The fighting dogs were actually playing and it was through editing and sound that aggressive behavior was portrayed. These two dogs were brought up together and trained to do this all under the supervision of the American Humane Society. In addition for the PSA that aired after the episode, William Peterson had his dog, Bruno, appear in it.
The dog graveyard was made up of all foam cast animals. Production had to bury a bone under the rubber cast body of the woman so that the dogs would attack it, otherwise they would just run about with their tails wagging. Also, the dying dog in the fight was filmed at high speed slowing down the action to give the illusion that the dog was barely moving.
Three years prior to the airing of "Lying Down With Dogs," guest stars Jamie Luner, who played murder victim Elizabeth Rodriguez, and Tim Kelleher, who played the IAB investigator, appeared in the first season NCIS episode "Dead Man Talking," in which Luner's character murdered Kelleher's. Luner and Kelleher shared no scenes together in either the NCIS episode or the CSI episode.
Guest star Jamie Luner previously worked with George Eads on the WB series Savannah.