All Natural Pet Site

Twelve down .. Four to Go!

The show opens with a recap of the fact that Galaxy has pulled up lame after flying off the giant scaffolding in the bravery challenge. This would be a very unfortunate way for the competition to end for the team, if Galaxy’s injury has to prevent her from finishing the competition … because they are clearly on their way to the finals and could possibly end up The Greatest American Dog!

Do Dogs have nationalities?  Would you consider a US born German Shepherd to be American of German heritage?  I digress …..

Fortunately, after a night’s rest and a visit to the veterinarian for some x-rays, she is looking fine!

Today’s Dog Bone Challenge is a lineup of owners standing on tree stumps on one side, and the dogs sitting on stumps across the way.  The challenge is for each dog to remain standing or sitting on the stump without lying down or getting off.  Last dog remaining wins.

It demonstrates a pointed difference in styles in the dog owners….. while all the others are hand gesturing and speaking commands to their dogs, Laurie tells Andrew one time to sit and stay and then just folds her arms and looks at him.  Good training that seems to work, right up until the point when he decides to lye down!!!

Next out is Galaxy who lays down, but we’ll give her a break as she might be still needing recovery time from the trauma of her injury.

As it nears the 20 minutes of standing mark, Travis decides that it’s no longer fun for Presley and tries to convince Teresa that they should both quit and share in the goodness of the leg up.  However, after failing to convince her Travis simply calls it quits and Teresa has won the challenge.



This week’s Leg Up isn’t any special guest or expert, it is simply a note that hints about the upcoming Best In Show Challenge.  The challenge is to entice the other competitor’s dogs out of their sit/stay position by distraction (toys, running, throwing) or enticement (food!).

Before the challenge they each get some time to bond with the other dogs.  They don’t know what they will be doing in the challenge (except Teresa) .. but it gives them a chance to form a bond so that maybe the dog will respond to their commands.

Sitting here watching the show online I just kind of realized that I haven’t laughed much with the show since Ron and Tillman left!

Toughest one of the bunch to “bond” with was Andrew of course.  He constantly was looking for Laurie so wouldn’t pay attention to the other competitors and even broke away from JD to run outside to where Laurie was interacting with another dog.  It actually got a little maniacal in that there was no real “dog” excitement there at all .. it mostly looked like separation anxiety from Andrew.

The competition unfolds and there is no chance to break Andrew from his spot by any of the silly “weeee” sounds from the other dog owners.  In fact, Laurie sort of mockingly calls Andrew over after successfully completing the challenge with her own little “weee” and a laugh.

Teresa struggled to keep Leroy in place with her constant shouting of “AH AH AH” and putting up the stop sign.  Leroy thought it was all a big game and yapped at all the fun!  Part of the judging criteria was explained that it will involve the dog’s focus during the distraction, not good here.

Standout Galaxy had a couple of flinches towards the food surprisingly, but with JD staring her down and pointing his finger at her .. she never did move out of her spot.

Last up is the hyper active boxer Presley .. who will probably have some trouble with this challenge.  It could be the end of the line for our Cowboy… And sure enough Presley bites the bullet and takes off after some of the toys being tossed around.

At the end of the competition, Victoria tells Laurie that it’s the “best I have ever seen you and Andrew together”.  Wendy “Andrew has a standing invitation to have dinner with Lucky if he ever gets to New York City” .. oy

Wendy expresses my sentiments exactly by stating that “my only thought is that he might be a little too attached” .. which gets a scoff out of Travis .. and a big sarcastic “Yeah” from JD.  It once again illustrates my belief that the producers and judges are witnessing footage during the filming.

Judges were concerned about the threatening natures of Teresa and JD .. and even complimented Travis for getting Presley back into focus even after starting to make some moves.

Bit of internal turmoil in the judging, Wendy clearly saying that Travis had to go because Presley was the only dog to break while the others are looking to differentiate between loyalty and obedience as the decision making factor on this Best In Show Challenge.

Surprise ending as it comes down to the style in which the competition was executed and not the actual end results … and Teresa and Leroy are expelled from Canine Academy.  I have to say that there really was no way that they were going to win, and due to various breaks in competitions they made it further than I thought they would.

Next Episode .. The Finale!

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