Who would of thunk it? Greatest American Dog has revealed their winner every episode since the very first. I’ll explain more at the very end but for now lets get to the finale! Following the elimination of Teresa and Leroy it was down to the final three of JD/Galaxy, Laurie/Andrew and Travis/Presley. As they returned from the elimination the three owners discussed JD’s comments to Victoria, the head judge. They had a little spat last episode as she believed JD was using a mechanical method to train Galaxy, something Victoria highly disagrees with. As he was revealed to be safe JD said he would never threaten the “love of his life”, directed at Victoria’s statements. Back at the house Laurie told JD that she agreed with Victoria that he can be scary to his dogs. JD disagreed once again and walked away leaving Laurie and Travis to discuss it. They both agreed that he is threatening to his dog and he just doesn’t get it.

In the Best in Show Arena the three were told that they weren’t at the finals yet. One more would be expelled before the final two and it would be decided following a test from the judges. Laurie was up first and the judges grilled her on Andrew’s separation anxiety. Laurie told them its merely that he likes to follow her around and it was put the test. One of the judges, Wendy, then asked Laurie to leave and placed Andrew next to her own dog: Lucky. The two played for a bit but Andrew eventually ran back into the green room in search of his beloved Laurie. The judges had a good laugh about it and JD was up next. The judges told JD that he and Galaxy were the most experienced coming into the game but JD’s answer to that was to his disadvantage. By saying he learned nothing from the other owners and that Galaxy didn’t really grow throughout the weeks made JD seem rather arrogant and seemed to put the judges even more against him. Last up was Travis and Presley who were definitely the underdogs the entire show. The judges asked how Travis got his far and he said by watching the others. It was down to one final test that Victoria put Presley though. She put a treat first in her hand, next on the floor and finally on Presley paw. He didn’t even budge for it all three times and Victoria seemed to fall in love with Presley right then and there.

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With only one elimination left until the finale of Greatest American Dog it was time to for the dogs to show their loving side. With two challenges that showed the dogs loyalty to their master, the show put a new spin on man’s best friend. On last weeks episode we learned that Galaxy’s leg was potentially injured and it put fear in JD that he would have to leave the competition. The next morning, Galaxy’s leg seemed magically healed but JD took him to the vet just to make sure. There he learned that Galaxy was as fit as a two year old, making the matter disappear and the competition continue.

For the Dog Bone challenge the four pairs had to compete in an endurance type challenge. Each were stationed on a stump facing each other. The last pair to get down from the stump would win the Dog Bone suite and a leg up in the next Showdown challenge. Since Andrew is so used to sleeping, Andrew’s lay down took Laurie out of the challenge. She knew he couldn’t stand up that long and was happy he lasted the time that he did. Next to go down were JD and Galaxy. Galaxy also laid down which isn’t surprising considering her injured leg. That left Travis/Presley and Teresa/Leroy. Since they were the final two, and Travis didn’t think Presley could last long, a deal was brought to the table. Travis wanted to give Teresa the win and in return they would share her leg up. Teresa wouldn’t take the deal though and seeing that Presley wasn’t enjoying the challenge, Travis called Presley down. In return Teresa took home her second Dog Bone win, giving her the leg up and a quick video chat with her boyfriend.

During their break between the Dog Bone challenge and the Showdown, the dogs and masters took some time to swim. Andrew didn’t seem to take well to the pool as he paddled even when dry while the other dogs seemed to love it. Presley and Travis swam together while JD let Galaxy wade while he sunbathed. Teresa had a different approach and that was letting Leroy do as he wished in the pool. At one point he seemed to be wild and JD felt it was bad training as Teresa didn’t reprimand him. She did give her reasons though and that was Leroy’s inability to herd. Rather he splashes the pool and “herds” the wave that is created from the splash. It makes sense, but I highly doubt that’s what he’s doing.

After the fun was done it was back to the game with the start of the Showdown challenge. Thanks to her leg up, Teresa was able to see what the challenge was before anyone else. She learned that the dogs would have to sit in half circle and not move from it. They would also be called and enticed by the three other players so it was important to get your dog to stay with you. Teresa used her advantage to train Leroy in the middle of the night. She tried to get him to stay as she threw toys and other things and it seemed to go well. The next day everyone was given the chance to bond with the other dogs. Teresa played it smart and tried to get the dogs to go for the toys when she yelled stay. Laurie’s game play was just having fun with the dogs. She wants to have a mix of play and love with them, to create a bond that would pull them away from their owners. Travis didn’t know what he was doing and just kind of hung out with the dogs while JD took his normal approach. He mimicked the owner’s voice and tried to get the dogs to play. The only one he had trouble with was Andrew, who actually ran away from him. It took him awhile to find Andrew, who ran outside to Laurie. The dog just couldn’t live without his mom and did anything to get to her.

When it came time for the Showdown everyone was filled in on how the challenge worked. Laurie and Andrew were up first and Andrew didn’t budge one bit. He actually yawned as the others tried to lure him away from Laurie. The judges loved Laurie’s technique as she wasn’t in a controlling position but rather calmly talking to Andrew. The others had some problems though and it actually put the judges in a three way stalemate for awhile. JD and Galaxy did well during the challenge as Galaxy hardly budged. The judges felt JD’s stance with Galaxy was harsh and almost robotic. He snapped back at them AFTER he knew he was safe, which may be ruled in next week. That left it down to Teresa and Travis. Although Presley ran completely out of the ring, the judges felt he performed loyalty over Leroy’s feared stay. That’s why Teresa and Leroy were chosen to leave, making the final three for the finale. Either JD/Galaxy, Laurie/Andrew or Travis/Presley will win Greatest American Dog and the $250,000. Who will it be? Tune in next week to find out!

While we wait for the finale, leave a comment and let us know who you think should win Greatest American Dog!

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Is it kind of sad that the two judges have fought more on The Greatest American Dog then the actual contestants on the show? Before we get to that though let’s talk about the rest of the show. Following the arguement between Beth Joy and Laura, Travis was the man of the hour. He stood up for Beth Joy when his gal pal Laura put her down and Beth Joy loved him for it. Her dog Bella Starlet did not share the love though as the next morning she nipped at Travis, upsetting Beth Joy. She cried and cried about how her dog isn’t mean and how she never does this. Travis once again was there to comfort Beth Joy and let her know its only because she’s stressed. I don’t think he understands this is a game, Beth Joy freaking out like that is GOOD for him.

Before the Dog Bone challenge the gang was having a discussion about techniques used to train their dogs. Laurie and JD seemed to disagree a bit as Laurie felt more kinder and rewarding techniques were better then “medieval” and harsher techniques that JD uses. JD stood up for how he trains his dogs though and it does show as Galaxy is one of the best in the competition but Laurie also stood her ground, stating that she’d always take her dog Andrew over Galaxy any day.

At the Dog Bone competition it was all about teamwork. The six were split into three teams of two being Bill/Travis, Beth Joy/Teresa and feuding rivals Laurie/JD. What the pairs had to do was have one person controlling the dogs and the other laying in a box under a giant digging zone. The first dog would have to ring a bell, followed by the other dog digging for a rope and pulling it. Laurie and JD were up first with JD in the box since Laurie didn’t want JD using his aggressive techniques on poor little Andrew. They worked well together as Laurie controlled her own dog plus Galaxy in a very quick time of 1.45 minutes.

The next team to go was Bill and Travis. With Travis in the box, Bill had Star easily hit the bell and had Presley rushing up the path to dig for Travis. After a small error of Presley running away, the digging was well on its way and Travis was quickly released in a winning time of 1.35 seconds. Although we know Travis and Bill won we still have to look at Beth Joy and Teresa who did horribly. The reason they lost was because Bella Starlet barked rather then digging since Beth Joy was in the box. Teresa had no control over Bella and since she snapped earlier she was too scared to try.

When it came time to reveal the winner Bill and Travis were surprised that they would also win a call from home. Travis talked to his mother and was almost in tears the entire time while Bill held it together until the very end. He has been missing his family for awhile now and it was nice to see the two outside the element of the game. They also got a great leg up for the Best in Show challenge as they got to acclimate their dogs to golden retriever puppies. Presley took to them easily, being a puppy himself but Star had some trouble since she was scared to death of the dogs! Although the two knew the twist to the challenge they didn’t tell any of the others, making them a bit upset and wary of how truthful they really are.

At the Best in Show it was all about moving the dogs, and the puppies in tow, through a maze. Teresa with Leroy did the best out of everyone, getting the puppies through the maze on the first try. Leroy did so well, waiting for the puppies and all, that the judges granted him and Teresa Best in Show. The other two who were safe were Laurie with Andrew and JD and Galaxy. Although Andrew only led one puppy through the maze, the judges loved Laurie’s coaxing and realized she did a great job overall. JD did most of the work for Galaxy, forcing her to stop every so often, which led all three puppies through but caused a rift in the two female judges. The younger female judge was happy for JD since he did so well but the older female judge hated his techniques. This left the two basically in the middle of a cat fight right in front of the cameras! It was crazy to see the two go at it but they quickly resolved their differences after the commercial break. If only every fight could end that way!

Back in the Best in Show arena it was time to name the bottom three. The judges put Travis and Presley there for not moving any of the three puppies through and Presley being too hyper and fast to even try. Bill and Star were in the bottom for their first time and there is a good reason. During the third run through, Star sat down as if to say “I’m done” but Bill kept pushing her and pushing her. The judges felt it was too much for Star and Bill just wouldn’t give in. Last but not least is Beth Joy and Bella Starlet who didn’t make it to the end of the maze once and moved no puppies through. The judges felt Bella didn’t care about the puppies but rather just about getting out. The pair has had a hard journey throughout the show and it was only a matter of time before they left. I’m glad Beth Joy left on a high note, for once, and she will be missed as she added a bit of crazy to the show!

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Is it just me or did the latest Greatest American Dog seem more like Greatest American Top Model? With the theme of personality, the dogs essentially became models and it ended up in a very interesting expulsion. After last weeks leave of David and Elvis, few dogs and owners were upset. One was even relieved Elvis was gone and that was Ron. A few weeks ago his told Tillman and Elvis got into a spat so with the psycho dog gone it was all good in the Canine Academy.

During dinner Travis and Laura once again began to flirt. Brandi couldn’t help but notice and sat in during their entire conversation. It wasn’t really that interesting but the end was. When a few other players entered the kitchen Brandi was caught but she played it off well. She told Travis to keep chatting away with Laura while he asked her why he can’t talk to anyone else besides her. Someone made a comment towards the end but I sadly missed it. The next morning brought breakfast and showed two opposing ways of feeding the dogs in the house. While Beth Joy created her own vitamin filled food for Bella Starlet, Ron took the easy approach by filling up Tillman’s bowl with hearty dog food.

Good thing the dogs were practicing their eating as that was the main point of their next Dog Bone challenge. Each round the dogs would be given some type of food or item and their owner had to guess if their dog would pick up or eat that item. For the first round the producers pulled out juicy steak, taking out Laurie/Andrew and oddly enough Ron/Tillman. The second item was a stick and all but two pairs remained: JD/Galaxy and Laura/Preston. For the last temptation the dogs were asked to eat tofu. Although Galaxy normally doesn’t eat normal food, JD guessed he would eat it. Laura, on the other hand, said Preston wouldn’t eat the tofu but she was wrong. Since Preston licked the food, Galaxy and JD took home their second dog bone challenge and sent their biggest threat, Travis and Presley, to the Dog House.

Immediately following the Dog Bone challenge it was time to prepare for the Best of Show challenge. For the very first time it would be individual as the owners had to choose which word their dog would represent in a photo shoot. The teams and words were as follows: JD/Galaxy doing sneaky, Beth Joy/Bella Starlet doing mischievous, Bill/Star doing stubborn, Teresa/Leroy doing angry, Ron/Tillman doing lazy, Laurie/Andrew doing curious, Brandy/Beacon doing love, Travis/Presley doing joy and Laura/Preston doing regal.

Most of the owners had an easy time getting their ideas together but Bill and Teresa suffered the most it seems. Bill was VERY nervous about his first photo shoot with Galaxy and he found it hard to think of a pose or idea to represent stubborn. Being so close to Ron and Tillman seemed to help him though as he took a page from their playbook and tried to relax and go with the flow. On the other side was Teresa who had a hard time making her always happy day, Leroy, be angry. She had different methods to do so such as squirting him with lime water and putting a vacuum hose on him. He didn’t like that to much since he bit her, showing he does have some anger in him at least. In the end Laura gave her snarl bands which force the upper lip of the dog to stay up, making them look angry. She didn’t want to use them and used them as a last resort.

When it was time to shoot the photos Travis and Presley were up first. Since Presley is a boxer he loves to jump and that’s what Travis had him doing. When it came time to judging the one judge loved it while the other two found it rather boring as they’ve seen it so many times before. For Galaxy and sneakiness, JD pulled some props from the Dog Bone room and placed Galaxy in a bush/wilderness scene. The way Galaxy hunched his back impressed the judges so much that they named him best in show, rewarding with him with the chance to have the photo in the one magazine ran by the male judge. Pretty impressive! I’m surprised how well JD is doing, although he is a professional dog trainer so I can see why he’s doing so well.

For Laurie her idea for curious came pretty naturally for her and Andrew. Using a telescope she had Andrew peer into it, impressing all the judges and they agreed it would be hard for the type of breed Andrew is to do that. For Bella Starlet and Beth Joy the judges finally had high praises. By pulling off mischievous so well, Beth Joy rewarded Bella with all the bones she used in the photoshoot. Hope it doesn’t ruin her diet! Another one who did rather was Bill. Although he was nervous in the beginning, he pulled off a great stubborn pose by having Star stand there while he tugged on her leash. I didn’t get it at first but once it made sense it was pure greatness. Although she thought she pulled off her pose well, Laura and Preston weren’t a fan favorite of the judges. They though Preston’s simple, to the side, stance wasn’t regal enough but Laura barely squeaked through as she wasn’t in the bottom three.

Leaving only three left that means the remaining three were in the bottom three and could be sent home. Teresa pulled off the angry pose with Leroy very well in the picture, but the judges scolded her for using the snarl bands. Since she had such a hard time in the photoshoot Teresa pulled them out. She said she regretted it but it was too late. Brandi, who thought she was going home for the longest time, was loved by one judge and hated by the others. I must admit her photo of Beacon and love didn’t really show any love at all so there was no surprise she was on the bottom three. Probably the most surprising thing though was who was expelled and that was Tillman and Ron. They were a favorite of mine as they added much needed fun to the show. Ron decided to take the easy route and just let Tillman be Tillman at the lazy photoshoot. Using a black and white picture for his entry, the judges all agreed that he skimmped on the creativity part. One even called it the worst picture of a boxer ever, I’d probably have to agree.

Also CBS is running a “Make Your Dog Famous” section on the Greatest American Dog Website. If you want to find out more you can click here: Vote In Make Your Dog Famous. That’s my puppy Gabby, please vote for her then submit your own dogs for the site!

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The Greatest American Dog was a show I was rather skeptical at first but it is actually pretty good. I’m a dog lover but the show just seemed a bit annoying to me with all the commercials and such. As the contestants began it was obvious that the combination of dog and man will cause some drama in the house. One contestant mentioned she can’t stand others touching her dog which should lead to some good fights! The range of breeds as well seems interesting as there are larger and smaller dogs alike. I’m not sure what type of challenges will be on the show but we will soon find out!

The first challenge then took place and we were introduced to the Dog Bone challenge. The winner would be given a lavish room along with the power to choose one team to live out in a Dog House for three days. Everyone wanted to be the first and had to play Doggy Musical Chairs in order to take home the win. Each round the owners led their dogs around a ring with several platforms in the middle. The one dog not sitting on a platform when the music stopped was out and the next round began. Several were quickly out and then it was down to two being JD and Galaxy along with Michael and Ezzie. Galaxy ended up sitting on the platform first and proved JD’s ability to train dogs. I mean he IS a dog trainer, which is a bit unfair to the others but still he did win and took home the first Dog Bone.

Although JD had the lavish room with Galaxy he also had to choose someone to live in the Dog House, aka a shach. He ended up choosing David and Elvis. David didn’t like it too much since he’s from NY and it isn’t “park avenue” but he’s stuck there for three days. Inside the house everyone wanted to see the Dog Bone room but JD was rather arrogant and didn’t want them to see it. He then gave in and let everyone in and they were all surprised and a bit jealous. They know JD is now a threat and retreated to David’s shack to help him cope with the small house. They all helped him out, probably realizing they will be in there sometime if they aren’t too lucky.

The next morning everyone was told to get ready for their first elimination challenge: talent show. Before they could start work on their acts thought they had to divide into three teams of four pairs each. On team Aloha was JD/Galaxy, Bill/Star, Laura/Preston and Teresa/Leroy. JD basically grabbed dogs he thought had the best chance to help him win and it’s obvious that he’s here to win. Team Disco Dogs consisted of Michael/Ezziee, Elan/Kenji, Laurie/Andrew and Ron/Tillman. The team was a bit out of control as Ezzie grabbed Tillman’s skateboard. It also seemed like the humans were doing most of the act rather then the dogs. The last group were those who were left being Travis/Presley, Brandy/Beacon, Beth Joy/Bella Starlet and David/Elvis. Their theme was high school days after having trouble making up a theme. Although they knew nobody else wanted them they decided to think of an amazing theme and hoped for the best.

It was then time for the Best In Show where the teams would perform their acts. In the end one of the teams would be sent out of the competition. Team Aloha was up first and seems somewhat out of sync but still their dogs performed rather well. The judges loved everyone on the team but did have some suggestions for Teresa and Leroy. Leroy was barking throughout the act and the one judge let Teresa know how to stop this. Bill and Star were also told that they seemed a bit nervous and the male judge, who sounds like Ben Stine, let them know its a fight between themselves, not about their colleagues.

Next up were the Bark Wag High team also known as the “we don’t want you” team. Their performance was mixed in a way where two of the dogs were great while two weren’t. Brandy was criticized for physically telling Beacon what to do as she didn’t perform any of her tricks. The other team who didn’t do so well were Beth Joy and Bella  Starlet. Althogh Bella performed her initial act, Beth coudln’t instruct her to jump around or to speak. It was a bit odd and the judges told both that they needed to do better or they could be going home.

The last group to go were the Disco Dogs who danced their way through the act. The only team who couldn’t pull through were Michael and Ezzie. The other three teams were great but Ezzie just wouldn’t follow directions. Michael was the leader for the act but Ezzie didn’t pull through. Michael blamed his work as the leader the reason he couldn’t work with Ezzie so much as he had to think of things to say and be the “ring leader”.

That then left the judges with the decision to expel someone from Canine Academy. The three teams who the judges felt were the weakest were: Brandy/Beacon, Beth Joy/Bella Starlet and Michael/Ezzie. Beth Joey and Bella were told they lost control and it was a disappointing performance. The judges felt that Michael’s performance overshadowed Ezzie’s while Brandy was told that she should never physically force her dog to do a trick. The judges then gave their decision on who should go and it was decided that Michael and Ezzie would be leaving Greatest American Dog. It was somewhat surprising as they were good for the show and Michael was a great character. Too bad his dog couldn’t keep up with him or else they would have been a great team.

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