24 Interesting Facts About Marley & Me

Name: Marley & Me
Released: 2008

Interesting Facts (19)

#001
Owen Wilson's real-life parents played his character's parents in the film. His mother's biggest problem was remembering not to call him Owen.
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#002
The author of the book has a small cameo as the owner of a Cocker Spaniel in the dog training class.
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#003
In scenes where Marley chews objects such as the kitchen floor, couch cushions or car seats, the trainers cued the dog to "get" the objects. A specific puppy and a specific adult dog were specially trained to chew things and spit them out without swallowing anything.
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#004
When the puppy or dog is seen performing simple actions such as sitting, lying down, walking (on or off leash), playing tug-of-war, knocking objects over or biting them, the trainers placed the dog on their marks. They stood in front of the camera using hand signals and verbal commands to cue actions familiar to the trained dogs. Any object Marley knocked over was a lightweight prop the trainers considered safe. In shots where the dog pulls on its leash, trainers off camera excitedly called the dog to come, prompting it to reach the end of the leash and pull.
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#005
In the surprise birthday party scene, you can see the former Miami Herald columnist standing and smiling to the right of the photo.
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#006
As a puppy, Marley runs at a wire gate and then breaks it. On the first encounter with the gate, the trainers positioned the puppy a few inches away from the gate so it could only bump into it without hurting itself, then called it to the other side. The puppy was trained to go through a special "breakaway" wire gate built to give way under even the slightest pressure.
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#007
Whenever Marley licks a person or object in the film, baby food was used to persuade the dog to lick. The same technique was used with baby diapers to encourage the dog to "get it." All food consumed was considered safe, including the dog's vomit, which was only dog food soaked in water.
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#008
In scenes where Marley urinates, the dog was taught to lift its leg to simulate urinating. Marley's defecating in the ocean was also simulated; the dog was trained to sit on a small custom pedestal to suggest a squatting position with its rear held above the ground.
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#009
For the scene where the puppy jumps in front of the garage window, the puppy was placed on a specially built platform and cued to jump while a trainer stood nearby. Whenever Marley is shown jumping over the fence, a picnic table and platform were strategically placed on both sides of the fence and the well-rehearsed puppy was cued to jump. The scene of the puppy running on the beach was shot in separate takes, with several puppies used in rotation so that no single puppy had to run the entire distance.
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#010
The dogs enjoyed filming their swimming scenes, and nearby trainers watched them closely. The Labradors in these scenes were very good swimmers and accustomed to the water.
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#011
In the car, Marley jumps out the window from John's lap and walks on the road with its front paws while the car is moving. This scene was shot in separate takes. The dog was trained to perform the action in this scene step by step. The dog was first told to move onto the actor's lap, then to put its head out the window. Its feet never touched the ground while the car was moving. The dog was then fitted with a safety harness and placed in a stationary car, and the trainer placed the dog's front paws on the road (with its rear still on the actor's lap). Once the front paws touched the ground, the car moved slowly forward a very short distance while the dog "walked" on its front legs and the actor supported its body and hind legs. The actor driving the car and the actors driving nearby vehicles were all extremely well rehearsed for slow, short-distance driving.
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#012
When people with dogs are shown at a dog beach or in obedience class, they were either real dog owners with their own dogs or well-rehearsed actors. All the dogs were obedience-trained and/or on leash. They were all introduced to each other before filming so they would be familiar, and were then allowed to play freely and do everything they would normally do with their owners. Marley's action during the obedience class was cued by the trainers, except for the humping, for which deer scent was used as an attractant. No choke chains were used; the leash was attached to a harness.
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#013
According to John Grogan, he encountered many dirty looks from parents who expected a happy dog story for their children. In the end he authorized more child-friendly versions that focused more on the dog's antics.
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#014
John and Jenny's second son is named Conor, the anglicized form of the Welsh name Conchobhar, meaning "dog lover" or "wolf lover."
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#015
In the scene where Marley takes the necklace in its mouth, the necklace chain was attached to a wooden dowel, which made it easier for the dog to grip and prevented a choking hazard. The dog never actually swallowed the necklace.
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#016
For the shots in which the dog raises its rear end as if ready to play or attack, this was a marked "bow" behavior. For the shots of the dog drinking from the toilet, a dog bowl was placed inside the toilet and the dog was cued to drink. For the shots with Marley in the bathtub, the tub was covered with traction mats so the dog could stand safely. In the shots with Marley by the fireplace, trainers kept the dog a safe distance from the fire and felt its fur to make sure it was not too hot.
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#017
Owen Wilson had a limited schedule because he was busy with this film during the marketing campaign for Drillbit Taylor (2008).
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#018
R.E.M.'s "Shiny Happy People" plays during the opening credits scene of Marley & Me. "Shiny Happy People" was also supposed to be the opening theme of Friends, in which Jennifer Aniston starred.
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#019
Owen Wilson began working on this film immediately after finishing Drillbit Taylor (2008).
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Production Story (2)

#020
Whenever Marley is seen in a car, a trainer was hiding in the back seat. Sometimes the car was actually on a special trailer with cameras, meaning the trailer moved but the car did not. At other times the car was stationary. For the scene where John drives with Marley on his lap, the well-rehearsed actor drove only a short distance and the trainer hid inside the car to cue the dog. Marley was cued to "stay" while in the back seat with the child. For scenes where Marley barks, sometimes he was cued to bark and sometimes the barking was added in post-production.
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#021
In the scene where Marley lies whimpering under the tree in the rain, the dog wore a prosthetic belly piece to make it look bloated. The rain was created with a rain machine and barely wet the dog (the tree served as shelter). The whimpering was a sound effect added in post-production.
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Behind the Scenes (1)

#022
In the montage where John lists the things he does with his dog, all scenes were shot with very few takes. For the shot where the dog digs near the plant, it was trained to dig and a hole was pre-dug and partially filled with loose dirt. For the shot where Marley is bathed, the actors used non-toxic dog shampoo and the dog was immediately rinsed and dried thoroughly afterward (all shot in a single continuous take). When the dog chews the leash, the leash had been pre-cut and the dog was cued to "get it." When it walks in the rain, it was warm Miami rain and the dog was used to it. When it jumps on the mailman's bag and "bites" it, the dog was cued to grab and shake it. When the UPS worker "bites" the UPS boxes, it was a costumed trainer cueing the dog to bite specific easy-to-grip points on the boxes. When it destroys sandcastles or chews the chair, it was cued to "dig" and "get it." The baseball field scene was shot during a real baseball game. The dog was asked to run up non-perpendicular stairs. Later, between takes, the actor was allowed to throw a ball to the dog and the dog was cued to fetch it. The dog was unaffected by the noise and the crowd.
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Easter Eggs & References (2)

#023
An older, well-trained dog was used for the veterinarian scenes. The dog was asked to lie still on the examination table, and the actors rehearsed thoroughly for this moderate action. To make it appear that Marley was receiving an IV drip, tubing connected to an IV bag was taped to the dog's leg and wrapped with gauze. No syringes or real medication were used. At the other end of the tube was a pouch hidden under the dog's blanket, and the fluid flowing from the IV ended up in that pouch rather than in the dog's body. The dog's eyes closing was a visual effect.
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#024
John Grogan says he had never owned a dog before the film version; the book that shares the film's title was based on conversations in which both John and Jenny Grogan said they had owned dogs as children.
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Sources & editorial notes

Reference databases

IMDb IMDb title page (trivia)

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