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.

Read the rest and discuss with fellow fans!

Bookmark It

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!

Bookmark It

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!

Bookmark It

Following last weeks Greatest American Dog we returned to the house with drama, drama and more drama. Last week Beth Joy was told that her dog shouldn’t be wearing a dress and she also mentioned that Laurie put “top knots” on her dog. Laurie came back when the judges left and argued that top knots aren’t anything close to a dress and it set Beth Joy off so much that she just had to leave.

The next morning everyone was spending time in the pool and was scared to death when David left Elvis off of his leash. Nobody, except for Laurie, felt safe with Elvis around their dogs since last week he attacked Tillman. Luckily Laurie’s dog Andrew felt calm around Elvis and played, which he normally doesn’t do. It was interesting to see Laurie’s way of handling Andrew and hopefully it will rub off a bit on David and Elvis.

Later that day the pairs were told that the weeks theme was teamwork. They were randomly paired up and the teams were Laurie/Bill, JD/David, Teresa/Beth Joy, Travis/Brandy and Ron/Laura. What the teams had to do was untie several knots using their dog. They could only use their voices to command their dog and couldn’t touch them at all. The winning pair would win the Dog Bone challenge and share the lavish bedroom. While most of the teams worked well together, JD and David had trouble thanks to David’s dog Elvis. Pairing the two together is rather interesting since JD is a pro at training dogs while David is obviously not. Laurie and Bill seemed the complete opposite while they worked extremely well together and were as calm as could be. For Travis and Brandy things weren’t looking too good. Brandy screamed for a “hot dog” several times while Travis took a calmer route, they just couldn’t get things together.

When it came close to the end it was a close finish with Travis/Brandy and Laurie/Bill neck and neck. Travis and Brandy just squeaked it out though, putting Travis in the lavish room for another week and this time sharing it with Brandy. When it came time for the Dog House choice they briefly discussed it and chose Laurie. She asked them for a reason but they wouldn’t give her one. I for one feel they see her as a threat, not only her dog but her as well.

Laurie didn’t take going to the Dog House too well and realized they saw her as a threat. In the lavish room Brandy went kind of insane. I mean she DID win a nice room but you don’t have to be that excited about it. Travis knew people would see him as a threat because of the room and decided to just give it entirely to Brandy. It was a good move on his part and just made Brandy that more annoying.

Knowing he didn’t have many friends in the house, David took Elvis outside to play. He wanted to prove to people that it was safe for Elvis to run free and thankfully he didn’t chew Tillman’s ear of this time. The next day it wasn’t the dogs who were becoming friends but rather their human masters. Travis and Laura became close lately and both love the others dogs. It’s weird to see them getting close though since her dog is the smallest there while Travis’ dog is the largest.

For the Best In Show it was time for some obstacles. Since they won the Dog Bone challenge, Travis and Brandy were team captains and got to choose the teams. For Travis’ team it was himself, Laura, JD, Bill and Beth Joy while on Brandy’s team it was Brandy, Teresa, Rob, David and Laurie. On Brandy’s team they couldn’t really decide on what to do and it seems like Laurie took the lead. On Travis’ team they all felt that their dogs were spread out equally for the given obstacles which seemed like they would be the better of the two.

Back over on Brady’s team they decided to be more entertaining then trained. They didn’t seem to have a great grasp on how the obstacles should be spread out for each dog since well, they didn’t have a good range of dogs. Most were small which meant they had less options for some of the obstacles. Over on Travis’ team they had a premade choice with Galaxy and the frisbee’s. Bill seemed to take the lead by helping Laura and Preston in the tunnels. Of course Bella Starlet sucked at the obstacles since she isn’t anything but a “pretty face” and Beth Joy is really letting her team down.

When it came time for the Best In Show challenge the judges, for once, came outside to watch the obstacle course. After being told someone from the slowest team would be expelled, Travis’ team was up first. Galaxy failed at his specialty and grabbed a frisbee on his second try. Bella Starlet was up next and took longer then expected to jump through the hoops. Travis and Bill quickly led their dogs through their obstacles which meant it was all up to Laura and Preston. Preston had trouble earlier in the tunnel but pulled through this time by pulling through without any problems. It was then time for the final, all dog sled pull and the team worked well together with a time of 2 minutes and 52 seconds.

Brandy’s team was then next and they had much to prove. Teresa’s dog quickly caught the frisbee while Laurie’s dog, Andrew, pulled through the rings much faster then Bells Starlet. When it came to Tillman and pushing the cart he decided to bite it more then push it. Although he finished it quickly it was David and Elvis who held the team up. Although Elvis did well in practice he fell off several times when it mattered and ate up some valuable time. Brandy had little trouble leading Beacon through the tube and the team finished strong with the sled pull. It was a close race so it was hard to know who would bring home the win.

When everyone returned to the Best of Show arena it was revealed that by only a few seconds, Travis’ team pulled through with the win and safety. This means someone from Brandy’s team would be expelled. For Brandy the judges were happy that Beacon pulled through in something she was scared of. Ron had a bit of a beating by saying Tillman lacked a bit while the judges felt Laurie was giving Andrew an advantage by ripping the paper on the ring. For David and Elvis the judge felt Elvis was being smothered and hoped he would let him go on his own a little more. They also felt being on a leash for Elvis was a bad idea and Laurie mentioned that David was the only one on the leash. David spoke up in defense but Laurie let the judges know that Elvis had been biting dogs, and that’s the reason he was on a leash. One judge didn’t like to hear that but obviously it’s a game and they just don’t understand that.

After a few minutes of deliberation the judges decided that Laurie/Andrew, David/Elvis and Ron/Tillman would be the final three. The only returning to the final three was David while Ron and Laurie were newbies to the block. The judges felt that David should learn to be off of the leash while they felt that Ron doesn’t treat Tillman like a teammate. For Laurie they felt she played the game too safe by tearing the paper on the ring. After those comments the pair who was expelled ended up being David and Elvis. It was sad to see the two go as both human and dog were learning so much by being in the game.

Bookmark It

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.

Read the rest and discuss with fellow fans!

Bookmark It