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 his family, because it brought to mind times I’ve felt the same way. (Like last year when we were trying to relocate back to Jacksonville and this year when I was away from Wayne, Murph and the cats for two weeks when my mom first got sick.)
But no sooner had I pull myself together than I was diving into the tissues again. Bill wanted so much to win the Dog Bone Challenge so he could get the suite and see pictures of his family. It looked like he was going to, because Star was the only one to complete the challenge…until the very last dog/owner team went, Leroy and Teresa. Leroy smashed Star’s 16 second time with a five second run and won the challenge.
But in one of the kindest displays of compassion and goodness I’ve ever seen on a reality TV show, Teresa gave the suite to Bill.
The Bad
Laurie was one of my favorites until the Elvis episode. (She sort of threw David, Elvis’s owner, under the bus in that episode.) In this episode, she again acted too competitively. (I don’t think this show is bringing out the best in the owners, something I’ll write more about later.)
Laurie’s very good with her dog Andrew and she’s a good trainer. She could’ve helped others like Teresa and Brandy be better with their dogs, but she held back. (Because she knows if they’re weaker and their bond breaks, they go home and she stays.)
I don’t have much respect for that kind of game play.
The Clueless
Speaking of Brandy…Wow.
~*~WARNING: SPOILER ALERT~*~ Don’t read past this point if you’re behind on your episodes!
Beacon was relying on her to help him win the Greatest American Dog title and she lost it. She got distracted, too competitive, and lost sight of having fun with the challenges. She started crying even in the episode before this about how Beacon wasn’t listening to her anymore. It’s because he’d started suffering from what Victoria Stillwell termed “learned helplessness.”
She was overtraining Beacon, riding him too hard, and in general not respecting his boundaries. As a result, they failed at the Best in show challenge and went home this week. (Personally I think it was overdue and she should have gone before either David or Ron. And what was up with her dressing Beacon?)
The Disinterested
Many of the dogs were less than enthused about having to dance this episode. Presley, Beacon, Preston, and even in my opinion Bella Starlet didn’t seemed overjoyed to take center stage on the dance floor.
In what had to be the overstatement of the episode, Wendy Diamond said to one of the pairs, “You’re dog did not seem very enthused.”
DUH! That challenge wouldn’t appeal to all dogs and their owners. Which has left me wondering if they’re really looking for the greatest American dog or the greatest trainer. Hmmm…I feel the makings of yet another article coming on…
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Greatest American Dog: The Personality Episode
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