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!

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The Greatest American Dog is still impressing me as a show about dogs is becoming one of the most heart warming yet dramatic reality show in a long time. Last week Elvis and his owner David were sent to the Dog House and lucky they were. The first night the two moved back into the house Elvis got into a fight with Tillman, setting a few people off. David didn’t want to deal with the drama so he moved back into the Dog House for the night. He avoided the drama for a bit but the next day Ron let him know he couldn’t stay in his room if their two dogs would fight, making David on the bad list for a few people.

After that little tiff it was time for the next Dog Bone challenge. Once again the winner would get a lavish bedroom and choose someone to put into the Dog House. For the challenge the dogs and their owners would have to go through several obedience challenges. The dog(s) who don’t finish within the allotted time would be out for that round. The last dog remaining would win the Dog Bone room for them and their owner and win the challenge. When the challenge began Elvis and David ended up being the first out. No surprise there. As the challenge continued everyone dropped out one by one and it came down to Travis/Presley and Laura/Preston. The final challenge was to be the first to turn left, then right. Travis and Presley were the first to finish and gave the youngest dog there the win. Travis then had to choose someone to spend time in the Dog House and he chose JD. Everyone feels that JD is a threat so they were happy with the decision.

Following the Dog Bone challenge it seemed like Bill and his dog Star were missing home. He’s the oldest guy there and he’d surely miss his family but he’s glad he’s there with star as he’s that close with his dog. Before they went to bed Bill told Ron that Star likes to find snakes and brings them into his house. The following morning Star did just that and got herself into a bit of trouble. Bill heard her yelp in the yard and ran to her rescue. Star was bleeding pretty bad and after a trip to the Emergency Vet we found out she got into a fight with a cat or maybe got caught in a wire. Everyone was worried as they weren’t sure what was going on and realized just how much they would be upset if their dogs got hurt.

Later on it was time for the Best of Show preparation and this weeks challenge was “Pettiquite”. Three simple actions were going to be done but during the challenge the dogs would have distractions. Unlike last week the 11 players were split into two random teams. Group one was JD, Elan, Travis, Beth Joy and Laura. Their “troublesome dog” was Kenji who was basically continouosly yelled at by Elan. Nobody agreed with how she handled her dog and felt it could screw them up as well. Group Two consisted of battling dogs with Ron, David, Teresa, Bill, Lori and Brandi. Their trouble was David and Elvis who seemed out of control. He continued to run rampant and everyone was scared he’d bite again.

At the Best of Show Group Two goes first. Everyone does really well but there are a few problems here and there. The first challenge was to walk out and “heel”. The only dog to do somewhat poorly was Brandi’s, who was in the bottom three last week. Beacon wanted to stray a bit but got back on course. For the second part the dogs were put food in front of them that they loved. Although Tillman wanted to so badly eat the steak, none of the dogs gave in and did very well. The last challenge was to stay. The dogs had to sit at the table while their owners walked around the table. None of the dogs budged in group two and continued to do well.

The first group then came out and had a few stumbles. Everyone did well with the heel but the eating part had some issues. The only problem was really with Elan and Kenji as she basically barked at her dog. Every other “sound” out of her mouth was “ehh” and “stop”. I mean she yelled at her dog before the food even hit the table! None of the others ate and none of the others moved while the owners walked around as well. Once again Kenji screwed up though as right before the challenge was over Kenji jumped down off the table, making it pretty obvious would would leave. When it was time for judging Elan and Beth Joy had the worst words for them. Obviously they weren’t happy with Elan for yelling but Beth Joey and BellaStarlet were something totally different. The judges didn’t like how Beth Joy put Bella in a dress. It really had nothing to with Bella’s act but rather the choise Beth Joy made to put her in a dress.

When all the teams returned it was time to name Best of Show. The judges chose Bill and Star, who luckily recovered, to be the best and it was great to see the team bounce back after much misfortune! For the bottom three the judges chose David/Elvis, Elan/Kenji and Beth Joy/BellaStarlet. As the judges gave their critique  Beth Joy freaked out. She was made they didn’t like the idea about Bella being a dress and brought up several reasons. But the judges, who weren’t happy with the freak out, chose Kenji and Elan as well since she acted so badly during the actual part of the challenge. I think they made a great move, for good TV sake, since Beth Joy is certified crazy!

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