All dog owners believe that their dog is the best one in the world, but the reality show “Greatest American Dog” gave a handful of pet owners a chance to prove it. Some of the best known dog experts in the world came together for the show, which debuted in 2008 on CBS. As part of the program, the dog experts who served as judges evaluated both the dogs and their owners, ultimately naming one to win the show’s top prize of $250,000, plus the title of Greatest American Dog.

The show’s judges were Victoria Stillwell, a British dog expert who stars in the Animal Planet show “It’s Me or the Dog,” Wendy Diamond, founder and editor of the Animal Fair magazine, and Allen Reznik, a dog show and dog breed expert who serves as editor-at-large for both Dog World and Dog Fancy magazines as well as editor-in-chief of Dogs in Review.

The show in review

The hit show, which was one of the most watched programs on prime time during its original run, according to Nielsen ratings, gave 12 doggie contestants and their owners a chance to win a variety of weekly competitions, with, in traditional reality show fashion, one of the pairs eliminated each week until the final pair remained. Challenges ranged from agility tests and modeling contests to navigating a maze and walking a balance beam, with each week’s winner receiving rewards including upscale living quarters and a “leg up” in the coming competition.

During the competitions, judges had a chance to evaluate the dogs and their skills, as well as observe how well the dogs interacted with their owners. They also had the opportunity to see what owners did wrong when working with their dogs, allowing judges to offer constructive criticism and owners to learn better ways to interact with their pets.

Learning from doggie TV

Through the show, viewers had a chance to learn more about dog behaviors, along with tricks and tips for solving their own dilemmas as judges offered their opinions on contestants’ interactions with their dogs as well as issues such as doggie aggression, poor socialization skills and trust, which were addressed in many episodes. Too, with three of the world’s top dog experts as judges, viewers also were given the opportunity to learn new training methods from those at the top of the field, along with a wide variety of games including musical chairs, relay races and problem solving challenges that tested the dogs’ ability to reason. By seeing games and activities that challenged the show’s doggie contestants, owners watching at home could learn new ways to improve their own dog’s behavior and establish deeper bonds between them.

And the winner is…

Although 12 dogs and their owners were standing at the start, a boxer named Presley and his owner, Travis, ultimately swept the competition on “Greatest American Dog,” taking home the top prize of $250,000 along with well-earned bragging rights.

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