Greatest American Dog: Thoughts on the Final Episode

Presley was crowned the champ, the cast was reunited to see it, and tears were shed. It was a moving final episode. It made me pause for deeper reflection. So now I’m going to share my final thoughts on the final episode of the show I came to love. Not about Being Perfect In my last article, I explained how at one point the judges made a big deal out of Andrew’s size and how impressive it was he made it so far. Andrew’s performance was impressive, just like all of the other dogs on the show. I couldn’t understand … Continue reading

Greatest American Dog: The Loyalty Episode

Because we were away on vacation and Wayne completely unplugged the T.V. (and thus rendered our DVR useless), I missed two weeks of The Greatest American Dog. But since our TV, and therefore DVR, is plugged back in, I finally had a chance to watch this past week’s episode. Galaxy’s Limp Like when Bill had to take Star to the vet because he feared she’d been bit by a snake, I was so thankful for the DVR’s fast forward feature when JD had to take Galaxy to the vet. Not sure what the challenge had been in the previous episode, … Continue reading

Greatest American Dog: The Art Episode

If ever, oh, ever there was an episode that proved my point that the show is not looking for the greatest American dog but is looking for the greatest American trainer, it was this last one. The Judges: Art Critics or Dog Experts? What was up with them judging the art? I don’t recall in the list of any of their credentials it being mentioned that they’re world renowned dog artists themselves. Okay, so Laurie’s was rather simplistic and “poster-ish” but who are they to knock on her? Like they’d do better? And Beth Joy and Bella Starlet’s creation? I … Continue reading

Greatest American Dog: Further Criticisms about the Show

One of the reality TV shows I ended up enjoying the most was Kid Nation. I wish the Greatest American Dog had a format more like that. Why I Liked Kid Nation I was not expecting to like the show. A bunch of kids forming their own society? Um, yeah, I couldn’t see how that’d be interesting. So I didn’t watch. But Wayne did. He DVRd the first episode and was raving so much about it curiosity won out. I watched and fell in love with those kids. It was hard not to be impressed by so many of them. … Continue reading

Are They Looking for the Greatest American Dog or Trainer?

Even before a reader left a comment on one of my “Greatest American Dog” articles about how could I buy the junk the show’s trying to sell us, I was already starting not to like certain things about the show. I’ll address more of those in a separate article to follow later, but for now I’ll talk about my main gripe: it seems they’re not so much looking for the greatest American dog as they are the greatest American trainer. Because forget what happens in the Dog Bone Challenge, it all comes down to how well the owner worked with … Continue reading

Greatest American Dog: Dancing with the Dogs Episode

I finally had a chance to watch last week’s “Greatest American Dog.” As have the other episodes, it’s sparked some reflection on my behalf. (The gist of which is reflected in the subheads below.) The Good Again, I have yet to watch this show without crying. (Which isn’t entirely unexpected due to my problem.) However, this week it was the people, not the animals, who had me bawling. It started when Bill was talking about being so homesick and Star’s body language mirrored his sadness. It was heart wrenching to hear him say how much he missed his wife and … Continue reading

Greatest American Dog: The Personality Episode

Over the weekend I had the chance to get caught up on “Greatest American Dog” episodes I missed. Which was only last week’s show, the personality episode. Take It or Leave It The first challenge tested how well the dog owner knew his or her dog. The dogs and owners were put in individual corrals. Various items were set out on a dish in front of them. The owner had to make a call whether or not the dog would take whatever the item was. (With no prompting or cajoling from the owner.) I thought this challenge would last forever. … Continue reading

The Greatest American Dog: The Elvis Episode

There was a new episode of “Greatest American Dog” last night, but thanks to my volleyball schedule, I’m a bit behind watching my DVR recordings. I just finished watching the episode from the week before. I loved it, because David was able to show that Elvis isn’t, as he calls him, a “Jack Russell terrorist.” WARNING: Spoiler Ahead In case you record the shows too and you’re also behind, this is where you should stop reading. I do reveal who was asked to leave Canine Academy. Clearing the Yard “Elvis is off-leash.” ~-David, Elvis’s Dad-~ Poor Elvis. The cute little … Continue reading

The Pets Blog Week in Review for July 21-27

What did Aimee and I write about during the last full week of July? In case you’re wondering because summer vacation plans kept you away from the computer, here’s the Week in Review recap. Monday, July 21 Just how much does your pet influence your lifestyle? Do you even know? Or are you well aware of their impact? Because of Aimee’s experiences with her own dogs, she learned about inflammatory bowel disease in pets and passed her knowledge on to us. Tuesday, July 22 I explained why I am absolutely loving “The Greatest American Dog!” Apparently Aimee’s become the crazy … Continue reading

“A Dog is Not a Barbie Doll.” (and Other “Greatest” Quotes)

Recently I wrote about how I’m loving the new reality show “The Greatest American Dog.” One of the reasons I find it so endearing is because of the people. Both the dog owners and the judges. I‘ve only watched one episode (the second, because I missed the first), but that one episode spoke volumes about the experience of being a dog owner and dog lover. There were three quotes in particular that really grabbed me. Quote #1 “She’s not a pet, she’s a companion.” Bill about his dog Star. That one isn’t word for word, but it’s the general idea. … Continue reading