WHEN ASKER MET MARLEY
Animal trainer Mathilde De Cagny, who has worked with dogs on such movies as THE FIRM, FRAISER, MY DOG SKIP, and BACK TO THE FUTURE, was recently in Toronto to talk about her amazing work on MARLEY & ME. When Mathilde stopped by THE MAG HQ with Marley actor Brody, our resident Dog specialist Asker was delighted to make their acquaintance and ask some questions.
WOOF! WOOF!
The following contains spoilers for MARLEY & ME and MY DOG SKIP. Don’t read if you haven’t seen the movies!
ASKER: How many dogs were involved in the making of MARLEY & ME?
MATHILDE: 22 dogs.
A: You were in charge of all of them?
M: No. I was in charge of year 1 through 7, which involved 5 different dogs.
A: What was your favourite scene to work on?
M: Possibly the hardest scene, the necklace scene. Because it was such a teaser thing, such a Marley thing to do.
A: What is the process like? For example, in the chase scene, did you practice or just wing it?
M: There is both. You want to keep it as natural as possible. You base training on confidence. I did a lot of simulation, but never the whole thing because you get more spontanateous reaction without rehearsal.
A: How many times did it take to do the chase scene?
M: I think we did about 3 or so. The director soon released the first two takes were the best.
A: Do you ever get sad when you have to see the dog’s pretend to get injured, or even pass away?
M: Are you kidding? We were crying the whole way! The whole crew was in tears – we can’t help it. But I don’t watch it. I did MY DOG SKIP, and he passed away at the end, and even though the dog is right there with me, I can’t watch.
A: How many tricks does Brody know?
M: About 20 or so. Some of my dogs are trained for certain things, and some for others.
A: Do dog actors have unions like human actors?
M: No, what they do have is the animal regulation, which is called the SPCA, and they are in charge of supervising that production is not asking too much of the dog, that they have water and shade, etc. After that, it’s up to us to use good judgment if the dog has had enough.
A: Should there be acting award ceremonies for animals that do great jobs?
M: Rhey used to have awards ceremonies for dogs. It was called “Paddy’s Award” and PETA stopped it because they are against animals working.
A: Where do you find the dog you use in movies?
M: We rescue so many dogs. Brody was in a shelter, so were 4 of the dogs from MARLEY & ME. They get to have a very good life out of the shelter.
A: If you think your dog is showbiz worthy, how do you get them into the game?
M: That’s a tough question. I know you can do a lot of print work, with magazines and stuff. What I do as a professional is very very involved, and I would never just go and get someone’s’ pet. You have insurance policies, working with actors, etc. We train our own dogs. If you want to train your dog to be in print advertising, you need to have a dog that has been around places a lot, meaning don’t just train them at home, train them in the park, train them in the shopping centre, or anywhere. Get them used to different situations.
A: What breed is the most popular in Hollywood movies?
M: It has phases. For example, the Lab in OLD YELLER and MARLEY & ME, the Jack Russell in THE MASK and FRAISER, etc.
A: What breed do you most enjoy to train?
M: Terriers. They are called “terrors”. They’re very very smart, and they’re dogs that don’t ever give up. Collies are also very smart. But I like Mutts and Terriers.
A: Does Brody get to fly in 1st class when you travel?
M: Sometimes.
A: What’s one tip you could give us about successful dog training?
M: [Teaching] stay is very important. Training should always be done on a leash.
Mathilde & Brody, thank you so much and good luck!