Greatest American (Circus) Dog

I've been watching "Greatest American Dog" since it first debuted on CBS, but when they started switching the airtime around, I did lose track of a few episodes. Luckily, they post each week's episode on their website, so I was able to catch up on what I missed (except for the episode where Tillman got kicked off). I have to say, even though the challenges they cook up on this show seem to have almost nothing to do with whether or not someone has the "greatest American dog," I really enjoy watching. They did an excellent job of finding typical reality-show personalities -- the endearing old man, the young hunk, the neurotic girl, the overconfident guy, and everyone in between (I'll let you decide who's who). It has been entertaining to watch, and I hope that we'll see another new-and-improved installment of "Greatest American Dog" when the spring season rolls around.

Tonight's episode was a little circus-esque, what with the elephant walk and the stunt course, and probably intentionally so. It began with a glimpse into Travis mimicking Bill's training techniques with Star to help teach Presley new tricks. Apparently Travis has been acting as a sponge for the entire duration of the show since he was a relatively new dog owner/trainer when the words "dog bone suite" first entered his vocabulary. The producers really hit us over the head with the Travis-as-imitator theme this week, showing multiple instances where he copied the other trainers' techniques, but all I could really notice during these scenes was how many times Bill said he likes to "hep" other people. I wonder if he really is such a sweet man or if his accent just makes him seem that way.

For this week's dog bone challenge, the dogs had to sit and stay in circle outline drawn on the ground while an elephant -- yes, a real, live elephant -- walked towards them. The dog that did not move out of the circle when the elephant came within a few feet and picked up a banana (why not peanuts?) would win the Dog Bone Suite and a leg up in the Best in Show challenge. JD seemed confident, as usual, that Galaxy would win because she has been around bulls before (or maybe just bullsh*tters), but it was Andrew, the littlest dog of them all, that prevailed. Travis and Presley forced a tiebreaker, but we all knew Laurie would win by the way she went on and on about how a little dog has never won the dog bone challenge.

Next up was the usual suite visit with photos of Andrew and his ribbons and an encouraging letter from Laurie's husband. I liked Teresa's comment, "he is handsome," like she hadn't believed it until she saw it with her own eyes. In addition to the perks of luxurious living quarters, Laurie also received the advantage of having a stunt trainer to work with her and Andrew in the Best in Show challenge. Upon seeing the actual stunt course, which was about 20 times larger than what they had practiced on, I don't really see how Laurie had much of a leg up, but, hey, what do I know?

JD and Galaxy were the first pair to conquer the course, and they did so with little to no trouble. At the rate they're going, I really don't see how they can lose the competition unless we have more subjective challenges that highlight JD's grating personality, like the painting challenge did. Teresa and Leroy were next, and they also had little to no trouble, even though there was false drama interrupted by a commercial break when Leroy almost didn't take the zipline. He did bark along the way, but so what? He completed the challenge and listened to his owner, and that was what was important, whether the barking drives Diva Wendy crazy or not. Bill and Star were next, and Bill started off on a bad foot by having Star go up the less steep of the two inclines. You can't really blame him, though, after he was scolded last week for pushing Star too hard. His other failure, though, was that Star would not make the leap of faith. Two strikes against Bill. Then Travis and Presley took the course by storm, with Presley rumbling through it with almost no regard to what he was actually doing. The judges did criticize Travis from their balcony in the sky for getting Presley too excited, but at least he did what he needed to do. Lastly, Laurie and Andrew made a run for it. Andrew made an impressive climb up the incline, but the leg up that Laurie had received for winning the dog bone challenge did no good. Andrew would not jump from the platform...and can you blame him? It's like the equivalent of us jumping off the top of a 20-story building with no clue that we're really only going to glide gently to the ground.

So, when it was time for the judges' final decision, Bill, Travis, and Laurie were in the bottom three. It came down to Laurie and Bill, and it was obvious that Bill would be going home. Even though Andrew hadn't made the jump, the judges had praised him for doing what most little dogs would not do. As Bill and his "orange dawg" took their final lap, I said goodbye to my favorite pair of the competition, and I think Victoria Stilwell did, too. I'll miss seeing Bill and Star each week, and I'm sad that they will no longer have a chance to win the money to help his wife with her diabetes, but I'm sure they have good things coming their way after all of this exposure.

Next week, it's another loyalty-related challenge that looks like an amped-up version of the gourmet dinner the dogs had to ignore back in one of the show's first episodes, and the competition's shoo-in winner may have to make early exit due to an injury.