greatest american dog

First off, I can't believe this show is over already! It feels like just yesterday we were getting to know these super pooches and their (sometimes dramatic) owners. But last night it was all about the final three. Within the first 30 minutes of the show we were eliminating one of the finalists after a round of interviews, and said goodbye to JD and Galaxy who took their final lap in the show. I thought Galaxy was an amazing dog and only wish North could catch his Frisbees like her!

For the second Best in Show challenge the final two – Travis and Presley, Laurie and Andrew – were sent through a tough K9 course, and caught up with an old pal – Suzy the elephant! Yup, Suzy was back to help out in this challenge again, but this time the finalists would have to get closer to her than ever before. To see my rundown on the challenge, and find out who took the top prize as Greatest American Dog, just read more

I know January's the beginning of the year, but for many lucky kids (pets are like our children, right?), September kicks off a whole new start. In honor of back to school, I'd like to add even more advice and tips from me – and all of you – to the site!
Do you have problems you want to work on? Submit them to my Pet Peeves group. I'll be tackling them as they come in . . . and even asking the rest of you to chime in as well. Just think of this as your own support group for your furry friends.

To start it off, I wanted to share a simple training trip I learned from Teresa (of Greatest American Dog):

We use positive reinforcement and clicker training a lot. When Leroy does something that I like, I click and treat. It's not necessarily food, I could use a ball or a frisbee as his treat. When he does things that I don't like, I redirect him to something else that he could be doing. So it's not 'no, no, no, no,' it's what else can I give you to do so you can't do the wrong thing . . . so you can get praised which leads to the right thing being repeated. I'm trying to get as many correct things out of him as possible.

Source

With just one (!) more episode of Greatest American Dog, I got the chance to chat with Teresa, who was eliminated last week with her Border Collie, Leroy. We talked about her water-loving pup, and I got her side of the story on those controversial snarl bands. Learn all about Leroy's barking, his new BFF, and much more in the interview below.

PetSugar: How's Leroy doing with the barking?
Teresa: He only barks in a high-energy performance setting. He's sitting right by me now . . . no barking. Practice time . . . no barking. Performance time . . . barking. He just loves to do it and it's part of his style. It's getting slightly better but it's going to take some time to get it to be perfect. I need to figure out how to keep his brain more stimulated (if I do the same things over and over he gets bored). It may make things harder for me but, if it makes it easier on him and curbs some of the barking, then that's what we'll have to do.

PetSugar: What was your dog's favorite part of this experience?
Teresa: I think it's pretty obvious that he loved the pool and to be able to let loose and not be under tight wraps all the time. He's loved water since he was a puppy. Normally I try to get him to at least look at me because there are times when I don't want a sopping wet dog, but for the most part he did listen and it is a good impulse control exercise for him. I tried to let him swim as much as I could – he probably swam at least 45 minutes every day – and we don't ever get to do that at home.

PetSugar: Did Leroy have any special friends on the show?
Teresa: Laura and I clicked immediately and we've become the best of friends since then. In such a short period of time I feel like I've known her since like kindergarten. We just had little tags made that say "Be" and "Fri" on one side for Preston, and Leroy wears on his tag "st" and "end," so when it comes together it says "Best Friend." Preston looks like a little, white toy breed, but he doesn't behave like that – he's a giant dog wrapped up in a little Pomeranian body. Leroy normally doesn't like other dogs as much as he likes Preston. He has his circle of friends, and Preston really broke through that circle and has become Leroy's friend, East Coast or West Coast.

PetSugar: And favorite toys?
Teresa: Anything that you can throw! If you throw the top of a Tupperware container, he's going to think it's a frisbee. You throw something round, like throw an apple, he's gonna fetch it and think it's a ball. He also really likes any kind of toy with things hanging from it like a Wubba – he'll shake it and shake it and hit himself over the head . . . I think that's what it's for?

Finally, hear her side of the "angry" challenge when you read more