I directed Annie many years ago at my high school. We were unable to use a live dog (long, long, story) so I put one of my kids as the dog, borrowed a great dog costume from a friend and did it that way. The actress did a great job. The costume exposed her fact and she created a snout and then used make-up. She would gaze at Annie, cock her head at certain lines, etc... more than a real dog ever could. It was not my first choice by any means but turned out to be wonderful. At our school matinees we extended her alone stage time so she could ham it up for the kids who loved her and asked to meet her at the end, which she gladly did in character.