Recap: Greatest American Dog, Episode 108

This week the challenge theme was courage. The tasks were a test of not just the dogs’ courage, but their people’s as well.

We started with the dog bone challenge, in which a 9000 pound elephant approached each dog individually. The dogs were required to sit, stay, and leave a banana for the elephant to retrieve.



A four and a half ton African elephant stopping within twenty feet of a dog, shaking its head and trumpeting? Is it any surprise that only two dogs – Andrew, the Maltese and Presley the 18 month old Boxer – sat and stayed?



I have a theory. Andrew used his one defense mechanism; I’ve mentioned it before. He sat with his head up, looking at the elephant, and making puppy dog eyes that clearly said, “I am tiny and white and cute, and my tiny white cuteness is all I’ve got. Surely I’m not even worth your time as a snack. By the way, have you noticed in your trumpeting and nine thousand poundness how tiny and white and cute I am?”

As for Presley, well, he just doesn’t understand the word danger (along with a lot of other words).




As a result of this tie, both Andrew and Presley were told to sit and stay while Travis and Lori turned their backs to the elephant. Susie the elephant then charged the dogs. The first dog to lift its hindquarters lost.



There are things I would do for $250,000. I would push my dog when he was a little overworked and tired. I would cry over my dog’s stress level. I would miss my friends and my family and yes, I might even come off a little overly emotional. I would not however, personally, be able to turn my back and accept that my dog was being charged by a four and a half ton African elephant. I don’t care how well trained they told me Susie was, you can work with your animal all the time. You can do the routine three times a night and five on Sundays and still someday you’re going to be the one with the white tiger claw embedded in your torso, y’know?

But Lori and Travis had more faith than I, and they turned their backs. Presley was the first to flinch and so Andrew was the first small dog to have won the dog bone suite.



While we’re talking about firsts and lasts, Presley is the last first-dog in the house. Of the five dogs left, all came knowing more than your basic sit/stay commands except for Presley, and he’d barely mastered those. He also knew a few tricks, but those fall under the category of “go over there, dig that hole. Sniff that other dog’s butt. See, he does just what I tell him.” In one of the tricks he’d been showing off, “Go get your bed,” Presley runs a hundred yard, snatches up his dog bed and shakes it. Wow, you got an exuberant Boxer puppy to play with a giant stuffed thing? How did you do that?

But Travis is improving. Bill told him, “You’re doing good with that pup. I’m proud of you.”
“You’re a trainer in training but you’re getting there," remarked Lori after he almost bested her in the elephant/courage competition.

“He’s like a sponge,” according to JD.

And indeed, he admits openly to seeking out and utilizing methods and tips from whomever he can whenever he can. JD even mentioned that while practicing with Galaxy for the elimination challenge, what he’d really like is some privacy. Travis admitted he was glad JD couldn’t have that privacy.



The “Best in Show” elimination challenge was called “Stunt Dog.” First the dog goes up an incline, then traverses a balance beam, after which he or she leaps out into nothing while hooked up to a harness and safety rope known as a zip line.



So everyone practiced, and even with Lori’s leg up, which came in the form of a professional stunt dog trainer who’d worked on such films as Spiderman, was not enough to make her comfortable. She knew Andrew would be fine on the incline and the balance beam, but jumping into nothing? Even his tiny cuteness will not save him from plummeting to his death.



First went JD and Galaxy. JD kept the tone light and made the whole thing seem like a game. Galaxy played. She took the flying leap with hardly a second thought. It was surprising considering JD’s training method for the zip line jump which was not to practice the flying stunt for fear that she’d be hesitant at show time.



Teresa had the same problem with Leroy she always has. Leroy barks. She gets more agitated. Leroy barks more. Whenever Leroy barks during competition Teresa is right there to tell him to “shut up." In a telling moment during practice, Leroy wasn’t barking and Teresa said shut up... yep, Leroy barked. Training goes both ways. In the end, they did finish the course.



Bill chose the incline with less of an angle. They crossed the narrow balance beam, then Bill took his zip line ride. (Did I mention the people had to do these stunts as well?) Star just didn’t want to jump fifty feet into nothing.



Andrew took the easier incline as well, but his size made it just as difficult as the steep one was for Leroy. He ruled the balance beam but couldn’t really get his mind around the whole, “you want me to jump off what?” thing.



Last were Travis and Presley. Presley’s biggest issue... sitting and staying. It was all too much fun. First you run up something really steep, then walk something really narrow and whenever you finish, Travis tells you how great you are. And then... Travis is waaaaay over there, well... I’ll jump. And so he did, no hesitation, no thought. (I told you that dog doesn’t know what danger is).



Because of Leroy’s barking, he ended up in the bottom three with Star and Andrew. Sadly, it was time for Star to take Bill back to his wife and their family.



I’m going to miss that old man and Star the amazing orange dog.

Pet Connection has additional information on this episode, including a statement from the American Humane Association's Film and Television Unit.