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What Do You Know About Maltese?

PetSugar — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 03:00:08 -0700

My new favorite show Greatest American Dog ended this week and while little Andrew didn't take the top spot, the judges said he was the "most incredible Maltese" they have ever witnessed.

Andrew was the highest scoring dog in trial at the annual Town and Country Kennel Club Show and was named the top Maltese in the U.S. Novice Rally Competition so clearly he's a winner of sorts even though he isn't America's greatest. What do you know about his breed? Take this quiz and find out!

Photo courtesy of CBS

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What Do You Know About Pointers?

PetSugar — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:30:49 -0700

If you watched Greatest American Dog you're probably familiar with runner up J.D and his daredevil English Pointer and Border Collie mix, Galaxy (sometimes called “G-Money”). Galaxy is known for being athletic and adventurous, and like many Pointers has great power and agile grace. I have already tested you on Border Collies, but what do you know about Pointers? Take my quiz and find out!
Photo courtesy of CBS

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Should Presley and Travis Have Won Greatest American Dog?

PetSugar — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 12:45:54 -0700

Yesterday 56 percent of PetSugar readers predicted Presley and Travis would be crowned the champions of Greatest American Dog and they were spot on! Travis, the lovable 29-year-old bartender, and Presley, his one-and-a-half year old Boxer, took their triumphant victory lap together after beating out the 11 other teams of dogs and owners from across the US. Travis accepted the honor with complete humility, saying:

"The greatest American dog doesn't have to be perfect...It's about the love for your animals."

Photo courtesy of CBS

What Do You Know About the Brittany?

PetSugar — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:30:44 -0700

I loved catching up with Bill who was sent home from Greatest American Dog on Wednesday with his beautiful Brittany, Star. What do you know about this breed? Test your knowledge about these pretty pooches below!

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Greatest American Dog Recap: My Dog Can Fly!

PetSugar — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:00:00 -0700

First puppies and now an elephant?! For last night's episode of Greatest American Dog, the remaining humans (Travis, J.D., Bill, Laurie, and Teresa) had to get their pets (Presley, Galaxy, Star, Andrew, and Leroy) to sit in a circle as an elephant approached them, made tons of noise and flapped its ears, and eventually got close enough to pick up a banana placed nearby. It came down to a faceoff between Presley and Andrew, and the smallest pooch there (Laurie's Maltese) didn't move a muscle – wow! Next, it was a course finishing in a doggie zipline – that J.D. and Galaxy made look like a piece of cake – but, unfortunately, two dogs (Star and Andrew) wouldn't take that leap. In the end, the judges chose to send Bill and Star packing which made me sad 'cause I was totally pulling for them, but happy since I got to chat with him this morning. . . . and, yes, he's just as sweet on the phone as he looks on TV:

On meeting an elephant for the first time: You remember, we've got our back towards that elephant? I'm watching Star and saying "sit, stay, sit, stay" and her eyes are getting bigger and bigger and it's like one of us has got to move, I hope she tells me when I'm supposed to move! That was thrilling to me, just thrilling.

Learn what happens when Star meets the elephant for the second and third (?) time when you read more.

On meeting an elephant for the second time: Although she didn't win the challenge, later we were able to go over and visit with the elephant. Star actually ended up sitting on one of the elephant's feet and it was a positive atmosphere. They didn't want dogs to be afraid of big things running at them anymore. The elephant actually took its nose and smelled all over Star and she just sat and looked at it – I asked the guy what it was doing and he said the elephant's never seen a dog like Star so he's smelling and remembering so that, the next time he sees one, he'll know what that is.

On meeting an elephant for the third time: I feel comfortable now that if there's an elephant charging down the street here in Flint, TX, Star will sit right there and watch it go by.

On preparing for the zipline challenge: I got up there and worked with her during practice time. I shook the platform and the guys up there at the top said "don't shake this," but I banged and clanged up there for Star's benefit. I knew the wind might be blowing and it might shake so I wanted her to understand that everything's good and it's fine for your feet to move underneath you.

On doing the challenge: When she got to the edge in what you saw last night, there was one point where I actually thought she was going to jump. Then she said "nah, dogs ain't supposed to fly, my boy" and I read that. She was like "I'll sit right here and you figure it out, Bubba." I saw that expression but I spent a good 10 to 15 minutes trying to get her to jump off that.

On not jumping off: I appreciate her not jumping off that ledge. She was smarter than I thought because we work in some areas where it's high-rise parking garages and, maybe she then thinks it's OK to jump off something chasing a bird? I feel comfortable knowing she did the wise thing, she was wiser than me.

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Where on the Bed Do Your Pets Sleep?

PetSugar — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 07:00:10 -0700

Awww, how cozy they look! Does this scene look familiar to you? If you share a bed with your pet, does the furry one have a fave snuggly spot? When I chatted with Bill from Greatest American Dog, he shared the sweet observation below:

I think the bond between Star and I was pretty tight when we got to California and I don't think you could make it any better. She slept in the bed with me all the time we were out there but when we got back home, Star had moved. She had always slept at the end of the bed, and now she moved up to right beside me on my side of the bed and that may be a little bit bigger bond.

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Greatest American Dog: Would Your Dog Do Star's Trick?

PetSugar — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:15:08 -0700

Before I get into recapping the latest episode of the Greatest American Dog, I wanted to see if I'm the only one feeling a tad inadequate about my pup's training. Last night showed Bill performing this silly trick with his adorable dog, Star.

OMG! I remember the 20 minutes I spent one night trying to teach North to balance a yum on his nose. Now maybe it was just his smooshy, but not only couldn't I get him to balance anything, he kept tilting his mouth up as I got near his face with the treat. Silly pup. Would your dog ever do anything like this?

Greatest American Dog Recap: "The Big Dig"

PetSugar — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:15:28 -0700

I think the latest episode of Greatest American Dog should have been called puppies! It's like TV gold, just mix it up by adding over a dozen adorable Golden Retriever pups. I caught up with Beth Joy, who was eliminated this week, and she opened up about the last episode and her cute pooch, Bella Starlet Dog. Once again, I got some great behind-the-scenes clues and views – check out her answers below!

On the digging challenge:

Before every dog-bone challenge, we actually get a practice. All dogs dig differently – she actually digs with her nose – and she did so good that I thought she was gonna dig, find Mommy, and it would be awesome.
I'm completely claustrophobic but I said to myself "I'm going to do this, Bella did great on the dig and she's gonna find me . . . I'll sit for five minutes and have a panic attack for her to find me." But you have to understand when you watch the show, there's reasons why we choose things and I had a feeling but instead she said 'I'm going to be like Lassie and I'm going to bark for someone to come rescue my mom."
The thing with the dig is every time she did the practice, one of the trainers kept pulling the treats away from her after she found it and I think that upset her; she knew she wasn't going to get the treat again. That was all part of it – what you see is what you get on these shows, not the real experience.

On meeting the puppies:

Actually with this challenge, we did it the day before and Bella did great in the maze, she came out and went through it a few times but, when you film, there's hours and hours in between. So when Bella came out and greeted the puppies, she was excited but then it was three hours until we did the challenge. It was 105 degrees out that day. Bella overheated, Star overheated, and Presley overheated.

Where is Bella trying to go in that picture up top? Learn the surprising answer when you read more.

On her stopping to dig under the maze:

When she went into that hole that you see, that was where one of the cameras were. And they didn't cover it up, they should have covered it up, and she wasn't supposed to go in there. But they never restarted our clock. She saw somebody in there (there are little forts with cameras so that they can get those angles of the dogs running) and so she had gone in there thinking "hey, maybe Mommy's with this guy hanging out." And I couldn't see over the hedge so I was trying to go low to the ground to call her.

On pushing her dog:

By that time of the day, she was so overheated, it was like "whatever you want to do Bella, that's fine don't worry." Like "come on you want a biscuit, just come through, come to Mommy and we'll go jump in the pool." I would never push my dog the way that Bill pushed his dog, we were all scared at what he was doing to Star, it made me worry about Star. I would never push my dog to a limit like that, it was really insane and unfortunate. I really don't think we should have gone home. It was about citizenship, maybe she didn't lead the puppies out, but at least she didn't try to eat the puppies.

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Greatest American Dog: What's Funniest?

PetSugar — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:50:54 -0700

As much as I want to rename this the Greatest American Show Ever on CBS, I'll let it stick with its original title for now . . . but OMG, it's getting even better! Last night's episode had ups (fancy schmancy dinner) and downs (Star's ER visit), but all in all I was pleased with the results.

In the end, the biggest dog was eliminated – Kenji the Giant Schnauzer and owner Elan. As annoying as I find Beth Joy and Bella Starlet, the judges pointed out Elan's abrasive-training techniques. With a harsh voice, constant snapping in the pup's face, and distracting whistles, she was seriously stressing her pooch out . . . and the other dogs, too. With Michael (the comedian) gone from last week, there were fewer snappy remarks but I've pulled some of my favorite things I overhead. Pick the funniest (and let me know if I missed anything funnier in your comments below)!