Williams: 'Marley & Me, The Sequel'

First there was “Beethoven” the popular 1992 movie about the lovable but rambunctious young Saint Bernard who wreaked havoc on his family while eluding evil dognappers. They’ve since followed up with five sequels, most recently “Beethoven’s Big Break,” released straight to video just last month.

It took more than 30 years for Disney to release a live action remake of the original animated “101 Dalmatians” in 1996, but only four years for them to come up with “102 Dalmatians,” in 2000.

Most sequels are never as good as the originals, but somehow screenwriters are able to convince producers and studios to put up the necessary money to get them made. I’m really hoping someone will be able to do the same with “Marley and Me.” The film just completed its second week at No. 1 at the box office, so not only would a second installment hold great potential for financial success, but it could be both educational and redeeming as well.

Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy the movie as a whole and fully understand the underlying theme was to celebrate the bond of a young, growing family whose unruly Labrador Retriever was as central a character in all their struggles and triumphs as any of them. I really do get that. It indisputably was a heartwarming, feel good movie.

I also love a good comedy and definitely have a sense of humor, but as a dog trainer, I can only watch a dog repeatedly destroying property, eating inedible (and potentially dangerous) objects, refusing to come when called, and eliminating in inappropriate places for so long before it starts to get to me.

Marley was lovingly referred to as the world's “worst” dog, but the truth is, he was very typical of a dog who never received limits, structure or direction from his people. In fact, almost everything he did that was considered “bad” was reinforced time and time again.

As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. That is even truer when it comes to dog behavior. We would never dream of leaving a toddler home alone with free reign of the entire house, yet we do it with young dogs and puppies all the time.

This sets them up for failure and that is what happened with Marley from the start. Providing him with a safe place without access and opportunity to destroy things and soil around the house could have worked wonders.

This could have been accomplished with a crate, or even a smaller, safer room without furniture, carpeting or other flooring that could be torn up.

He could have been given appropriate chew and interactive toys to keep him busy so he didn’t have to find things to do. At one point in the movie Marley was finally given a chew bone to occupy him while the family was away, and lo and behold, he didn’t destroy anything!

Labrador Retrievers have boundless energy and were bred to run, swim and retrieve, not lay around the house idle all day. It was clear that Marley needed much more exercise than he received.

Unfortunately for dogs like him, a walk around the block is not going to cut it. They need to run, play and preferably swim every day.

If you don’t have the time, energy or lifestyle to provide this, it’s simple, don’t get a Labrador Retriever, or any sporting breed for that matter. If ever there was a poster dog for doggie daycare, it was Marley!

An outlet for his excess energy, not to mention socialization, playing and interaction with other dogs could have had miraculously positive effects on his overall behavior.

In the movie we were shown one ridiculously comical, failed attempt at training. Clearly Marley was food and toy motivated, making him a great candidate for positive reinforcement.

He needed to be shown and taught proper behavior and then reinforced over and over again to repeat those behaviors with food and play. Not only would this have helped him understand what was expected, but it would have provided a sense of purpose and given him a “job” as well.

In a sense, the movie did have a happy ending. Marley is forever immortalized as an iconic figure.

However the truth is, there are thousands of Marleys out there who will never have forever homes and certainly not books and movies in their honor.

To the contrary, most will be given up, usually between the ages of 9 months and two years, when those undesirable behaviors just aren’t “cute” anymore. While seeing an entire living room destroyed, expensive jewelry consumed, and dogs jumping out of car windows may be comical on the screen, it doesn’t play nearly as well in real life.

Shelters and rescues are literally filled with young Marleys, and that’s why I want a sequel where we’re shown the humans getting it right.

I think that would be an even better tribute and legacy for the real Marley.

Stafford resident Laurie C. Williams is a certified pet dog trainer and local business owner. She appeared on the television reality show “Greatest American Dog” with her Maltese, Andrew. Reach her at onesmartpooch@aol.com.