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: Bill and Starr Are Expelled

Andrew the Incredible Maltese
CBS 8/7c 8/27/08

Laurie has established that small dogs, namely Andrew the Maltese, can do anything that a big dog can do. Sometimes a lot more. The Reward Challenge involved an elephant. Each dog had to remain in a circle drawn on the ground while a trained elephant came right up to them. Andrew the Maltese never even flinched. Travis and Presley were also successful with this part. To break the tie between Andrew and Presley, the elephant would charge (a very slow run) at the dogs, first butt off the ground lost. Presley chickened out first. What an incredible feat for both Andrew and Presley (a Boxer pup).

Laurie won the dog bone suite and a leg up in the final competition of the night, a major obstacle course. The hardest part was the end jump on a zip line, so the dog had to essentially jump into nothing. Man, that's tough.

First up were J.D. and Galaxy (Border Collie mix) with a stellar, as always performance. Galaxy did everything she was asked, even the jump on the zip line to J.D.

Next up were Teresa and LeRoy (Border Collie). I was worried for this pair, only because Teresa tends to worry and get Leroy worked up in a barking frenzy. Her 'play' voice always works better (which is weird). But Leroy did every trick, including the zip line (finally!)

Bill and Star (Brittany Spaniel) were up next and took a shallower ramp set up for Andrew. Completely understandable for a 12-year-old dog. Star would not jump off the zip line either, also understandable for an older dog. Star seemed to look at Bill from the top like, "I'm not jumping this. Those puppies might, but they are stupid!"

Travis and Presley did well, and Presley completed all of the course. It was hysterical watching the bulky Boxer pup jump on the zip line. He did marvelously, but Travis was chastized for getting him too excited during the course. Praise is necessary, but the dog must remain in training mode.

Laurie and Andrew went last. Andrew went up the extremely high climb (for the 5lb Maltese), but refused to jump. Laurie did well not to stress him too much, though the judges said he still exhibited 'stress behavior'. Well, duh.....he was looking for an easier way to get to Laurie.

This was obviously the toughest elimination for anyone, as they all knew Bill and Star were the obvious choice. When it happened, all cried and the judges said they loved both Bill and Star. We all do, and wish both Bill and his 'orange' dog the best of life!

Greatest American Dog: Beth Joy and Bella Starlet

Beth Joy and Bella Starlet Expelled
From Canine Academy
CBS Wednesday 8/7c 8/20/08

Beth Joy and Bella Starlet growled and cried their way through the start of Greatest American Dog tonight. Why did Travis stick up for them and get Laura and Preston expelled from Canine Academy last week? Pure strategy. He doesn't like Beth Joy (I don't think) and needed to get rid of the real competition and distraction.

Travis and Bill proved to be an unbeatable team in the Reward Challenge. Travis got to call his mom, and Bill called his wife.

Beth Joy and Bella Starlet showed why they should have gone home long ago. Bella Starlet nipped and growled at everyone, Beth Joy blamed it on the fact that the dog is a pet from a rescue league. Not true, it is the way the dog owner is freaking out. She has been crying for a couple of weeks now, the dog thinks something is terribly wrong.

Release the hounds!
20 Golden Retriever Puppies!

The final challenge was to herd 3 puppies through a maze. Keep in mind puppies follow anything that is moving around them. Travis (Presley) and Bill (Star) got a 'leg up' and were allowed to pick the puppies they would work with ahead of time. It was hysterical watching Presley wrestle playfully and bounce around. Star, on the other hand, chose the statue approach to the puppies. Maybe thinking they would not notice her leaning stiffly between the toilet and the wall. She finally came around enough to allow them touches with Bill there.

Teresa and Leroy the Border Collie showed them all how it was done. Leroy waited for the puppies without being told. Hopefully Teresa learned that her relaxed attitude helped Leroy, he never let out a bark.

J.D. and Galaxy, another Border Collie mix, also got the puppies to end of the maze. The judges were torn to say the least, can you say:

Cat Fight!

Of course it ended in a kitten fight with the two women judges complimenting each other's work. The conflict was over the use of power or praise to train your dog. It is up to the dog and owner, each is different.

Finally Beth Joy and Bella Starlet were expelled from Canine Academy. Now it will be difficult to watch the final 5 leave each week.

Who do you think should win? Do you train your dog to do any tricks?

Greatest American Dog: Brandy and Beacon Leave Canine Academy 8/06/08

Teresa and Leroy Win Dog Bone Challenge
Gives Prize to Bill and Starr
CBS Wednesday8/7c 8/06/08

Fitting on the same night as the season finale of So You Think You Can Dance, CBS would run a dancing dog competition. Maybe it just worked out that way. At the beginning of tonight's show, I thought Bill and Starr would throw in the towel. Bill was so homesick he could hardly function. Then came the Dog Bone Challenge for reward... Finish article now



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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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Greatest American Dog Reality Show Week 2

Elan and Kenji Are Eliminated From
Greatest American Dog Competition
CBS 8/7c 7/17/08

It was an eventful week in the house full canine reality show contestants. After last week's embarrassment for Tillman, the bulldog would not be bullied (sorry!) and got into a tiff with Elvis (imagine a Jack Russell in a dog fight, nah couldn't happen!). Anyway, Tillman got the worst of it with a nip or claw to the eye area. Poor Tillman! Elvis and owner David were banished to the dog house for the afternoon.

Later a scare with Star. Apparently out running in the yard, she got wrapped up in wire or bit by an animal or snake (it was never clarified and no wire or anything was found) but the poor old girl had to have stitches in the wound on her ear. Star's owner Bill was mess, missing his wife and family and now Star injured. The old girl came through in the end though and won the honors of the night. Good Girl Star!

Kenji the Giant Schnauzer and owner Elan had the worst of the night in the dog show competition. Kenji is a very young dog at 1 year, Elan has good control over her for that age and should be proud of that. The judges don't need to be so nasty in tone (at least the one that said Elan was annoying her) every show does not need a Simon Cowell. Kenji got away at one point and went into full puppy play mode, kudos to the production department at CBS for the banjo music background (it started in my head at the same time!) The lesson to learn from Elan's training style is not to over correct your dog. The dog is still listening and on command even if it is not looking directly at you.

The drama award goes to (and we can probably safely award this for the season now) Beth Joy and Bella Starlet, imagine that. Beth Joy has continually reminded us that she always dresses her dog in dog clothes matching her own. Tonight Bella Star (the dog) was dressed in a lime green sundress with purple piping (I think I sell the dress on Dogs Rule Iowa) anyway, I was surprised it was such a cheap outfit for TV. At least make something fancy. The judges let her have it, they couldn't judge the grooming of the dog blah, blah, blah. Beth Joy would not let it go and cried and plead her case that the dog is shaved down and just had surgery so she only dressed her to cover her shaved parts. Bella Starlet did very well with her command following tonight, and that was all that mattered. Most people don't like dogs wearing clothing, they don't get it and they don't like it. Never dress your dog in dog clothes if you are going to a competition.

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The Greatest American Dog Reality Show 7/10/08

Twelve Dogs and Their Owners Compete
In a Dog-Gone Reality Show
CBS 8/7c 7/11/08

Do dogs really deserve to be pulled into the quagmire of Reality TV shows? This group of trick performing canines does. Finally another show that small children can watch and parents don't have to be a watch dog (Home Makeover being the other show). I'm not even sure of the Grand Prize on Greatest American Dog, does it matter? There will probably be more tears for the losers who get eliminated on this show than there are for American Idol.

The 12 contestants living in the dog house (one punishment is actually living in a large dog house outside) are:
Tillman (Bulldog) and Ron, Leroy (Border Collie) and Teresa, Galaxy (Border Collie Mix) and J.D., Preston (Pom) and Laura, Presley (Boxer) and Travis, Beacon (Schnauzer) and Brandi, Kenji (Giant Schnauzer) and Elan, Star (Brittany Spaniel) and Bill, Ezzie (Boston Terrier) and Michael, Andrew (Maltese) and Laurie, Bella Star (Shih Tsu mix) and Beth Joy, Elvis (Parson Russell Terrier) and David.

I love the names, I love the dogs, I even like a few of the owners. This should be a good show for teaching 'regular' people how to correctly train a dog. There is no way I could be on the show, even though I am a dog owner, you would have to remove the people from the house to get me in there. That is the problem with 'dog-people', we usually don't care for humans as much as canines. It might make for good tension TV, but I wouldn't want to stress my pet out over me not liking our roommate.

All of the dogs had to pass tests to get on the show, I don't think the rules for owners was nearly as stringent. Most of the dog owners seem fine, others are... well, different.

Getting to the first show, last night. It was obvious from the start that Galaxy is the most talented dog as far as command following. This dog looks like it came straight out of field training for the show. It will be amazing if any of the others can truly keep up as the show goes on.

The first meeting of the group gave Presley (the youngest dog of the group at 16 months) followed another dog right into the swimming pool. Presley's first swim was precarious and made me fear that this might not be a good idea. He did okay, and his owner Travis handled the situation very well (fishing the dog out saying, "You had to learn to swim sometime!")

The most adorable of the group is Preston the Pomeranian. Yeah, I used to have a Pom (that I kept in a lion clip), but mine would never mind the way Preston does.

The first competition was a Reward Challenge based on the game Musical Chairs. The owners had to lead the dogs around a group of stands, when the music stopped the dog had to pick a stand and SIT on it to move on. One less stand per round. It was funny as some of the small dogs jumped up under the larger breeds and sat under them, stealing their spot. Galaxy and J.D. were the winners, and got to sleep in the Master (get it?) bedroom, they also had to choose one dog/owner to sleep outside in the doghouse (which is as big as my home).
J.D. sent David and Elvis to the dog house for the night, yes Elvis had left the building (I tried to stop myself, but it had to be said!)

The final challenge was judged by professional dog trainers and judges. The problem with this is that they have no tact with the human couterparts. That will have to change soon if CBS wants to hang on to a young viewership. More than once they told overbearing owners that they did not see any connection between the dog and the person. Them's fighting words! I'm telling you CBS, you do not insult a doting dog owner this way (without finding flaming dog poop on your step!) So lets stop with the personal bashing and stick with the dog tricks, this is not the AKC show in Madison Square Garden, for crying out loud. We know professional dog trainers can tell what dogs are thinking (or at least they think they can), but the judges need to remember that none of these people are professional dog trainers. Bottom line, judges don't tell me that I don't have a good relationship with my dog!

The Elimination Challenge was a team competition, but each owner and dog was judged individually. After the above mentioned sternness with some of the contestants, the judges chose to eliminate Ezzie and Michael. Michael had problems controlling Ezzie from the start (though it was hilarious when Ezzie stole Tillman's skateboard. The look on the big Bulldog's face as the Boston Terrier attacked his ride was priceless.)

Whether the show is a ratings hit or not is still to be seen, I will continue to watch for the entertainment value. Hopefully, I can pick up some dog training tips as well!

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