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'Greatest American Dog': Carrots, sticks, and PUPPIES!
Puppies, you guys. Puppies. Tonight's episode of Greatest American Dog made me wonder if the only thing normally keeping me from loving this show (or any show, for that matter) is the lack of puppies. Seriously, they bump it up at least one letter grade. (Cute, fluffy spoilers ahead...)
Beth Joy is appropriately grateful to Travis for standing up for her during last week's judging, but apparently Bella Starlet didn't get the memo--she growls and nips at a surprised Travis the next morning. Her reign of terror continues as she snaps at other dogs, patrolling the yard in her hot pink collar and tiny pony tail. Beth Joy doesn't find it as hilarious as I do, unfortunately, crying that people will think Bella Starlet is "mean." You know, Beth Joy is clearly waaay out there, but I at least have to give her props for having the only rescue dog in the competition.
Dog Bone Challenge: "The Big Dig," in which dogs simulate a rescue situation in teams, performing a digging task to rescue an owner in a box. Teresa is disappointed to be working with Beth Joy and Bella Starlet, and rightfully so, since they run out of time before Bella even starts digging. Laurie is similarly unhappy to be working with JD, since they have very different carrot vs. stick training philosophies. And for the record, I'm with Laurie on this one in theory--physically dominating your dog is almost always unnecessary, and scaring your dog is never cool. That said, I haven't noticed JD doing anything horribly objectionable, and they end up doing really well in the challenge.
Travis is understandably psyched to work with Bill, and the dynamic duo win the Dog Bone Challenge and get to talk to their loved ones. Travis calls his mom, which is totally adorable, and Bill is thrilled to be able to speak with his wife.
Best in Show: "The Maze," in which dogs and owners are stationed on opposite sides of a huge hedge maze, and owners have to verbally guide their dogs through it. Oh, and puppies. PUPPIES!!!!!! Each dog also has to lead three adorable golden retriever puppies out of the maze, and judges will be looking at how well the owners help their dogs to work with the puppies. Bill and Travis get a chance to get their dogs and puppies used to each other ahead of time. They choose not to tell anyone else about the leg up, which causes some tension in the house.
God, how badly do I want a puppy right now? SO BADLY. Hopefully those cuties didn't come from a puppy mill, though. If you watched tonight's episode and decided that you absolutely have to have a golden retriever puppy (which is totally understandable), please don't buy from a pet store or website--use Petfinder.com to find an adoptable puppy near you. Ok, PSA over. Sorry guys, it's just an issue I'm pretty passionate about, and I'm frustrated that the show isn't using its great platform to help dogkind.
JD is up first, and he and Galaxy do a great job, leading the puppies out almost effortlessly. Wendy thinks he and Galaxy both did an outstanding job, but Victoria dings him for "medieval" negative training methods, leading to a screaming match between the two judges that gets pretty personal (Allan sits it out). Victoria is almost crying at the end, until Wendy steps up and talks about how knowledgeable and impressive Victoria is, so they very maturely decide to agree to disagree.
Star isn't as good with the puppies, and gets tired out when Bill's strategy doesn't conserve her energy very well. Ruh-roh. The judges think he pushed Star way too hard, and were really disappointed in Bill. Ha, Andrew is actually smaller than his puppies. It's adorable. Laurie keeps it really positive, but runs out of time with only one puppy out of the maze. The judges love her energy, but are concerned that Andrew nipped one of the more rambunctious puppies.
Bella Starlet doesn't get along with the puppies very well, unfortunately. She also has trouble finding her way out of the maze, despite Beth Joy's high-pitched shrieks. The judges thought Bella was stressed, resulting in an overwhelming desire to get to Beth Joy. Presley tears his way through the maze, and Travis isn't very successful at slowing him down enough to allow the puppies to follow. God, those puppies are adorable. The judges think Presley showed no patience, and that Travis's energy kept him from focusing on the puppies. Teresa tries to keep it low-key for excitable Leroy's sake, and Leroy's border collie instincts take over--he's such a puppy magnet that they all follow him right through on the first try. It's awesome. The judges are thrilled.
Teresa and Leroy are named Best in Show, and Bill/Star, Beth Joy/Bella Starlet, and Travis/Presley are singled out as the weakest. Beth Joy and Bella Starlet are eliminated, which is the right call, in my opinion. They do have a great bond, but Bella just isn't as well-trained as the other dogs. Also, Beth Joy is somewhat crazy. So, you know, there's that.
What do you think about JD's training methods? Are you, like the judges, disappointed in Bill for pushing Star?
It was ridiculous that the judges put Bill and Star in the bottom, but left Laurie and Andrew out. She and her Malteese did no show anything thus far in the whole competition. This dog may be adorable (not my type though) but he sure is not smart or competitive or trained. It makes me wander how is she still on this show????
And thank goodness Bella Star and her crazy human Beth Joy are gone. She (the human) was so stressed out at the end she was projecting this huge stress onto her dog. Plus, yeah she's definitely not from this planet. How she could claim that her dog is a 'trained actress'!?!? - LMAO.
I did not see once that JD mistreated Galaxy- there is a difference between being firm andbeung abusive. Obviously Victoria has no clue that this distinction exists. It is clear that Galaxy loves JD and would do anything to please him and he keeps her happy and playful.
Are you nuts? It's obvious you don't like small dogs. Andrew is arguably the best trained, most well behaved dog on the show and he and Laurie's bond is amazing! Andrew did an awesome job getting out of the maze. Number one, it was RIDICULOUS that he was supposed to lead out puppies that were bigger than him!!!! The puppies thought he was a toy. Secondly it was ridiculous that he had to complete the task in the same amount of time as the bigger dogs. Are they serious? This competition is so biased and unfair. I don't know why they even allowed little dogs to be on it.
Charli | Aug 21, 2008 12:49:26 AM | #Good bye Beth Joy. No wonder your dog is stressed. You spent half of every episode sobbing and bawling your eyes out.
Cynic | Aug 21, 2008 6:06:54 AM | #I agree that the comopetition was biased towards bigger dogs. In that short amount of time, there was no "acclimation"....even for Star & Presley it was too short. So the whole competition was sort of "luck of the draw" with puppies. I think Teresa & Leroy just lucked out.
JD & Galaxy were the only ones who showed ANY skill in this competition. JD was lucky to have a larger dog that was the right age (Presley is still a puppy too & Star has "been there done that"!!!!) but he did show a lot of knowledge of how to handle Galaxy to allow the puppies to follow.
That said, I loved Presley & Star in the "rescue" competition. They were a great team.
Tena | Aug 21, 2008 6:28:21 AM | #IMO, Teresa and Leroy didn't luck out. He's a herding dog and leading his charges is like breathing to those breeds. Our Australian Shepherd could herd 150 milk cows whereever we pointed. She also herded kids and cats and you know how hard that is. LOL.
Alia | Aug 21, 2008 7:48:57 AM | #Sorry Alia, but it was luck of the draw. Each group didn't get a new set of puppies. The puppies seem to be interested in getting through the maze the first time through, but after that they were more interested in sniffing around ect... The contestant dog really had nothing to do with getting the puppies through it.
Scott | Aug 21, 2008 8:24:28 AM | #How did Victoria Stillwell know about JD's "training techniques" when she wasn't aware of anything else that was going on in the show (i.e. Teresa's training techniques that had her spraying her dog with acid water)? I don't get it. Do they watch some videos of the house and not others?
dibbs | Aug 21, 2008 8:24:58 AM | #Playing follow-the-leader with puppies is not the same as herding 150 milk cows.
TV Fan | Aug 21, 2008 9:08:07 AM | #I knew Leroy had the puppy maze competition because it seems no matter what they do, herding dogs will herd. Andrew nipped at the puppy because he had to assert himself, like he did with Elvis, which is why he had no trouble with him, unlike poor Tillman. As foor Bella Starlet, I think she didn't like Travis getting next to "Mommy".
anlette | Aug 21, 2008 1:47:34 PM | #I personally think Victoria is a moron. J.D. and Galaxy are a very impressive team. In my opinion there is no other dog in the competition that can compare to what Galaxy can do. This team got robbed from "best in show" because Victoria has it out for J.D. It's a real shame, because this show is "supposedly" about the Greatest American Dog, not The Greatest American Trainer. I think J.D. and Galaxy are going to have a tough time winning the $250,000 because of Victoria's predjudice against J.D. What a shame. Galaxy was also robbed of the title, "best in show" for the dancing competition. She without a doubt OUTSHINED the other dogs.
As for the judges thinking that Bill pushed Star too hard, that is ridiculous! Bill and Star are another team that have a great bond, and Bill was just trying to get his dog to finish. Do you really think that if he thought for one second that Star was too exhausted, he would push her??? I would say absolutely NOT!! He loves that dog more than life itself!
Amazing. I was watching a dog show and a catfight broke out between the lady judges. Everyone looked uncomfortable as the ladies ripped into each other over training methods. Finally they agreed to disagree and ended it.
The "Greatest American Dog" will probably be Star or Galaxy. Star represents Everydog,a family member who will do anything for its human and will repay their kindness and love, like she did by saving Bill's wife. Galaxy is a superstar dog who does amazing tricks.
Star seems like she came to the competition for Bill and she does those tasks for him because he wants her to do them. She seems like she would rather be home sometimes. She didn't seem to interested in the puppies but she did her best for Bill.
Galaxy is glad to perform for JD and did her task amazingly well.
I also have an older Brittany. I have had 8 different Brittany's in the last 50 years and all have kept me on my daily schedual. Brit's are exceptionally intelligent and loving. All of my Brit's have have kept me from making stupid mistakes and have always kept me on my daily schedule.
Star is very sensitive to Bill. My own Brittany's know when I am under stress as Bill was in the herding? episode. All of myBritt's have laid down when they become confused. I then slow down and they respond perfect.
Star wasn't afraid of Bill, she was just saying slow down and we'll get it done.
I am partial to Bill and Star, but most of all I know how Bill feels about his beloved Star.
bill and star were my favorites and i was very upset to see them go. however, i think both bill and star were happy to go home.
anonymous | Aug 29, 2008 8:48:46 AM | #We had our beloved Brittany for over 15 years, she recently passed away. We love Brittanys they are exceptionally intelligent and loving dogs. This is the reason we have enjoyed watching this show because of Star. In the puppy maze competition, I also think that Star just wanted to slow down a bit, but she would of gotten the job done. It's very clear that Bill and Star have a wonderful loving bond. Star should not have been criticized by the judges.
Carole | Aug 30, 2008 12:12:54 PM | #I am very disturbed about the last episode regarding the horrible task of jumping off the very high platform and having a elephant charge the poor dogs. Because of these insane crazy stunts Galaxy seems to be injured. I hope they have the good since to put Bill and Star back on.
Carole | Aug 30, 2008 12:23:38 PM | #I love ALL dogs big small fat thin- but anybody that thinks that Andrew is a well trained dog has been sleeping thru the show. The only time this dog dog good is if the contest involves the dog just sitting there doing nothing. He has no interest in toys or anything at all except his owner and that is not normal. He may be an ok dog- but in no way has the qualities that "the greatest american dog" should have. Galaxy is a well trained well loved fun to watch amazing animal. He has a great relationship with everyone and is well respected. He has a great owner in JD and they should win.
dog lover | Sep 4, 2008 7:54:04 AM | #Awesome!!I was watching a dog show and a cat fight broke out between the lady judges. Everyone looked uncomfortable as the ladies ripped into each other over training methods. Finally they agreed to disagree and ended it.
Dog Stair | Jan 21, 2009 2:18:39 AM | #
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