When was the last time you actually saw a dog flying on prime time television? Well tonight that very event happened as three of the five remaining pooches on Greatest American Dog took flight. Following Beth Joy’s elimination last week, the remaining five took some time to reflect on her time in the house. Everyone agreed she was a bit loopy but also said they would miss that from her. Laurie also made an interesting comment, saying how she believe everything she said. It was fun having Beth Joy and Bella Starlet around, the show just wasn’t the same without the two.

Before the Dog Bone challenge began Laurie reminded us that her Andrew was the last small dog in the competition. She also realized that could be held against him, since most of the challenges are situated for larger dogs it seems. Travis was also having a realization of his own and that’s how much Presley has grown since starting the show. He looked up to Bill, who was teaching him how to be a trainer. I do see the transformation in Presley though as he was learning everything from scratch during the competition. The two have grown in terms of skill since the beginning and I think they have Bill to thank for a lot of that.

Out in the backyard it was time for the Dog Bone challenge. Out came a huge 9,000 African elephant to surprise all of the owners and especially the dogs. I think all five of them barked and reacted to the enormous animal entering the yard and it didn’t look good for the challenge. What the dogs had to do was sit in a circle while the elephant walked towards them, sounded it’s trunk and then reached for a banana. The dog that didn’t move while the elephant was coming towards them would win the Dog Bone challenge and leg up in the next elimination.

Bill and Star were up first I believe and although Star sat for awhile, the elephant was too intimidating and scared her off. Laurie was up next and was eager to win. She didn’t even have to coach Andrew to sit while the elephant was coming and she moved on to the tie breaker. Teresa’s Leroy was jumpy during the entrance of the elephant and that didn’t end here as Leroy was out during the elephants noise. Galaxy surprisingly got out of the challenge as well, even though JD once again pumped her up saying Galaxy has been around more strange animals then any other dog there. Travis and Presley were up last and Travis used his skills that he learned at the house to coach Presley into staying in the circle the entire time.

This put a tie breaker challenge between Laurie/Andrew and Travis/Presley. The first dog to lift it’s butt off the ground would be out as the elephant charged at the two. Both did very well and lasted long, but Presley lifted up right as the elephant got to the two dogs. That gave Laurie and Andrew their first Dog Bone win and put them into the Dog Bone suite! It was nice to see Laurie get a taste of home as she was the only one yet to win. It’s obvious that she is close to her family and also very close to Andrew. There were MANY pictures of the two hanging in the suite along with a letter from home which Laurie read in private.

Thanks to the Dog Bone challenge win, Laurie also got a leg up in the Showcase challenge. What the dogs had to do were several stunts. The first was climbing a steep incline followed by running across a balance beam suspended high in the air. The last stunt had the dogs gliding down the zip line into their owners arms. During the challenge all the dogs did well with only two not being able to glide down the zip line. JD and Galaxy were chosen as Best in Show as they easily finished the course and JD’s coaching was praised by the judges. Sadly Galaxy was hurt it seems during the challenge and it may hinder their performance next week and possibly remove them from the game. The only other team to be safe this week were Teresa and Leroy. Although Leroy wouldn’t stop barking and stopped rather long before jumping with the zip line, his trust in Teresa impressed the judges and saved them for one more week.

Since the show is at its final five it is going to be sad to see anyone leave from here on out. All the dogs are amazing as well as their owners. In the bottom three this week were Travis and Presley. Although Presley quickly finished the course, he wasn’t being controlled well by Travis. The judges didn’t like that Travis hyped Presley up so much then tried to make him stop and weight. Laurie and Andrew were also in the bottom three simply because Andrew didn’t jump from into the zip line. Although Laurie had the leg up, the zip line really wasn’t tested during any of the practice runs and that’s why they were up for elimination. Sadly it was Bill and Star who were chosen to be expelled this week. Since Bill gave Star the easy route on the course and she didn’t jump into the zip line, the judges felt they had the worst performance. Like I said getting down to so few numbers, it will be hard to see any of them go and this time it was the hardest of them all! Bill and Star did amazing on the show and hopefully there is a reunion so we can see the duo shine once again!

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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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