Warning - Marley and Me is not entirely a comedy.

[jillan]

It is a real tear jerker. Yes, I am giving the ending away, but the commercials do not show what the movie is really about.

I just hope that parents aren't taking their little kids to this movie.

The ending is long and drawn out.
If you go, bring kleenex. The napkins in the concession stand will not be enough.

Let's just say, we came home from that movie and gave Tobi Jo a great big hug and lots of belly rubs.

[BrklynLiberal]

1. I knew how the book ended, and that is why I am not so anxious to see it.

I was not sure if they had changed the ending, but obviously they have not.

[jillan]

2. Funny - after seeing it yesterday, I was noticing the commercials today.

They give absolutely NO clue how emotional that movie really is.

People need to be aware before they go see it.

[BrklynLiberal]

3. You are right. It looks like a really happy family, funny dog movie...from the commercials.

I guess they should have an intermission..with a notice that those who want a happy ending should leave then..

[northernlights]

4. thank you for the heads up

I wasn't sure I was up for a dog comedy. I *know* I'm not up for any more dog tragedy.

[undeterred]

5. My last dog had bloat twice..

and although he survived it twice, it is quite traumatic.

[BrklynLiberal]

6. I lost my heart dog, a GSD, to bloat. It is horrible.

[jillan]

7. I lost my border collie to bloat - he was only 9 years old - still a puppy.

He played all day, and out of nowhere :(

That made the movie extra painful to watch.

[northernlights]

8. well a little good from the movie

I am a first-time owned by dog person, so never heard of bloat before this thread. Now I've read up on it and know that my dog, a fairly large lab/chow/heinz57 with a super-deep chest, is in a higher risk category for it. Luckily he's under 100 pounds, his deep chest is also extra broad, he's submissive, and our combined lazy habits and somewhat shared diet are good things.

FWIW, after all my reading, here is some info from Purdue (I think...or one of the other big vet research u's, I looked at several):

*100+ pound dogs more at risk
* deep with narrow chest dogs more at risk
* more aggressive dogs more at risk/submissive dogs less so
* underweight dogs are more at risk

preventives include:
* feed at least 2 meals/day
* keep excitable dogs calm while eating
* water available all the time so they don't eat and then immediately drink a ton, or drink too fast and swallow air
* 1 hour quiet time before & 2 hours after meals. walking is fine. running around not.
* kibble should not have oil listed in 1st 4 ingredients, but grains are fine
* feeding table scraps mixed with meal is a *good* thing
* feeding a little canned food mixed with kibble may also help
* pre-soaking kibble is *not* a good thing if the kibble has citric acid in it.

[InvisibleTouch]

9. Thanks for posting that info!

Those are all good suggestions and healthy practices, for anyone with a mid- to large-sized breed, and especially for giant breeds. My breed thankfully is not prone to bloat, even though they are tall, narrow, and deep-chested, but I still limit their activity after meals.

As for the movie, I think I will skip it. I hate to see sad stories about animals, and in any case I hate to get emotional in public.

[undeterred]

10. a few more things you should know

Bloat often occurs late in the day- nobody knows why.


The first time my dog had bloat he was whimpering, which was unusual. He seemed really uncomfortable, having dry heaves but nothing was coming up. Thank goodness I took him to the emergency clinic at night. His stomach had not twisted yet and they were able to "deflate" him with a needle and syringe, which is much less invasive than the surgery. An animal with bloat will die if not treated in a very short time. Do not decide to wait until morning to take your dog to the vet because it could die overnight. Because emergency clinics are open 24 hours they treat more cases of bloat than regular vets, and they are very good at it.

The second time Harry had bloat he was frothy at the mouth and moaning. I knew immediately what it was and I called the emergency clinic and brought him over. His stomach had completely twisted. I was afraid they were going to tell me to put him down because he was 14. But they offered surgery and I accepted it. I wasn't even sure he could make it through the anesthesia, but he did. The surgeon untwisted his stomach and tacked it to the abdominal wall. She was able to inspect his other organs and see that everything looked grossly normal for a dog his age. He did really well and lived almost two more years!

Bloat also becomes more likely as the dog is older. You can try following all the tips but ultimately this is an anatomical phenomenon that you can't stop. The first time Harry had it I believe he drank some dirty water at the dog park in the summer. Other dogs got sick too.

I met someone whose 4 month old Gordon Setter got bloat. The veterinary surgeon told me she had treated cats and small dogs with bloat occasionally, though mostly larger older dogs end up with it. You can have the surgery done prophylactically for a deep chested dog- it may be easier to do when the dog is not in crisis.

[jillan]

13. That's interesting.

Jasper was playing all day, and it was about 8 o'clock at nite when we noticed how uncomfortable he was.



FYI- Jasper was only about 25 lbs - so everyone please don't think it doesn't happen to smaller dogs.

[BattyDem]

11. I hate it when you think you're going to see a comedy ... and you end up in tears.

A couple of people wanted me to go see this movie with them and I said, "No way! These kind of movies always have sad endings!" They kept saying, "No, it won't be sad ... it's a comedy!"

Yeah ... right. :eyes:

My sister and my niece went to see it on Sunday. When they got home, my sister called and said, "Do NOT go to see Marley and Me!" (I lost my poodle in February and I was devastated. Even though I've had a new puppy since July, it still hurts like hell and I could NOT handle a sad doggie movie.) They were in tears all the way home. She said everyone in the theater was crying or at least sniffling a bit. She heard a little boy sobbing and it broke her heart.

:-(

[lukasahero]

12. I lost my yellow Lab in May and will not see the movie

I love my new pup and she's been a bright spot in our lives but I still cry almost every day over losing my old boy, Beau, who, for the record, looked exactly like Marley (the real Marley not the ones in the movie). I read the book (before he died) and that was bad enough. I have also read some reviews that SPOILER WARNING










criticize the movie for lingering ghoulishly on the 'death scene' which would be far too much for me or my husband to bear.

[undeterred]

14. It hits too close to home for me also.

Harry's two emergencies were traumatic for me- I didn't know if he would survive or not and I was up all night. The first time I had a bad experience with the clinic- they had two many animals and after diagnosing him they did not start a procedure for 2 hours. I went back in the clinic and screamed at the vet when I found out.

Harry died last summer, but it was peaceful.

[Shardik]

15. I read the book when it first came out and bawled like a baby.

But, in defense of the movie, during interviews the stars said that it is the story of the entire life of a dog from beginning to end.

I do intend to see the movie in that it appears to closely follow the book as far as what I have seen in the advertisements.

[northernlights]

16. another psi -- signs,symptoms & emergency 1st aid

Another prevention tip I forgot earlier is to not feed from elevated dishes (guess that makes them more likely to swallow air).

For newbies like me, here are signs and symptoms to be aware of:
· an anxious look or looking at the abdomen
· standing and stretching
· drooling
· distended abdomen
· retching without producing anything
. elevated heart rate
. panting, elevated respiration
. poor capillary refill (press on gums for a couple seconds and release -- should refill with blood very quickly)
. poor pulse quality (weak? irregular? not sure what they mean by this)

A vet in Florida sells a bloat kit for people with high risk dogs. It includes everything you need (including instructions) to empty your dogs stomach in an emergency to buy precious time. I may at some point get one since I live several hours from a 24x7 emergency service. Here's a link to a link...
http://www.doglogic.com/bloat.htm

[undeterred]

17. I'd be afraid to do this.

The dog is likely to be agitated because its in pain. Its impossible to know if your dog is just distended or if the stomach has already twisted without an xray. When my dog had bloat- and he had one incident of each kind- the vets were unable to put a tube down him because the entrance to the stomach was blocked.

I would be pounding on my vets door with the dog in the car if there were no emergency clinic.

[northernlights]

18. if you read the article...

and the instructions, this is clearly for a life & death situation where the dog is in danger of dying soon. And it's not for the feint of heart. And if you are unable to intubate, it also has needle and instructions for (I forget the technical term) releasing gas through needle inserted into stomach.

It seems aimed mostly at professional breeders and show people.

And for those of us who live on a farm with farm animals. We learn to be our own vet in emergencies, because the vet is not always available for farm calls without notice. I already do IM and subQ injections for horses, goats, cats and my dog. I've assisted with on-farm surgeries, and my vet keeps me supplied with certain prescription meds for dire emergencies with my horses.

Would I do it if I could get my dog to a *good* vet hopsital within an hour? Not likely. But if it was going to take 3 hours and he was showing very serious symptoms (beyond upset stomach) I'd do what was necessary to buy him the time to get him to a good vet.

[undeterred]

19. I agree with everything you said.

When my dog was treated for bloat the first time he was distended, not twisted - so they were able to deflate his stomach without surgery. But I was upset that my dog had to wait 2 hours after diagnosis to be treated, at an emergency center that had too many sick animals. They warned me that it was extremely likely to happen again, which it did, although it was more than a year later.

After that I got my vets home number. When it actually happened, I took him to a different emergency center where the care was excellent and timely- then he had the gastropexy.

If I were living in a remote area and had experience handling sick animals I would definitely try to save the animals life.

[AZBlue]

20. I heard it's the modern Old Yeller.

Well, I've never seen that movie for the same reason I'll never watch Marley and Me. I've had pets die, it's tough enough to live through it, why pay to go see it onscreen??