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

The Greatest American Dog took on America’s Top Model last week but this week it was all about Dancing With the Stars; or rather Dancing With the Dogs.  When the group returned from the modeling showcase it was party time. In the Dog Bone suit Laurie, Travis, Brandi and Beth Joy had a small party but Brandy wasn’t feeling it. After putting PJs on Beacon she basically shut down and wouldn’t respond to anything Brandy had to say. It wasn’t that Beacon was sick but rather just overworked and tired. Laurie took the time to explain to Brandy how she can’t humanize her pet, Brandy didn’t like that too much. She lashed out at Laurie a bit, telling her it’s her dog and she can do what she wants. It’s like Beth Joy’s “moment” all over again.

Later that night Bill was upset over his good friend Ron leaving. It seems Teresa saw that and decided to pick up where Ron left off as she became very buddy buddy with Bill. The two shared a few moments together, one which would give Bill a leg up a little later. As the two talked about missing home, Teresa mentioned how she’d love Bill to win the Dog Bone suite and see his wife. Little did she know she’d be giving him the chance to do just that the next morning.

At the Dog Bone challenge each dog was giving the challenge to cross a very narrow beam. The dog to go across the beam the quickest would win the Dog Bone suite for their owner and a new prize as well. For some reason the “Dog House” choice was removed and replaced with a leg up in the following Showcase challenge. The winner would essentially receive an advantage that could give them a boost at the challenge that meant the most when it came to saying in the game. Since all but two dogs crossed the beam there is no point mentioning them all and those two were Bill’s dog Star and Teresa’s dog Leroy. Although both crossed the beam, Leroy was much faster and gave Teresa the Dog Bone suite and the advantage. But after little thought she asked if she could give it away and decided to give Bill the suite so he could see his wife and family. It was a bold move on Teresa’s part since she was in the bottom three last week but now she had something to prove.

That night Bill finally got to see his family and everyone was supportive. Not only did he get the room, he gained a friend and shared his photos and letters with Teresa as well. The next morning Brandy tried to get Beacon pumped up but there was nobody home in the mind of Beacon. She tried four times to get Beacon to sit on command and all she would do is stand there, blankly into space. It was odd since nobody really tried to help her but now they all see it as a competition. In the end Brandy got so frustrated with Beacon, and I think Beacon with her, that they both gave up and called it a day. Luckily it was time for the Showcase challenge, or maybe not lucky for them I guess.

In the next Showcase challenge it was all about dancing. Each pair would have to put on a 1 minute routine to a themed song and showcase their best dance moves: human and dog. Since Teresa gave him the leg up in the challenge, Bill got a professional choreographer to help him with his moves. When they got to pick their songs Laurie was happy with ragtime and it showed in her performance with Andrew. They moved well together and the tricks they both did were pretty great. In the end she and Andrew were even crowned the Best in Show and my view on Laurie is finally changing, she may be my new favorite. Another who did well was JD and Galaxy. He really knows how to train his dog as they both rolled in sync and he also showed off some crazy moves on his own, that being JD. I don’t think I liked his performance as much as the judges did, as it relied more so on JD then on Galaxy but hey, whatever they say must be true. They are dog experts anyway right?

With the choreographer in hand, which I think Bill needed very badly, Bill and Star pulled off a great routine. They both showed much enthusiasm and after dancing to some old time rock and roll, Star leaped off the stage and greeted the judges which they loved. Although those were the best performances, the rest had some trouble. Teresa and Leroy were great together except for one problem: Leroy’s barking. Teresa couldn’t handle it during the dance and blamed herself for it. Luckily Leroy pulled off some great moves which I think saved them from the bottom three. The only other one who was not in the bottom three, but probably should have been, was Beth Joy and Bella Starlet. Their theme was Broadway and the only dancing both did was hop around and twirl. It was rather odd at the end too where Beth Joy grabbed Bella by the hands and “dog danced” their way to the finish. Yeah just turned me off once again.

With only three remaining that brings us to the bottom three. Travis and Presley have been great so far but were knocked down a few pegs thanks to the dancing challenge. Although Travis danced around to the country music, Presley did not and that’s the reason they were in the bottom three. Next up was Laura and Preston who had a few fumbles throughout the dance. It seemed like Preston and his bow tie didn’t agree as he sat down to scratch it several times. Luckily Brandy’s lack of training with Beacon saved Laura since Beacon just couldn’t pull anything off. One judge noticed that Brandy was over training her dog and that’s what led to Beacon shutting down. It basically forced Brandy to shut down too as she almost quit earlier in the game. As the two took their last lap it showed that they were happy to go home but sad at the same time. It was another touching moment for the show and once again another episode of Dogs take over other reality TV shows. What will it be next week? Painting of course!

Bookmark It