The Greatest American Dog is Presley the Boxer Puppy

Andrew and Laurie Finish Second
in a Toss Up
CBS 8/7c 9/10/08

Travis and Presley won The Greatest American Dog competition tonight. Presley, a 16-month-old Boxer puppy, showed character and personality throughout the dog competition. It doesn't hurt that Travis, the owner, is a cutie himself! The winners of The Greatest American Dog receive a check for $250,000 for their efforts.

Andrew, the Maltese, gave it everything he had. Even taking on Suzy the Elephant again. Andrew ran right under the elephant's foot to retrieve his toy as part of a Challenge. He acted like he didn't even see the elephant!

The night started with a bit of a surprise when J.D. and Galaxy were expelled from Canine Academy first, finishing 3rd overall. J.D. has had run-ins with Laurie and the judges about training styles. J.D. trained Galaxy to be an excellent hunting dog. It is a different style because it is used by hunters. This is strictly my opinion, by the way. A hunter is completely dominant, it is a matter of life and death for his dog. J.D. obviously learned to train this way, which is fine, but does not look as good to observers.

Victoria Stilwell, one of the judges, jumped all over J.D. for his dominant style of training. I hope she got paid extra for being a bitch. It really wasn't necessary.

Travis and Presley will represent America well as the winners of The Greatest American Dog!

Greatest American Dog: Teresa and Leroy Leave Canine Acedemy

Andrew the Wonder Maltese
Proves His Loyalty
CBS 8/7c 9/03/08

Tonight the contestants of Greatest American Dog had to prove their loyalty. The dogs' first challenge was for a reward and 'leg up' for the later competition. Each dog had to stay on a tree stump without laying down, while owners stood on a stump about 15ft in front of them.

Laurie would have an immediate problem with Andrew. The little Maltese almost always lays down. It seems the floor is just too close to resist! Sure enough, just minutes in Andrew laid down and was eliminated.

After a close brush with injury last week, Galaxy was back in great shape this week. Though she quickly laid down after Andrew, eliminating herself and owner J.D.

Travis is just so funny to listen to. He talks in such a cute baby talk to Presley and says "GooBoyyyyyyyy!" It works well for him now and he will learn better voice inflection later. But for now, he is my favorite (not to win, but for personality).

Teresa actually managed to get Leroy to stay on his stump the longest. Winning the Dog Bone Challenge.

The Best In Show Challenge was all about the bond between owner and dog. Each trainer in the house got to play with each dog alone. The idea was to make a bond with the new dog so it would follow your commands over the owner's.

All of the dogs were quite comfortable with the new human friends. All except Andrew. The little Maltese wanted nothing to do with any other human, he wanted Laurie. Andrew did not stress about it, he simply ignored the new person and went calmly to the door. When he found the doggy-door, he went right over to her and walked around.

There was no doubt from the beginning who would win this challenge. Andrew was up first and simply yawned as every other trainer tried to lure the Maltese out of the circle in front of Laurie. He looked directly into Laurie's eyes as she stood motionless and saying nothing but "Good" very quietly.

J.D. took an overbearing stance in his attempt to control Galaxy during chaos. It worked of course. Galaxy is a great Border Collie mix and J.D. is a great trainer. She has submitted completely to him. The judges think he has trained the personality out of her as well.

Travis and Presley had a good old time. It took J.D. all of 2 seconds to call Presley out of his circle to play with him. All J.D. did was call Presley in the same playful manner the Travis does.

Teresa and Leroy actually had the hardest time. Though Leroy did stay technically in his circle, he was completely stressed. His constant barking seemed to clearly sound like "I'm going! I'm going! You better release me, cause I'm going!" Teresa's voice becomes more stressed and he seems to think he is closer to being released.

After weeks of not much progress, Teresa and Leroy the Border Collie were expelled from Canine Academy. The top 3 dogs are Andrew (Maltese, owner - Laurie), Galaxy (Border Collie Mix, owner- J.D), Presley (Boxer, owner - Travis).

Greatest American Dog 7/30/08

Ron and Tillman Get Expelled
Who'd of Thought Lazy is Tough!
CBS Wednesday 8/7c 7/30/08

Tillman, the lovable gassy bulldog, and his guy's guy owner Ron were eliminated tonight on The Greatest American Dog. It was a shock seeing as the other bottom 2 dogs, Beacon and Leroy, really had issues with their owners on the task. This was all on Ron and he knew it. The show and all of us will miss them both, and I would put any picture of Tillman on my dog blog anyday!

The Reward Competition was a bit of a goofy endeavor, the show was all geared toward showing a dog's personality. Each owner had to 'know' their own dog's personality by guessing if they would take what was offered to them off a plate. My dog would have won this hands down as he is terrified of inanimate objects that bare treats or toys. I have no idea why! Anyway, Galaxy and J.D. of course won the challenge, Tillman even refused the steak offered (I think it was too high for him).

J.D. chose his closest competitors to sleep in the Dog House, Travis and Presley.

The Show Competition was a photo shoot depicting a theme (word) picked out of a hat.

J.D. and Galaxy chose 'sneaky', tough word. They more than pulled it off, Galaxy is one of those 'once in a lifetime' pets. She just does exactly what she is told and is happy about work. J.D. does a great job training her. The judges, as always, were impressed with training and the picture.

Travis and Presley got 'joyous', the perfect word for a happy boxer puppy! Presley jumped for joy alright, but the picture was a bit generic. The judges noted that the jump picture is a dime a dozen.

Bill and Star had to show 'stubborn'. Man, that seemed impossible to me, but they worked it out perfectly. With Star sitting her ground with a leash pulling at her collar to walk, she wasn't budging. Perfect! Sensing Bill's apprehension with the contest, the judges assured him he is creative.

Laurie and Andrew chose 'curious'. This seemed the hardest of all, but Laurie really pulled it out with Andrew 'looking' through a telescope. The judges were torn, but it was a great picture!

Brandy and Beacon got the word 'love'. Should be easy enough for a white Schnauzer, right? Brandy stressed so bad during the shoot that poor Beacon had no idea what to do. She was photographed with white background and no props simply looking up in profile. It was okay. But only earned bottom 3 status with the judges.

Beth Joy and Bella Starlet got 'mischievious'. Bella star, and more notably Beth Joy, finally got to glam it up for the camera. This little mixed breed did excellent in stealing treats from a jar and looking genuinely naughty. Even the judges finally came around for the team.

Laura and Preston had to pose for 'regal'. It seemed so easy a word for the little lion cut Pomeranium. The picture concept was good with a royal purple background and gold step stool, but a poor pose with his head cocked cost them the praise of the judges. Regal is more formal and a straight up and down pose was called for. Preston is still adorable, and a good boy!

Teresa and Leroy were to depict 'angry' which I thought was out of line in the first place. Not outrageous, I know they use trained dogs for this pose. This show is for families though, and I just don't think they needed to show a dog with teeth bared. Teresa resorted to a trick that Laura showed her from movie sets. Using what is known as a 'bite band' or 'snarl band', it is a rubber band that fits tightly around the upper jowl of the dog to hold the lips up. DO NOT USE A RUBBER BAND OR ANYTHING ELSE (BESIDES A DOG MUZZLE) AROUND THE MOUTH OR MUZZLE OF A DOG. This did not sit well at all with the judges and earned them a spot in the bottom 3.

Then came Ron and Tillman, the word was 'lazy'. Never were a word and a dog so made for each other. Every single time Tillman is on camera he is laying on his side farting the room full. Ron chose a bad picture that showed nothing but Tillman's face. The judges said it was "the worst picture of a Bulldog ever", pretty harsh. One of the judges suggested Tillman lay on his back for a lazy pose. Ron explained that was too much stress on the Bulldog's breathing, but they did not seem to care. Maybe because Ron said it made him snort, not like the judge that snorts when she laughs, but seriously snort.

So with the bottom 3 Tillman, Beacon and Leroy, I thought sure Teresa and Leroy would be the ones to go. The judges booted Ron and Tillman causing the whole house to gasp.

As they walked out the door Tillman left everyone something to remember them by, a very special Air Biscuit! Good boy!

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