated humanely, not exploited as movie props.' 

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PETA has announced plans to protest the upcoming film A Dog's Life with demonstrations in Los Angeles, New York City, Washington DC, and Winnipeg (grab from set video above)

'No amount of spin from Hollywood will change the fact that being forced to do a terrifying stunt is not a dog's purpose,' said PETA SVP Lisa Lange (Dennis Quaid in a still from the film)

Demonstrations are planned for Friday in Los Angeles, New York City, Washington DC, and Winnipeg.

The film was shot in the Canadian city.

There are also individuals mobilizing in 25 other cities including Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas, San Diego, and Seattle. 

PETA is also taking issue with Birds & Animals Unlimited, the Hollywood animal supplier who provided the dogs for the film. 

They posted a video of what they have labeled as mistreatment of animals by the company after a ten-month undercover operation.

PETA also said of the supplier: 'An eyewitness who worked at BAU documented chronic neglect, including sick and injured animals who went without adequate veterinary care, filthy enclosures, and animals who were denied food so that they would be hungry when being trained to do tricks.'

BAU later said that the video from the set of A Dog's Life was 'falsely edited.'

Birds and Animals Unlimited, which provides production companies with animals for films, says Hercules the dog in fact loves swimming and later jumped in to the water happily from a different spot but that the video deliberately left that part out.

The dog only resisted the rapids because he hadn't yet rehearsed jumping in from that exact spot beside the pool, they claimed.

They refused to comment on whether it was cruel to repeatedly try to force him into the water but admitted it was 'apparent' the dog was uncomfortable in the section of video that has been widely circulated.

'Last week a falsely edited video was released to the media. It portrayed a dog being forced into a pool against its will... no such thing ever occurred,' representatives told DailyMail.com on Monday.

The video shows a distressed Hercules clinging to an animal trainer as he tries to force him into fast moving water from a ledge. Another member of crew laughed: 'You just gotta throw him in.'

After almost a minute of the dog struggling against the rapids, the footage cuts to a show him completely submerged in it from a different angle.

The footage was taken on the film's set in Winnipeg, Canada, in 2015 and was leaked to TMZ last week.

Earlier this week, stars Dennis Quaid (left) and Josh Gad (right) defended the production

Star Dennis Quaid later said the video was 'heavily edited' and a 'scam' in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. 

'First of all, it's been edited and manipulated. And I think it's a scam, to tell you the truth,' said Quaid.

'The dog was acting like a dog who was kind of tired of taking a bath and was ready to get out.'

Josh Gad, who provides the voice of the dog in the film, also sent out a link to a story defending the production that was penned by producer Gavin Polone.

'Like you, I’m sure, I was appalled when I saw the video, shot on the set of A Dog's Life in Winnipeg in October 2015, of a dog trainer trying to coerce a frightened German Shepard into a pool,' wrote Polone in a story for The Hollywood Reporter.

He later went on to state: 'From a front angle, when they shot the scene, you can see that there is a calmer path in the artificial water turbulence for the dog to move through. This is not visible in the TMZ video. 

'You can also see, at the end of the scene, the dog going underwater for four seconds, which never should have happened, and then the diver and handlers lifting the dog out of the pool. The dog then shook off and trotted around the pool, unharmed and unfazed. 

'They only did one take of the full scene and then ended for the day. TMZ’s edited version gives the impression that the dog was thrown in and eventually drowned, since the two parts seem to be connected. 

'You never see him pulled out and OK. This is highly misleading.'

Polomne then added: 'Further, I saw video shot last Thursday morning of the dog and I’m happy to say that Hercules is obviously quite well.'