Greatest American Dog Show

I haven’t seen this episode yet. But it shocked me that Theresa & Leroy went home.
What are the so-called judges thinking about?!!
The result next week doesn’t matter. I even hope Lori & Andrew will win at last which will prove the judges’s ridiculous and crazy style all through the show.

Leroy went home because Theresa doesn’t know how to own a border collie. Basically, she’s so stressed out, he picks up on that and starts barking.

Did you see him play with J.D.? I know it’s edited, but I’m pretty sure that Leroy didn’t bark once with JD.

I just feel so bad for Leroy. If a borer collie ever needed some sheep, he does.

By the way, has anyone else wondered why there was no Golden Retriever on the show? Were the producers afraid it would be too cliche when the dog inevitably won?

I started watching this program late in the season, I’ll go online to catch up on previous episodes. But I was very disappointed in Theresa’s behavior during the dog swapping. Since she knew what the challenge would be, she intentionally tried to break these dogs sit-stay training. Not fair to the dogs or their owners, contest aside.

I think both Teresa and Travis represent “the people”. Their dogs do what dogs do - distractions included. I think JD and Lori’s dogs are strictly trained. Which is fair to send home???

I was surprised to see Teresa go home. I think Travis had the least control, even when Presley came back.

And yes, Teresa needs to work Leroy.

I watched this show faithfully. I really can not understand how judges can not consider the breed of dog when looking at reactions.
A border collie is highly sensitive to any running object. I think Leroy was unjustly eliminated.
Star and Bill were so connected to each other. What love you could feel between those two.

** These judges are so called “experts” but I would like to see their dogs react to an elephant coming toward them!!!

I am dissappointed in this whole show, I believe the judging to be unfair, and that they have put the dogs in some very dangerous stunts. Of the three remaining contestants, I believe the only contestants left that have a true geniune love for their pet is presley and travis, but I do not honestly think they will win because presley is still young and has alot to learn and Travis is basically new to this and learning fast but not fast enough. I think that Jd and Lori both love their dogs, but only because they have trained their dogs,so much, that their dogs no longer have their own personality, especially andrew. I had hoped that Bill and star would have won because Bill loves star and star is the better trained dog, but star still has her personality. I think Bill was judged unfairly, because let see the week before he was told he was pushing star to far and the next week he wasnt pushing her enough, ok were is the limit of how far do you push your dog, and especially an older dog like star, I am glad that Bill didn’t push Star to jump because after watching galaxy pull a muscle, if Star had gotten hurt it would have been much worse. I also liked David and elvis, partly because I am a jack russell owner, but David has a good relationship with elvis, I believe that if the viewers were allowed to vote, the outcome of this show would have been so much different, my other beef about this show, is the stunts, some of them have gone pretty extreme, who would put their pet in the line of an elephant, thats like ok making your dog sit in the roadway while a car comes at him, I know I wouldn’t take the chance,they say it was to see how much of a trust your dog had with you, how much of a trust would the dog have had if that elephant charged them and actually hit one, or the jumping off the platform, galaxy got hurt trusting his owner, do you honestly think galaxy has as much trust for Jd now, no were in this show have I seen the judges take into account any of the following factors, 1. the age of the dog, different ages act differnt ways to situations, 2. the breed of the dog, a border collie will herd better then lets say a jack russell any day, 3. the relationship between dog and owner or the way the dog responds to other people and other dogs, 4. or even the dogs own intelligence, come on the look on stars face at the top of the platform she knew jumping off that was a stupid idea, and last 5. the owners intelligence on their dog and dog breed, and training methods

I’m sorry to say, but Travis and Presley should have gone home. Presley did not stay. I understand the difference between loyalty and obedience, but Teresa/Leroy did nothing different that JD and Galaxy. Both were leaning over to make their dogs stay. Both were successful in keeping their dogs focused in the stay position. I don’t understand how the judges could send Teresa/Leroy home.

The judges are way too hard on JD. He is fantastic with Galaxy and just because Victoria doesn’t agree with his style does not make him wrong and threatening. I am glad he made that comment to her. (”I never threatened a dog in my life”!” He might have hurt his chances to win.

As a dog trainer this show appalls me. As someone who makes a living with dogs and their people,it amuses me. A dog needs to stay when its told to stay–no matter what–thats trust, and loyalty. The point the judges failed to make is that the OWNER needs to end an exercise in the best interest of the dog–Lisa mistake was choosing “winning” over the best interest of her dog; having him stay and them calling him to her would have been the better choice. The judges however never explained this to either her or the television audience. None of the contestants should have been allowed to use the word “come” to break the stay. Lori and Andrew are great partners–however separation anxiety is not loyalty; and not matter what comes out of your mouth, crossing your arms and planting your legs apart–is an action that speaks volumes to a dog.

i dont think loyalty means obedience. Those dogs have been living with all the owners for a while so they might create some bone among them. anyway, i dont agree sending Teresa and Le home. not fair.

My favorite dog:
The first：Bill & Star
Second：Theresa & Leroy
The third：Ron & Tillman

I think lori and andrew are going home.Her dog is so connected to her he doesn’t want anyone else to train him.JD and Galaxy are going to win I know it.

What I’m saying, I’m saying in the wee morning hours before the final show. Though I have my inclinations (which include either Galaxy or Travis being victorious), I have no idea how tonight’s episode will turn out. What I would like to offer out, just in case the producers or executives or anything of the like ever happen to read these blogs, is what I consider advise. I have read all of the comments throughout the show. I have been a fan throughout the season but have found reason to agree with several predominant viewpoints. If you want to consider continued success with this television series, consider these options: 1. Viewer voting. Though not possible with other CBS shows, in situations like this, totally viable, favorable, and profitable. 2. Cumulative wins. Though not as suspenseful in keeping up ratings, fair and still a fair hook for die hard fans. 3. House guest votes. Though they wouldn’t work exactly the same way as a show like big brother… they could. 4. A combination of judge’s and viewers’ votes; probably the best remedy. Judges pick the best few; viewers pick the best. That would keep the masses happy. That along with not involving the inhumane and dangerous use of wild animals such as African elephants (which are often very harshly and cruelly trained themselves {and still totally unreliable even under the best of circumstances}).

Of the three teams remaining, I pick Laurie and Andrew. They understand each other and their love is real, and they both have skill and great intelligence.

Galaxy is a sweet dog, but JD has too much of an athletic-competitive mindset. I can picture him doing what he does with other dogs. He doesn’t project a special bond between him and Galaxy, certainly not the way Laurie and Travis do with their dogs.

Travis and Presley could deserve winning for most improvement and most team spirit, and in a way, should win if it’s a “all-American dog” as a pet….not perfect, but always trying. Travis adores Presley and they will continue to bond and will be like Bill and Star as the years go by.

The sneak preview shows that the eliminated contestants are returning to the stage to weigh in on the finale - how about all of them, and the judges, making unanimous declaration that it was just WRONG to eliminate Bill and Star, and that they ARE the official winners? They have already won this competition - let’s have the show admit it!

Oh, I am sooooo upset that Lori and Andrew didn’t win!! ANDREW IS THE GREATEST AMERICAN DOG. I love that little guy!!

I was so relieved when Presley won! I still think that JD and Galaxy were the true winners because she was such a smart and well trained dog, but I really didn’t want Andrew and Laurie to win.
Just because JD doesn’t train his dog the way the judges would like, it doesn’t make his techniques wrong and it doesn’t make Galaxy less of a dog. At least he doesn’t have to bribe her with treats to do anything! She obeys him because she trusts and respects him. Not because he has treats in his pocket. Plus you can see how much those two love eachother.
I can’t stand the judging in this show. Viewers should be the judges because I wanted to watch “Greatest American Dog” not just a regular dog show that you can watch on TSN.
Congratulations Travis and Presley! I had my fingers crossed for you and was sitting at the edge of my seat waiting for the results to be read!

I am glad that Travis & Presly won. They have the heart and clearly are a partnership, despite their youth and inexperience.

The show was so bad, it was moved time slots twice, then the last episode pulled off our stations in our area and I didn’t get to watch it.

It would have looked bad if JD and Galaxy won as JD trains dogs professionally and does demos for the public in rodeos etc. Depite that, I bet this will a big boost to his dog training business.

I am not sure waht is up with Andrew. He is loyal yes, but being that attached to his owner is not normal. He really didn’t seem to have much of a personality from the edits they chose to show us.

For those of you with issues of using food rewards to train a dog, there is no difference between them and toys like balls etc.

If you know what you are doing, you wean your dog off the treats once the new behavior is established so you don’t have to use treats for long. It’s about doing your reseach. If you look up “clicker training” on the web, you will find a ton of information on it. There are also many videos on Youtube that both show how to do it and the results- a well-trained eager dog! It is the most current and humane approach to training (and can be used on any animal!) and the result is a dog that thinks and can problem solve.
Using the clicker also teachers the trainer (owner) how to break behaviors into small steps that a dog can successfully, easily and quickly learn without being forced to do so. Police dogs, Service and Assistance dogs, agility dogs and even tracking and Search and Rescue dogs are now being trained using this method.
It turned my dog with a stubborn streak into a willing and devoted parnter who is eager to work for me! And she is only 18 months old and she was a rescue at 7 months.

I am glad that Travis & Presly won. They have the heart and clearly are a partnership, despite their youth and inexperience.

The show was so bad, it was moved time slots twice, then the last episode pulled off our stations in our area and I didn’t get to watch it.

It would have looked bad if JD and Galaxy won as he trains dogs professionally and does demos for the public in rodeos etc. Depite that, I bet this will a big boost to his dog training business.

I am not sure what is up with Andrew. He is loyal yes, but being that attached to his owner is not normal. He really didn’t seem to have much of a personality from the edits they chose to show us.

For those of you with issues of using food rewards to train a dog, there is no difference between them and toys like balls etc.

If you know what you are doing, you wean your dog off the treats once the new behavior is established so you don’t have to use them for long. It’s about doing your reseach. If you look up “clicker training” on the web, you will find a ton of information on it. There are also many videos on Youtube that both show how to do it and the results- a well-trained eager dog! It is the most current and humane approach to training (and can be used on any animal!) and the result is a dog that thinks and can problem solve.
Using the market method also teachers the trainer (owner) how to break behaviors into small steps that a dog can successfully, easily and quickly learn without being forced to do so. Police dogs, Service and Assistance dogs, agility dogs and even tracking and Search and Rescue dogs are now being trained using this method.
It turned my dog with a stubborn streak into a willing and devoted parnter who is eager to work for me! And she is only 18 months old and she was a rescue at 7 months.

I would not want my dog to just sit there with an elephant charging also would not want my dog to jump from a height that would not be safe without the harness, the dog knows that there is a harness?
I don’t think so.
Stupid challenges.
I want my dog have self preservational skills and not blindly follow.
Regarding Leroy, isn’t he suppossed to bark? That is a breed that barks when having fun or excited, don’t understand why it annoys Teresa so much.
Terri

I watched this show all the way thru but some of the challenges were clearly biased toward certain breeds (a Maltese in a herding competition? Seriously?) Otherwise, I like Victoria’s show on Animal Planet but her judging did nothing for me. I don’t get the criticisms of JD who clearly (to me anyways) loved his dog and was not threatening. As it is, I’m just happy Laurie and Andrew didn’t win. The dog trainer above said it best-separation anxiety is not loyalty.