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, but from the little I saw when they replayed what happened in the past episode at the start of the show, it looked pretty physical. She seemed to have tweaked something. (And seeing her brought to mind poor Murph’s recent problems, except he’s limping a lot worse than what she did.)
But what I found most endearing was that her health hands down came first. JD’s one of the most competitive players, if not the most, but he made it clear, as he reiterated repeatedly throughout the show, that Galaxy’s the love of his life. If she was hurt or if he felt her health was being compromised, they were out. Wouldn’t even give it a second thought.
Travis Shows True Loyalty
In the Dog Bone Challenge, even before Travis voiced his concerns about feeling bad for making poor Presley endure standing on that stump, I thought, “Man, I don’t know if I could do that to Murph.” (If Murph would even stand or sit there that long. I have a feeling he would’ve been one of the first to lay down.)
But it goes back to what I wrote in “What Gives Us the Right to Treat Our Pets That Way?”. Travis was very empathetic indeed in putting Presley’s feelings first and making the decision to throw that challenge by calling Presley off the stump. He made the decision not to further test his dog’s loyalty, but to show some of his own when he did that. Again, as he has before, Travis exhibited very admirable behavior and the true spirit of a dog loving owner.
What Is Loyalty?
All dogs are loyal. Is there one dog more loyal than another? Or a way to test for that? I sure didn’t think the Best in Show Challenge did that.
And I didn’t think the judges were being very realistic in thinking obedience wouldn’t factor in to that challenge. Staying and sitting in the face of temptation is not loyalty. That is all about obedience.
If they’d had the dog stand by the owner’s side while the other players called to him or her –no toys or treats allowed—to test if the dog stayed by his or her owner’s side, that would show loyalty.
Question to Readers
Who do you think will walk away with the Greatest American Dog title?
Related Articles
Greatest American Dog: The Elvis Episode
Greatest American Dog: The Personality Episode
Greatest American Dog: Dancing with the Dogs Episode
Greatest American Dog: The Art Episode
Are They Looking for the Greatest American Dog or Trainer?
Greatest American Dog: Further Criticisms About the Show
“A Dog is Not a Barbie Doll.” (And Other “Greatest” Quotes)