GSDowner Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 I watched the above film yesterday and only after I realised it was based on a true story. I recommend this film to dog lovers. The owner was a columnist and wrote the most beautiful eulogy and more people read it than any of his other articles. http://zeniamai.wordpress.com/2009/04/02/marleys-eulogy/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kazhak Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 uurrrrr.... (sniffle) lovely.. doesn't help that I laid my lovely goofy Dallie girl to rest just before christmas at the age of 13 1/2 that was nice though so.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Marley and Me was a book I couldnt' get through.. no way will I watch the film. I find nothing amusing about a dog that was supposedly stupid and untrainable and that was extremely destructive. The fact that he was loved and had an owner that stuck by him doesn't change that for me. John Grogan loved his dog with a passion but I have to say that I often wonder how well he understood Marley and met his needs. Labs like Marley aren't uncommon as young dogs. Had John Grogan joined DOL to ask advice about Marley, he'd have been given advice to find a better trainer, provide him with more stimulation and physical exercise. Marley weighted over 40kg?? Eep. I find the film a bit of an excuse to write such dogs off rather than try to modify their behaviour. I've never met a stupid Lab in my life. I don't find much to celebrate in the story. But that's just me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darlingdog Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Marley and Me was a book I couldnt' get through.. no way will I watch the film. I find nothing amusing about a dog that was supposedly stupid and untrainable and that was extremely destructive. The fact that he was loved and had an owner that stuck by him doesn't change that for me. John Grogan loved his dog with a passion but I have to say that I often wonder how well he understood Marley and met his needs. Labs like Marley aren't uncommon as young dogs. Had John Grogan joined DOL to ask advice about Marley, he'd have been given advice to find a better trainer, provide him with more stimulation and physical exercise. Marley weighted over 40kg?? Eep. I find the film a bit of an excuse to write such dogs off rather than try to modify their behaviour. I've never met a stupid Lab in my life. I don't find much to celebrate in the story. But that's just me. I love the characters in the world both human AND canine who live their lives just a bit left of centre and have the courage and joy in life to be the slightly 'different' individuals that they are destined to be.....just because someone or something doesn't fit into the 'box' as it were, means they are not to be celebrated.....But that's just me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 I have watched the film, and now after owning our lab,( or should that read, he owns us),I can understand just how that man felt when he had to bury Marley, they are just such a loving dog and love to be loved, and I think very much miss understood by people who havent got a lot of time to spend with them and train them. Thank you for that link, it was lovely. lablove Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSDowner Posted July 3, 2011 Author Share Posted July 3, 2011 (edited) Poodlefan Yes, he and his wife did try to train him but the trainer banned this from her class. So the trainer herself gave up on him, not the owners. Edited July 3, 2011 by GSDowner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 Poodlefan Yes, he and his wife did try to train him but the trainer banned this from her class. So the trainer herself gave up on him, not the owners. One trainer... not the whole training world. Most trainers would probably tell them they needed a few private lessons. And lets not forget we've only got his side of the story. I've heard plenty of statements from handlers that were somewhat coloured to put it politely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 (edited) I love the characters in the world both human AND canine who live their lives just a bit left of centre and have the courage and joy in life to be the slightly 'different' individuals that they are destined to be.....just because someone or something doesn't fit into the 'box' as it were, means they are not to be celebrated.....But that's just me. But WAS Marley "different"? Labs like Marley find there way into detection work all the time.. High drive, high energy and bored and destructive in 'pet' homes that don't meet their needs. Suggesting that Marley was living his life 'left of centre' might be one way of explaining it. Sounds a lot less attractive to suggest that perhaps he needed more from his owners than they gave him in his early years. I wonder what Marley's breeder made of it all. Edited July 3, 2011 by poodlefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espinay2 Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 (edited) I am with you on this one Poodlefan. Yes, he loved his dog. Yes, I blubbered at the end of the movie (I saw it before I read the book so didnt know what was coming!). Tried to read the book, but it drove me nuts. IMO this was not an untrainable 'stupid' dog but a dog (likely a high energy, smart working dog) that was not given what it needed (and probably an owner who was not given what they needed by that trainer in the way of assistance and advice either - the idea of 'banning' someone from a class actually makes me see red - how is that helping the dog and the owner who probably need the most help of all?) Edited July 3, 2011 by espinay2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 I am with you on this one Poodlefan. Yes, he loved his dog. Yes, I blubbered at the end of the movie (I saw it before I read the book so didnt know what was coming!). Tried to read the book, but it drove me nuts. IMO this was not an untrainable 'stupid' dog but a dog that was not given what it needed (and possibly an owner who was not given what they were needed by that one trainer either) Maybe we're coloured by our hander training experience Espinay. I've seen plenty of instructors come off the paddock shaking their heads and saying something to the effect of "nice dog, shame about the handler" Some see an owner who'll stick by their dog through thick and thin (and I commend that). Others see what might have been... vive la difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 Marley seemed pretty normal to me. Pretty much every lab and goldie that comes into my puppy class acts the same way. I am surprised when they don't! The last class I nearly had a lab pull me over and I was braced pretty well (was doing a restrained recall). The film and I assume the book seemed to skip the middle aged years though and I guess Marley settled down in those years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 Marley seemed pretty normal to me. Pretty much every lab and goldie that comes into my puppy class acts the same way. I am surprised when they don't! The last class I nearly had a lab pull me over and I was braced pretty well (was doing a restrained recall). The film and I assume the book seemed to skip the middle aged years though and I guess Marley settled down in those years. I once taught a "repeat beginners" class of about 8 dogs.. every one an adolescent Lab or GR. Gee we had fun!! Light bulbs came on for all of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytmate Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 I agree with Poodlefan, and I could not finish the book either. Especially the way that the author behaved in obedience class. Just not a likeable character at all, so arrogant. I felt sorry for Marley and some of the things they did to him. That dog could have had a much better life if its owner had a different attitude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kritta Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 John Grogan pretty well summed up (in this book) how I felt when I lost Gypsy really couldn't have said it any better. I guess until you've lived the life of John and his wife you can't really judge if the dog could of been trained better. Each and every dog has a different personality some train easier than others...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogbesotted Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 Poodlefan Yes, he and his wife did try to train him but the trainer banned this from her class. So the trainer herself gave up on him, not the owners. well i identified with being banned from obedience classes.. The Divine miss Sophi was "untrainable" the trainer suggested i carruy a piece of polypipe to whack her with.. The Divine one lived a fulfilled happy doggy life with me for 11 years... and she was the one along with Morris who taught me more about dogs and opened my eyes to canine interaction and behaviours..... H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 I remember watching an episode with Grogans enlisting Cesar's help with their lab, Daisy ! She was fixated on their poor chooks (amongst other things) ..and they needed quite a lot of work to get the family and Daisy in synch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 Marley seemed pretty normal to me. Pretty much every lab and goldie that comes into my puppy class acts the same way. I am surprised when they don't! The last class I nearly had a lab pull me over and I was braced pretty well (was doing a restrained recall). The film and I assume the book seemed to skip the middle aged years though and I guess Marley settled down in those years. I've read the book and seen the movie. Having owned a lab, I too could not see what was so different about Marley. He was just a typical Lab with absolute idiots for owners. That they loved him was nowhere near enough to make them good owners. The dog was obviously smarter than them and I find it amusing that the owner wrote the book, basically admitting how incredibly stupid he was to get a dog he had no idea how to raise and train. It is a problem we have when selling Border Collie puppies. Finding owners that are smarter than the dog can be a real challenge. While an untrained Lab will just charge through life like a bull at a gate, an untrained BC will actually manipulate the owners to act the way they want them to. Basically we end up with the dog training the owner and it can be complicated to reverse the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazyWal Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 Marley and Me was a book I couldnt' get through.. no way will I watch the film. I find nothing amusing about a dog that was supposedly stupid and untrainable and that was extremely destructive. The fact that he was loved and had an owner that stuck by him doesn't change that for me. John Grogan loved his dog with a passion but I have to say that I often wonder how well he understood Marley and met his needs. Labs like Marley aren't uncommon as young dogs. Had John Grogan joined DOL to ask advice about Marley, he'd have been given advice to find a better trainer, provide him with more stimulation and physical exercise. Marley weighted over 40kg?? Eep. I find the film a bit of an excuse to write such dogs off rather than try to modify their behaviour. I've never met a stupid Lab in my life. I don't find much to celebrate in the story. But that's just me. I love the characters in the world both human AND canine who live their lives just a bit left of centre and have the courage and joy in life to be the slightly 'different' individuals that they are destined to be.....just because someone or something doesn't fit into the 'box' as it were, means they are not to be celebrated.....But that's just me. I agree with you darlingdog,I like to describe my two as "special". ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brennan's Mum Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 I loved the book, had me crying though . The movie was good, but not as good as the book imo. I have read John Grogan's other adult novel- I do enjoy his writing style. I noticed on his website that in the 'Share your stories' section- the majority of comments are still in regards to Marley and Me or dog related LINK . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greytmate Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 I guess until you've lived the life of John and his wife you can't really judge if the dog could of been trained better. Each and every dog has a different personality some train easier than others...... Yes we can. Every dog is different to train, but the way this dog behaved was really the owner's fault. Some dogs have inherent temperament flaws, but this dog's behaviour was basically a result of lack of effort. Each and every owner has a different personality, and some train dogs easier than others.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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