| Genre: | Reality Dog show[1] |
| Director: | Alex Van Wagner |
| Presenter: | David Koechner Curt Menefee |
| Starring: | Rachel Bonnetta |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 3 |
| Num Episodes: | 27 |
| Executive Producer: | Dan Cesareo Lucilla D’Agostino Jordana Starr Holly Wofford Elaine Frontain Bryant Shelly Tatro Sean Gottlieb Brad Holcman |
| Location: | Santa Clarita (Season 1) Simi Valley (Season 2 & 3) |
| Cinematography: | Marc Carter |
| Company: | Big Fish Entertainment |
| Network: | A&E |
| Related: | Live PD |
America's Top Dog is a television series that premiered on A&E in January 2020.[2] The show is hosted by actor David Koechner and sportscaster Curt Menefee, while Rachel Bonnetta serves as the sideline reporter for the show.[3] The first season was filmed at Sable Ranch in Santa Clarita.[4] The second and third seasons were filmed back-to-back in Simi Valley.[5]
In the show, five dogs and their handlers—usually four police K-9 teams and one civilian team—compete in a three-phase competition. The first phase, the Canine Combine, is an obstacle course that includes the car slalom (where the dogs jump in and out of cars), the fire escape (where the dogs pull down the doors to get to the next level), the high jump (where the dogs jump over walls, or in some cases, crawl under them), the rope bridge (where the dogs run across an unstable rope bridge), and the splashdown (where the dogs swim across a small pool to the finish). The fastest four dogs through the Combine advance to the next phase. The next phase is the Boneyard, a scent detection test, where the dogs try to find as many scented objects as possible (out of five), and alert their handlers to the find, in a maze of rooms in five minutes or less. For each dog's run, the scent used is whatever the dog is most familiar with. The two dogs that find the most objects (or that find them the fastest, in case of a tie) advance to the final phase. In the last phase, the Doghouse, the dogs and handlers make their way through a "house," including knocking down the door, climbing through the window into a spider-web of bungees, low-crawling, climbing boxes, running through a duct-work tunnel, breaching two doors (with the dog pulling the door open), and finally apprehending a "suspect," including taking him down and then releasing on command and returning to the handler. The dog that completes the phase the fastest wins the title of "America's Top Dog," $10,000, an additional $5,000 donated to the animal charity of their choice, and the opportunity to compete in the grand finale, which has a $25,000 prize.
Season Two features a new format, with dogs facing against each other in head-to-head matches across classes of working dogs, police K-9 dogs and "underdogs". The winners of the three classes then face off against each other, with the final winner receiving a $10,000 cash prize and a choice to donate $5,000 to an animal charity of their choice. The final contest features winners of the previous weeks going head-to-head for a cash prize of $25,000.[6]
| Episode Number | Episode Name | Air Date | Dog Name | Handler Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raising the Woof | January 8, 2020 | Falco (winner) | Dave Cochran |
| Dax | John Forlenza | |||
| Maker | John Kuendig | |||
| Duco | Nathaniel Anderson | |||
| Maverick | Casey Skelton | |||
| 2 | The Fast and the Furriest | January 15, 2020 | Bear (winner) | Dan Rhoades |
| Kato | Charles Duvall | |||
| Bonito | Dawn Jauernik | |||
| Rocko | Stan Smith II | |||
| Duke | Ed Soares | |||
| 3 | Small Dog, Big Bite | January 22, 2020 | Minion (winner) | Amanda Caldron |
| Murphy | Patrick Newbill | |||
| Blitz | Randy Stein | |||
| Skoot | Alexander Lindsay | |||
| Demi | Jared Backey | |||
| 4 | Double Down on the Underdog | January 29, 2020 | Mattis (winner) | Mark Tappan |
| Fuze | Sarah Cole | |||
| Riddick | Amy Leishman | |||
| Wolverine | Otto Sturm | |||
| Moto | Jill Viggiani | |||
| 5 | Young Dog, Old Tricks | February 5, 2020 | Django (winner) | Heather Vanhemmert |
| Rico | Tim Bradley | |||
| Capo | Juan Rivera III | |||
| Leonittis | Alex Chavarin | |||
| Tango | Jordan Jones | |||
| 6 | Country Boys and Rescue Dogs | February 12, 2020 | Eddy (winner) | Todd Thompson |
| Cam | Justin Wilmot | |||
| Kuma | Michael Victorino | |||
| Jago | Mark Grube | |||
| Scrappy | Kristi Kummer | |||
| 7 | Are You Not Entertained? | February 19, 2020 | Bowie (winner) | Bob Schwarting |
| Pele | T.J. San Miguel | |||
| Crixus | John Shahor | |||
| Tater | Chuck Mehr | |||
| Bala | Daniel Salander | |||
| 8 | The Battle of the Garden State | February 26, 2020 | Kai (winner) | Mike McMahon |
| Hunter (Top Overall Boneyard Time) | Stan Balmer | |||
| Rogue | April Vaillancourt | |||
| Blizzard | Aaron Peterman | |||
| Mesa | Joseph Benke | |||
| 9 | Young Pups and Silver Foxes | March 4, 2020 | Bane (winner) | Jesse Matthews |
| Kobe | Candice Snyder | |||
| Kyra | Brian de los Santos | |||
| Macie | Megan Devoe | |||
| Bullet | Lance Montee | |||
| 10 | Gaga for Doggles | March 11, 2020 | Rony (winner) | Brad Larsen |
| Simon | Michael Garber | |||
| Casus Belli | Todd Mona | |||
| Bruce | Sandy Reeves | |||
| Garry | Aaron Steere | |||
| 11 | It Ain't Over Until There's a Top Dog | March 18, 2020 | Kai (winner) | Mike McMahon |
| Mattis | Mark Tappan | |||
| Rony | Brad Larsen | |||
| Eddy | Todd Thompson | |||
| Django | Heather Vanhemmert | |||
| Falco | Dave Cochran | |||
| Minion | Amanda Caldron |
| Episode Number | Episode Name | Air Date | Dog Name | Handler Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Premiere Pooches | June 29, 2021 | Theo (winner) | Dayna Winter-Nolte |
| Krueger | Shea-La Gatz | |||
| Scar | Chris Don | |||
| Vader | Edgar Valencia | |||
| Monkey | Omar von Muller | |||
| Sue | Sara Chisnell | |||
| 2 | Cute But Means Business | June 29, 2021 | Chase (winner) | Mike Elezovic |
| Saint | Aolanis Fonseca | |||
| Frank | Alexa White | |||
| Rex | Chad Miller | |||
| Emit | Dana Rochat | |||
| Envy | Patricia Howell | |||
| 3 | Pulling A Fast One | July 6, 2021 | Capone (winner) | Danny Casson |
| Rebel | Andrea Fergerson | |||
| Mac | Allison Bilinski | |||
| Quelle | Madison Sperry | |||
| Creasy | Gary Pigott | |||
| Magnus Ares | Sinead Mbaro | |||
| 4 | Beauty, Brains, and Bark | July 13, 2021 | Chase (winner) | Joey Burns |
| Varro | Lisa Berry | |||
| Murph | Chrissy Garzon | |||
| Bonny | Kristine Hunter | |||
| Envy | Sophia Kalfayan | |||
| Kane | Whitney Ostrom | |||
| 5 | Tricks, Trials, and Takedowns | July 20, 2021 | Greymane (winner) | Cheyanne Green |
| Knots | Andrea Reid | |||
| Mattis | Adam Laprade | |||
| Banner | Gary Herrero | |||
| Niko | Allison Case | |||
| Riot | Lauren Cabanaw | |||
| 6 | The Tall, the Brave, and the Engaged | July 27, 2021 | Chewy (winner) | Rachel Clark |
| Mina | Otto Sturm | |||
| JJ | Kristi Kummer | |||
| Puma | Ben Gatton | |||
| Mogan | Joseph Garcia | |||
| Demo | Chris Collier | |||
| 7 | The Comeback Dogs | August 3, 2021 | Creasy (winner) | Gary Pigott |
| Saint | Aolanis Fonseca | |||
| JJ | Kristi Kummer | |||
| Niko | Allison Case | |||
| Krueger | Shea-La Gatz | |||
| Kane | Whitney Ostrom | |||
| 8 | Title Match to Top Them All | August 3, 2021 | Chase (winner) | Joey Burns |
| Chase | Mike Elezovic | |||
| Chewy | Rachel Clark | |||
| Greymane | Cheyanne Green | |||
| Capone | Danny Casson | |||
| Creasy | Gary Pigott | |||
| Theo | Dayna Winter-Nolte |
| No. | Title | Original air date[7] | Rating (18-49) | Viewers (millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Raising the Woof" | 0.3[8] | 1.18 | ||
| 2 | "The Fast and the Furriest" | 0.3[9] | 1.16 | ||
| 3 | "Small Dog, Big Bite" | 0.3[10] | 0.86 | ||
| 4 | "Double Down on the Underdog" | 0.2[11] | 0.87 | ||
| 5 | "Young Dog, Old Tricks" | 0.2[12] | 0.87 | ||
| 6 | "Country Boys and Rescue Dogs" | 0.2[13] | 0.63 | ||
| 7 | "Are You Not Entertained?" | 0.2[14] | 0.62 | ||
| 8 | "The Battle of the Garden State" | 0.2[15] | 0.63 | ||
| 9 | "Young Pups and Silver Foxes" | 0.2[16] | 0.68 | ||
| 10 | "Gaga for Doggles" | 0.2[17] | 0.57 | ||
| 11 | "It Ain't Over Until There's a Top Dog" | 0.3[18] | 0.84 |
| No. | Title | Original air date | Rating (18-49) | Viewers (millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Premiere Pooches" | 0.1[19] | 0.39 | ||
| 2 | "Hometown Favorites" | 0.1 | 0.41 | ||
| 3 | "Pulling a Fast One" | 0.1[20] | 0.36 | ||
| 4 | "Beauty, Brains and Bark" | — | — | ||
| 5 | "Tricks, Trials and Takedowns" | 0.1[21] | 0.31 | ||
| 6 | "The Tall, the Brave and the Engaged" | 0.1[22] | 0.36 | ||
| 7 | "The Comeback Dogs" | 0.1[23] | 0.30 | ||
| 8 | "Title Match to Top Them All" | 0.1 | 0.27 |
| No. | Title | Original air date | Rating (18-49) | Viewers (millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "New Season, New Dogs" | 0.0[24] | 0.20 | ||
| 2 | "Can't Keep a Good Dog Down" | 0.1 | 0.24 | ||
| 3 | "Off Course Canines" | 0.0 | 0.21 | ||
| 4 | "Super Dogs" | — | — | ||
| 5 | "Super Mutts and Super Sniffers" | 0.0[25] | 0.19 | ||
| 6 | "Pound Pups to Top Dogs" | — | — | ||
| 7 | "Redemption on the Line" | — | — | ||
| 8 | "One Top Dog Left Standing" | — | — |
The German TV channel RTL acquired rights from A&E for remaking the show into a six-episode series titled Top Dog Germany (German: Der Beste Hund Deutschlands).[26] It premiered on July 23, 2021.[27]