Greatest American Dog - TV-PG
Competition shows off talented and pampered pups.
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Seen the show?
details
- TV Rating: TV-PG
- Network: CBS
- Cast: Jarod Miller
- Genre: Reality TV
- >Available On: Download
Parents need to know
Parents need to know that this dog competition has none of the usual catty reality show behavior, making it age-appropriate viewing for younger audiences. But there's still a lot of excess on display: The competition takes place at a mansion, and one of the rewards is a lavish suite filled with dog toys and other items. Also, the line between spoiling a dog (as in treating it like a human being) and appropriately rewarding good behavior gets mighty fuzzy at times.
Families can talk about why competition shows seem to follow the same format: competitors living together, elimination, three judges, big cash prizes. Ask kids why they think people go on these kinds of shows and what they think the producers are doing to make the competition seem more intense than it is. Also, who's your favorite dog? Do you think he or she will win?
Families can talk about why competition shows seem to follow the same format: competitors living together, elimination, three judges, big cash prizes. Ask kids why they think people go on these kinds of shows and what they think the producers are doing to make the competition seem more intense than it is. Also, who's your favorite dog? Do you think he or she will win?
Message
Social Behavior:
Clearly advocates the love of dogs and responsible pet ownership, including discipline.
Consumerism:
A few brand names, including Corona beer. Plus so many dog toys and accessories that younger viewers with dogs might get the "gimmies" on the next trip to the pet store.
Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:
The competitors toast the beginning of the competition with champagne, and there's beer and wine drinking (the glasses and bottles are visible, but actual drinking isn't often seen).
Violence
One of the dogs swipes another's skateboard, but there's no biting of people or other aggressive behavior.
Sex
Language
Common Sense says
What's the story?
Reviewed by Anne Louise Bannon
GREATEST AMERICAN DOG is basically Survivor with dogs. OK, instead of a buggy beach, everyone is camped out in a luxury mansion -- except for one unlucky pair that will get stuck in the Dog House each week (a nice but small cabin that only a New Yorker would call roughing it). But it's still your standard competition show with folks trying to prove something -- in this case that they've got great dogs -- while vying for money by engaging in a variety of stunts that should show off their dogs' skills but mostly just look silly.
Is it any good?
As these kinds of shows go, this ain't bad. The competing dogs make up for a lot -- especially the skateboarding bull dog, Tillman. Even the foo-foo doggies have more to show for themselves than mere cuteness. But the owners will probably make you nuts -- seriously, matching shoes for a dog?! A Bark-Mitzvah?! In fact, the dogs that generally do the best are the ones whose owners remember that these are dogs. And certainly the dogs are the best reason to watch the show. Actually, they're the only reason to watch the show.
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Parents and kids say
All Reviews
There are 2 reviews.
Age 8+
Posted on 07/13/08 by Anonymous Adult contributor
Adult Reviews
There are 2 reviews.
Age 8+
Posted on 07/13/08 by Anonymous Adult contributor
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