Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog

Ok, ugh. I'd seen the movie, and when I came across this book at a Little Free Library, I jumped at the chance to read it, because the books are usually better than the movies.

The author's wife decide that they need a dog to help them prepare for having a baby. That is a really shitty reason to buy a pet - a pet is not a toy or 'trainer'. So they go to some backyard breeder instead of an animal shelter (at least the author and his wife knew about puppy mills and avoided THESE) and the author is not immediately warned off by the breeder's suspicious behavior when asked about the sire of the litter.

I was not at all charmed by Marley's behavior. The author gave in the first night Marley whined about being left in the garage. THE FIRST show more NIGHT. Discipline and setting limits is important for pet ownership, and the author failed that ON THE FIRST NIGHT. Not even just the first night, but the first day as when he takes Marley home, he puts the dog in the seat (instead of a crate) so this enables Marley to crawl to the dashboard and etc. He did not attempt to discipline the dog or buckle him into his seat, which set the tone for the rest of Marley's life (not to mention being extremely unsafe for not only the driver, but other motorists!!!)

Marley may have been stupid to begin with, but much of his misbehavior is squarely the fault of John and Jenny. Marley keeps eating random odds and ends around the house? Put them out of reach! Marley keeps eating food off the counters? (sandwich crusts, and Rice Krispie bars on separate occasions) Stop leaving food on the counters!!! He keeps breaking screen doors by running through them? Then get a screen door with a solid bottom panel, or bars, so he can no longer bust through them!!!!! The author complains about thousands of dollars in damages, when much of that could have been avoided with some freaking commonsense.

There was one thing that especially disgusted me. Near the end of the book, the author mentioned how when Marley would walk past the couch, he would rub the side of his face along, leaving drool along the cushions. And then do it again with the other side of his face coming along the other way. EWWWWWW (not to mention all the drool and snot on car windows from letting Marley roam around in the car) I would not have wanted to hang around at this author's house with drool everywhere and a ill-trained dog.

It became all too clear to me, that even though Marley's behavior could be very rambunctious at times, much of his bad behavior came from the owners, not his own nature. The same can be said of ill-behaved children - lack of discipline. I found this book infuriating rather than endearing. The only reason this book got more than one star was because the author had a good writing style and made me chuckle in a few parts. show less

The beginning half of this book had me so annoyed I didn't want to finish it. Jenny and John showed themselves to be bad dog owners, or at least not capable of having a puppy/young dog. First it was claimed Marley was rescued, but in reality he was bought from a backyard breeder, whom they had no information about. They did not research the breed at all before purchasing a puppy either. Marley was bought as a practice test for to have children, which is a horrible reason altogether. Throughout the book it's mentioned he attends an obedience class that uses choke collars and that is what is used on Marley his entire life, which is cruel. They also knew he was afraid of storms and continued to do nothing until he had destroyed the room he show more was in and bloodied himself up multiple times. When discussing with the vet to neuter Marley, the owner really had to mull the idea over because he really thought he was going to breed Marley or that the dog would know he was missing out of sex, which is just insane. Also they let the dog fall out of a moving car, let him roam the house when they left and eat toys, pillows, ect with no regard of whether it could hurt him or not. AND THEN Jenny ends up having PPD and hitting Marley. Yes, I was crying as Marley got older and had to be put down, but that's the natural animal lover in me. The book only became enjoyable towards the end when Marley was older and had calmed down some and the owners were finally able to control him. Overall I really cannot fathom how this book became so popular and made into a movie. show less

Rated: A+

Having had a “sub-normal” dog in the past, myself, but without any fond memories to accompany the ordeal, I didn’t expect to like this book. Every time I said something about what “that stupid dog” did now, someone would tell me, “oh, you’ve just got to read Marley & Me”. So, finally, I gave in and read the thing. I laughed; I cried; it was a good book. It didn’t redeem “yellow dog”, but it was an enjoyable read.

I had put off Marley and Me because all I heard about it was that it was a destructive dog that was poorly trained. I thought of destructive dogs as not funny in the same way that I don't find stupid things people do while drunk funny.

Turns out I like the book enough to include it in my favorite books on dogs. What I had not heard about the book was how great it is to share the life of the author and his family including a destructive but great dog. It is a familiar theme for all of us with dogs; puppy challenges, at least some destruction (even if just soiled rugs), and unfortunately, health challenges as a dog gets older. And hopefully for all of us, a familiar theme to deal with life challenges; trying to have children, birth of show more children, job changes (for the good hopefully). Familiar themes yes, but in a comfortable way that is written very well. To that is added some unusual stuff involving an interesting locale, neighborhood murders and crime, lightning, moving tables, and being cast in a movie.

Sorry to all those who recognized the good things in this book and told about that in their reviews, and I am sure said it better, but I thought I knew what the book was about so didn't previously read them. I will look again at others reviews so we can share the good from this book. And yes, I know they made mistakes training the dog, and I have seen a dog who had a damaged trachea from a choke collar and know that positive dog training works better. The book is also a good lesson on what not to do when selecting a breed and an individual puppy. So great book, and good for conversations about choosing and raising a dog. show less

I sometimes get hassled by people who assume that I don't like dogs. This is untrue. What I don't like are undisciplined dogs, whose owners seem to think that destructive, dangerous, or disruptive behavior is somehow cute. And since the title character in this book embodies two out of three of those qualities, I'm not overly enthusiastic about it.

Yes, there's some redemption toward the end, when the dog has become embedded in the writer's family. But overall, in the real world, having a pet like Marley would be an unending source of annoyance to me. Choosing to share that annoyance vicariously by reading this book was probably not my best reading choice.

With the film out, I thought should probably get around to reading the book; I also thought that the book couldn't possibly be as cute as the film. I was wrong - going on what I've seen in the trailer, there is absolutely no need for dramatic licence in telling Marley's story!

From the opening chapter, John Grogan had me in fits of silent hysterical laughter, describing behaviour that I recognise from my own personal experience of labradors, not to mention Marley's own incredible adventures (including jumping out of the window of a moving car, and taking a restaurant table for a walk). Of course, I knew what was coming - family and friends who have read the book warn of the sad but inevitable conclusion - but I really wasn't prepared show more for how close I had grown to Marley throughout 250 pages of mayhem, and had to save the last few pages until I was alone. To say I cried is an understatement. Yet it is worth braving the tears, because the real belly laughs come as John Grogan recounts some of the horror stories he received in response to his farewell column for Marley - I was still half blind, sniffing and dabbing at my eyes with tissues, but now I couldn't breathe, either!

An emotional read, particularly for dog owners, but really for anybody who has an ounce of sentimentality in them. Thanks to John Grogan - and Marley - for sharing. show less