Who Will Win 'Greatest American Dog'?

As some of you may know, I do an article during the Survivor season about who I think will be sent home each week based on the editing. The finale of Greatest American Dog is this week, so I thought it might be appropriate to do a similar article to see which team might be crowed the winner. Again, this is based solely on the editing CBS has shown us throughout the season.

Many people are passionate about animals; especially those lovable fur balls who gleefully greet us at the door at the end of a bad day. GAD brought out the fervor of both small and big dog lovers all over the country. I'm amazed in reading several message boards, at just how much people think that their particular favorite dog will win the show.

But lets take the passion out of all of this and take a look at some of the editing for GAD to determine who might just go on to be the winner. Let's start out with the dynamic duo of Galaxy & JD.

From the start of the show, it seemed so obvious that JD & Galaxy would easily walk away with the title. They are a strong team who has been working together for many years. They play off each other well. JD knows Galaxy's every move and has taught her so many tricks; it's difficult to sort them all out. She's a bright dog and he is an excellent trainer.

But from the get-go, JD has been edited with a slightly negative slant. In the opening episode, he came across as more arrogant than some of the other players. This is something from which he has never recovered with the viewers. He got a slightly softer edit last week when it looked as if Galaxy had an injury, but it isn't enough this late in the game to make him look like the one who will win. This team had the most training coming into the game and made the least amount of actual progress. Their bar was set high from the beginning so it made it difficult for them to get better or show that they've changed.

Another glaringly obvious point to his not making it as the winner is that he and judge Victoria are at opposite ends of the spectrum as far as animal training techniques are concerned. She touts her positive training methods as the way everyone should train their dogs. JD however, trains his dogs using a different method and one that she does not tolerate. Given a choice, she will never vote for him to win the end prize.

It's unfortunate that dog training politics get in the way what is supposed to be a fun competition. Galaxy has been trained with JD's method for the nine plus years of her life. He can't change his methods he's used and Galaxy knows just to suit Victoria, nor would he do it. He is solid in his beliefs and he has a well-trained dog.

Laurie & Andrew are a formidable pair and have brought along with them a wave of excitement from the folks cheering for the little dogs of the world. Andrew is a Maltese and extremely loyal to Laurie. She uses the positive reinforcement methods to train him and he's done well throughout the competition.

Laurie, however, has not received a winner's edit either. She has been shown as more of a coach and den-mom for the other contestants. She hasn't gone out of her way to make close friends from what we've seen, but she hasn't made many enemies either. She's very strong in her convictions and has made it a point on the show to be a spokesman for the training she believes in. She is all business.

We, as viewers, haven't been made to love her through the editing, however. Most winner's edits in reality shows make us want to root for a particular team. Laurie is lovable, but there is just a bit of her that makes us not completely love her. Andrew is also lovable in a small dog sort of way, but again, we haven't been made to root for him as much as we have some of the others. There is an undercurrent that he's around to represent the small dogs, but he's just not charismatic enough to win.

That leaves us with Travis & Presley.

The edit for this dog team from the beginning has been one of the underdog, no pun intended. Since the start, we've seen this team grow emotionally and in challenges. Travis started out with a playful young Boxer who barely minded to one who is learning new tricks every day.

Travis, on the other hand, has also grown as a person through the editing. We've seen him in a show-mance with Laura. We've seen him be the person who stands up for the weaker members, like Beth Joy. We've even seen him admit to being pretty clueless on dating and relationships. He's learned about relationships and bonding not only with people, but also with Presley through this period of time.

We've also watched him grow as a trainer. Every chance he had, he soaked up information and techniques about dog training from JD, Laurie, Bill and Teresa. He watched each trainer; then practiced the same ideas with Presley, usually with good results. When you look at how far he's gone through the period of time they did the filming of GAD, he had the furthest to go and he made it to the end.

We've been made to root for the little guys. Both Travis and Presley have a certain boyish charm which just makes you want to hug them and want them to win. In the end, if Travis tells the judges about the journey he and Presley have taken, I think they have this game and the $250,000 in the bag. In the end, it's all about a story of a boy and his exuberant dog.

Be sure to tune into CBS for the Greatest American Dog finale this Wednesday or read the recap here on RNO later in the week.

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these other Greatest American Dog articles on Reality News Online:

Kari is a retired Air Force Hurricane Hunter who thrives for tropical islands, big adventure and fun. Please send any comments, questions, and thoughts about Greatest American Dog to her at flystorms2@yahoo.com.

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