Dog Gone Good Movie!

Today I went to see Marley and Me at the theater. First of all, I did not realize it was a tradition to go to the movies on New Year's Day. It was mobbed! My friend and I made our way in, after hiking in from the far side of the parking lot. We then stood in a line for tickets. This particular movie theater usually has you buy tickets at the concessions, no lines, today it was out the door. We finally get tickets and I waited in line for popcorn and soda. Normally I forgo these things, as I have no equity on my house to make such purchases, but today I had coupons, so I waited. 20 minutes later I paid $3.50 for a large popcorn and 2 medium drinks. (you see why I HAD to buy) I walked into the theater just as the movie started. I was skeptical, being a dog trainer, a movie about an ill behaved dog may have been more irksome than entertaining. I was laughing from the word go. The puppy was adorable, even if it was a lab. The behavior was somewhat typical unchecked lab behavior. It was funny and so well written. What I loved most about the family dynamic and the relationship between Marley and his owners was the unconditional love. Dogs give unconditional love all the time, but this movie shows people giving it to the dog as well. They do nothing right in training Marley, but they love him no matter what he chews up or pees on. Never do they blame Marley for the way he his.

Too often I see owners blaming others for their dog's behavior. They either make excuses for their dog, or think that they got a bad dog. There are bad dogs. They are built by owners who allow behaviors to start during puppy hood and continue through adolescence and adulthood. Owners who think it is OK to allow a puppy to sleep with them the first night and expect to stop such privileges as the puppy grows up. By the time these dogs are 10 months old, many owners have given up and either give the dog away, drop it off at a shelter, or tie it outside for the remainder of its life.

Jon and Jen Grogen managed to survive Marley. They never gave up on him, they loved him. There were moments of total frustration, but they understood that a dog is a member of the family and no matter what, you can't just ditch family. This is not a dog movie, not a silly movie that follows the crazy antics of a wacky family dog. It is a movie about relationships and family dynamics, of growing up from newlywed, to dog owner, to parent. This is a movie for anyone who has ever loved a dog. This movie was worth every minute I spent in line today.