Announcer: It's time for the ultimate
Canine competition, where america's
Furry friends are taking the game
To the next level.
- Oh, great jump.
Announcer: We've got the nation's top underdogs,
Working dogs, and police k9s, taking on extreme obstacles.
- Oh, my god! - Oh!
Announcer: With every breed imaginable,
From cattle dogs to dobermans...
[dog yipping]
Bulldogs to border collies... - Good boy.
Announcer: Will bring you even faster sprints...
- Oh! Look at that!
Announcer: Higher jumps... - Yes!
Announcer: And the biggest takedowns
In "top dog" history.
- ♪ get ready for the wild life ♪
- Oh! - Some guy in a decoy suit
Getting tackled by a flying dog.
It don't get no better than that.
[cheering]
Announcer: Tonight, only one team
Will earn the top dog title...
- Whoo!
Announcer: $10,000... - Good girl.
Announcer: 5,000 donated
To an animal charity of their choice...
- That's a good boy!
Announcer: And the chance to compete
In the grand finale, to be named...
Both: Yes!
Announcer: America's top dog.
[dog barking]
- Welcome to the show. [laughs]
I think we're gonna do that over.
- I think maybe we will. - [laughs]
Take. [chuckles]
Welcome to "america's top dog."
I'm curt menefee, and, as always,
Joined by my favorite actor, comedian, friend to all dogs,
And really, my emotional support human, david koechner.
- Curt, I'm so excited to be sitting beside you
For "america's top dog." let's get this thing going.
- Tonight, we've got five incredible dogs,
Including working dog naz,
A dutch shepherd that was re-homed three times
Before becoming an explosives detection dog.
- He's trained to detect anything that goes boom.
- Underdog asti,
A diva of a doberman pinscher,
Whose handler, April vaillancourt,
Appeared on the first season.
- Didn't get past the second round, so it was asti's turn.
- K9 rico, a belgian malinois
That started out as pen pals with his handler.
- I sent him pictures.
[laughs]
- Underdog dixie,
An american bully that went
From pound puppy to dock-diving champion.
- When the going gets rough, dixie and I fight.
- And finally,
Underdog big ben,
A german rottweiler who tried out for the show
In season one, but didn't make the cut.
Now, after some extensive training,
He's ready to show off everything he's learned.
- Ready? [dog huffs]
- The three fastest teams
Move on to the doghouse,
Where the competition really heats up.
First, though, they've gotta get through
Tonight's k9-combine. And for more on that,
We bring in our canine correspondent, rachel bonnetta.
Hi, rachel.
- Thanks, guys. Our four-legged friends
Are about to compete in the k9-combine,
Where they will run, jump, swim,
And absolutely melt our hearts.
First, teams will take on six unique obstacles,
All based on real activities
And trainings dogs experience in the real world.
They'll start by paying homae to "air bud,"
With a series of jumps in high jump,
Where each wall gets progressively higher.
Then it's off to zig zag.
The team must work together to balance their way
Across three large rocking planks.
Then it's fire escape, where intelligence and bravey
Are put to the test.
A series of buttons, levers,
And tugs require targeted commands,
All while following their handler up steep ramps
To enormous heights.
From there, it's dominoes,
Where our pups will show off their power by jumping
And knocking over giant 100-plus-pound dominoes.
Next, they'll make their way across the ever-popular
Shaky bridge, a series of gapped wooden planks
Unsteadily strung by ropes several feet above the groun.
Balance, paw coordination, and confidence are key.
- Good boy. - And finally, splashdown,
Where they sail through the air,
Gaining as must distance as caninely possible
Over the 50-foot-long pool.
Then they'll swim to the other side to pull a tug,
Stopping the clock and completing the course.
- Yes! Good boy!
- Remember, only the three fastest teams advance.
I can't wait. These dogs are bad to the bone.
I hope you are ready. Good luck.
Curt and dave, back to you.
- All right. Thanks, rachel.
Up first, we have working dog naz,
Who detects bombs for a living.
Question is, will he bomb on the course?
- I hope not.
[dramatic music]
- My name is robert taylor.
I'm from las vegas, nevada. This is my partner, naz.
How I got naz was a pretty crazy story.
He had three homes in 13 weeks
Because he was a typical puppy,
And then, on top of that, he was a dutch shepherd puppy,
So he was a handful.
I was lucky enough to come across the person
That was selling him on social media,
And I thought, "I have to have this dog."
- Oh, yeah. He's an absolute handful.
But that's--that's kind of why I love him.
Naz is a certified explosive detection dog.
We go to, typically, big events.
We're gonna be out there sweeping the events,
Making sure it's safe.
He's trained to detect anything
That pretty much goes boom.
♪ ♪
Naz is pretty much a natural athlete.
I see him jump over 6-foot fences.
Whether it's obedience, whether it's agility,
He's yet to let me down.
I think the thing that we're looking forward
To the most in the combine is the dock diving.
This guy's obsessed with the water.
Are you america's top dog, buddy?
[dog barks] yeah, yeah!
Good boy.
- What kind of dog is this? - Dutch shepherd.
- Oh, dutch shepherd.
Let's do it dutch and call this together.
- There we go. - Remember, only
The three--we're gonna do this--
- Fastest teams... - Yes.
- Will move on... - To the doghouse.
Both: And they're off.
- That's dutching it.
- Oh, my gosh, they are off
To a blistering pace here to start, naz--
- Uh-oh. - Oh.
- Get back around here, naz. - Hey.
- Good jumps. - Jumps over both ways.
- Papa goes too.
Bang, it goes down.
Now, this part of the course is known as the zig zag, cur.
- Yes it is.
- Naz is leading the way.
- And flying.
Look, no problem through the zig zag,
And now on to fire escape.
Already up to the second level.
- He wants it.
- Lots of energy. That was easy.
- Wow. - Ramp comes down,
And there they go.
Right now, they are cruising.
- Team naz is on a blaze here
In the fire escape challenge.
Put the paddle down. Down comes the ramp.
And up goes this lovely couple.
- Let's see how he does here. - Naz, right here.
Here, right here. Hey, naz.
- Aww. - Hey, right here.
- A little bit of hesitation.
Yeah. - Naz, right here.
- Come on. - Hey.
- This has been the only plae they've slowed down
On this course so far.
- Naz. - Come on, naz.
Will you give me a quick tug?
- Yes. - Yes.
- Good boy, let's go. - There we go.
- Flag goes up.
And this was a dog
That was re-homed... Both: Three times.
- It shows you what you can do with the right dog
And the right trainer put together.
- Yes. - Go, over here, naz.
- Hey, naz, come back and play dominoes with us.
- Good boy. - Ooh.
- And those dominoes go down rather quickly.
Now, over the shaky bridge. - Good boy, easy.
- No problem whatsoever.
Naz looking comfortable, as he heads to splashdown.
- Hey, over here! Over here.
- Robert says naz loves the water.
- Yes.
- Whoa! - Naz flies 11 feet across.
- Yes. - Great jump!
What a dive by naz.
- Hey. Bite that.
- Here. - Yeah, here we go.
- Gets to the finish line, and this will be--
- A great time here.
- Can they get the tug? - Yes, quick one.
- And he pulls it.
What a run by this team. - Yes, that's a good boy!
- That the fastest time we have seen all season...
- Yes, it is.
- On "top dog." - I'm out of breath.
- They breezed through the combine.
1 minute, 47 seconds.
- Wow. - What a time.
- Ho-ho-ho. - Good boy.
Yeah. - I mean, fast...
- Good job, boy.
- Is an understatement. - Yes.
- You have the fastest time... - You did good, boy!
- Of the entire season so far. - You did good.
- Congratulations. - Thank you so much.
- Go and celebrate, sir. - That's a good boy.
- You know what they say? Dogs can't tell time?
- Right. - That's a good boy.
- But something tells me naz
Knows that he did really well
On that run. - Yes, he did.
- Up next, our first underdog of the night...
- That's my girl. - With a handler that might
Look a little familiar.
April vaillancourt appeared on season one
And came up short.
But she is back now with her
Doberman pinscher, asti,
And looking for redemption.
♪ ♪
- I'm April vaillancourt.
I'm from phelan, california,
And this is my 4 1/2-year-old doberman pinscher, asti.
- And they're off.
- I was actually a competitor
On "america's top dog"
With my other dog, rogue,
And rogue did an awesome job.
We got put up against two of the top
Narcotics dogs in the country,
So didn't get past the second round.
- Looks like they'll be eliminated.
- And so I thought it was asti's turn.
Asti was actually born at my house,
And so she's an extremely special dog to me.
She's called "the crazy kangaroo,"
'cause she rarely has all four feet on the ground.
Asti is pretty much a diva.
Nobody's gonna tell her what to do.
Asti, could you focus this way?
Go.
I'm not super concerned about anything on the combin.
Get it! We went all out.
I build a rope bridge, I build tugs, I built button.
I built everything to make sure that we were ready
For anything on the course. Asti!
You get to do your fun parts. You get to go bite somebody.
What do you think? That sound fun?
Yeah?
- April, I hear that asti's
A bit of a diva.
- She's got a modeling gig coming up next week, actually.
- Boys, do you have a modeling gig next week?
I don't think so. - I'm sure dave does.
- Yeah, america knows I started as a model, in my underwear.
You'd see me on the side of buses.
I'm wearing underwear right now.
- All right. Team asti is ready to go.
- Not ashamed of it.
- Here we go.
- That one cohost is weird.
- [laughs] a little hesitation here.
- This diva is saying, "I'll jump when I'm ready."
- Good, go, hup. - There we go.
- Okay. - Good, go, hup!
- Ooh. - Yeah, here!
- Third time's the charm.
- Here we go.
Nice, solid bang.
- And they go through the zig zag,
Up and down the teeter-totte. - Good, go, go, go, go, go.
- Wow, that is real teamwork.
- Wait. - One thing about dobermans,
They're really eager to please.
They're people-oriented. I mean, she bred asti.
And so they've been together from day one.
- Excellent! Good girl!
- Aww. - Excellent.
- Very social dogs.
- There was a movie in the late '70s,
"the doberman gang." - yes, sir.
- They were trained to rob a bank.
- Go, up, up, up, up. - Oh, look at that.
- Okay, backwards is interesting.
- You don't get extra points for that, asti.
- I don't know if I've ever seen that before,
As we go into the fire escape.
- Asti. - Button, button.
Who wants a button? - Touch.
Yeah! - Good job there by asti.
- Asti did it twice. - But asti did it fast.
That's the most important thing.
Now on to the next level. - Yeah.
- Moving up that 10-foot ramp.
- To the lever. - Paws.
Good girl. Yes!
- Right away. - Hey, right away.
Very impressive.
- This female pair gets up to the top level.
- Pull. Asti, pull.
- Oh, man.
- She's on it. - Excellent.
- Right on top of it.
- Flag goes up.
The contestants go down the fire escape.
- Keep in mind, the top three fastest times
Will move on to the doghouse,
And this is gonna be a pretty good one,
Unless they have a mistake here.
- Hit it. Asti, come on.
- Whoa. All right.
- Got it. - 6, 7, and 8-foot
Dominoes go down. Average weight: 100 pounds.
Useless information.
Folks, and you're welcome, at home.
- Wait. - And no problem getting
Across the shaky bridge. Now on to splashdown.
Making great time.
They've got a good chance to beat naz.
- Ready, go!
- Well, they did. But now asti's hesitating.
Asti's got to get into the water.
- We've got a pool there.
The diva's gotta jump in it.
- Well, they won't beat naz's time,
But they still want to put up a good time
To try and make it into that top three.
- Go. - She has to swim.
- Asti, come. - The clock keeps ticking.
- Asti, will you please get in the water for us?
- Go, get your ball. - Whatever it takes.
Get in that water.
Approaching that 30-second mark,
Where April can help asti in the water.
Oh, no. She's gone.
- Uh-oh. - Which--they won't do it.
But hey, asti went to the finish line.
We have a runaway dog, ladies and gentlemen
- We got a runner. - Come here, asti, let's go.
- Now she's got to get back o the beginning of splashdown.
Well, they had a chance to beat the record,
But now they've just gotta worry
About completing the course.. - Hurry, come!
- And avoiding disqualification.
Remember, if a team doesn't complete an obstacle,
They are disqualified.
Come here, asti. Let's go!
- They were on track to beat a record.
Now they've got to worry about being disqualified
For not completing an obstacle.
- Hurry, come! - She's got to get asti
All the way back to splashdown...
- Asti, come. - And get into the water.
- Come here, asti. Let's go!
- Okay. Asti is back.
- Asti, come. Go, get your ball.
Go!
- Whoa! - There we go!
Eventually she gets in.
- Go, go, go! - So other than the mistake
Getting to the splashdown, asti had a fairly good run.
But the question now is,
What will be their finishing time?
- Pull. Come on, pull!
- There it is.
- And underdog asti finishes the course in 2:48.
- Good girl. - So, asti is in second plac,
With working dog naz still in the number one spot.
Up next, it is time to see team dixie.
This duo is no stranger
To overcoming the odds.
[upbeat music]
- My name is jillian rich.
I'm 25 years old.
And this is my american bully, dixie.
♪ ♪
When I was a kid, I wanted to be an opera singer.
And then I was diagnosed with spasmodic dysphonia.
People that have sd,
There's a lot of breaks in their voice.
I had to give up my dream of pursuing music.
It was a really, really dark time for me.
About six months after I was diagnosed,
I started fostering dixie.
Dixie was really sick when I got her.
Basically, she had a grapefruit-size mass
In her abdominal area.
And so she immediately had to have an operation.
After about a month of fostering her,
I knew that I couldn't not have her,
So I ended up adopting her.
♪ ♪
Dixie's definitely grown from being an underdog
To being an amazing dog.
Dixie is trained in dock-diving,
Agility, competitive obedience.
She's also an akc advanced trick dog.
Going into these competitions, we're often underestimated.
But when the going gets roug, dixie and I fight.
[loud barking]
- I'm always surprised when they cut to us.
- This is television. You know, right?
- I know, I'm excited. - People are watching this.
- Hi, we're on tv. - Yes, we are.
If dixie can get first place here,
They're guaranteed a spot in the doghouse.
Team dixie--they're at the starting line and ready to go.
[countdown beeping]
- Dixie, come on. - Let's keep an eye
On how they start, because jillian said
Dixie can jump about 4 feet
Over walls, and this wall is 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 feet.
- Come on, let's go. - Dixie wants to follow
Jillian around the wall. - Jump, jump!
- Now that's against the rules, right?
- Yeah, good girl! - There we go.
- Dixie, jump. - They gots to go over.
I never saw that mailbox.
- Oh, this is, uh-- - come on, dixie.
- Early struggle. - Yeah.
- No, dixie. Come here, girl.
Jump. Yeah, good girl.
- There we go. - Dixie.
- I mean, this wall--if dixie's only jumped
4 feet before... - Ready, dixie, jump.
- Parts of this wall are 4 1/2 feet,
So that's a little intimidating,
But she makes it over all three.
- Can jillian breach the--yes.
- Go, come on! - They're on the zig zag.
- Come on, dixie, let's go.
Yeah, good girl. Go, go, go!
- Let's have some fun, jillian.
- Exactly. Now they begin to make up
A little bit of time here.
- Come on, dixie. Go, go, go.
- And now it's on to fire escape.
Team naz put up a really quick time,
Which probably isn't beatable for dixie.
Now they've just gotta focus
On getting the fastest time possible,
With two teams remaining.
♪ ♪
- Dixie. Button.
Button, button. - There we go.
You could see, right away, she knew what to do.
It was just a matter of hitting the right button.
- That's right. - On up to the third level.
- Now, there's a paddle on this box they have to depres.
- Dixie, button. Button.
- Dixie goes, "nice view." - come here, dixie.
- "not interested." - come on, dixie.
- Dixie looks like she's part-cow,
'cause of the pattern of her fur.
- Yeah, this bully breed is fairly new.
Only recognized by the united kennel club in 2013.
They're kind of a mix of american pit bull terriers
And american staffordshire terriers.
- Dixie is not at all listening.
- No, not even facing the right direction right now.
[timer beeps]
And so after 30 seconds, the handle can push it down,
And jillian had to do it there.
- Let's go. - They've now passed
Naz's time, and won't automatically move on,
Which makes team naz
The first to advance to the doghouse.
- Pull.
Both: There we go.
- Good. Let's go!
- Guess we're gonna root dixie on down to the finish here.
♪ ♪
Let's see if dixie can handle the dominoes.
- Hey, come here, dixie. Hit it, hit it!
- Please touch this wall. - Come on, girl.
- Dixie. - Come on.
Dixie.
- Oh, dixie wants to wander. - Yeah.
- I think there's a rabid herd
Of squirrels out there somewhere.
- Hit it! No, dixie.
- Now, we've seen anyone not accomplish the dominoes.
- Come on, dixie. Dixie, come here.
- After 30 seconds, jillian can push it.
And it'll just fall over. There we go.
And now they have officially passed
Team asti's final time as well.
And again, all they have to o is finish in the top three,
So don't lose faith just yet. No problem here.
- Right. - Go, go, go!
- Dixie's comfortable.
- Now, I want to see this dog
Charge and dive.
- Go! - 24 feet is her record
For diving. - There we go.
- That jump was 12 feet.
- Come on! Good girl, come on!
- And a fast swimmer, she is.
- Yeah, good girl! - Will this be enough
To make up the time they lost early in the track?
- Dixie. - Final challenge is the tug.
- Get that tug, dixie. - Dixie, pull!
Both: Oh!
- There we go. - Good girl!
- All right, so a strong finish...
- Yes. - For team dixie.
- Good girl. - 3 minutes, 15 seconds.
Not a great time, but it could be good enough
To finish in the top three, and that's all they have to do.
So, naz will move on to the doghouse,
And team dixie will sit hot seat,
With two teams left to go.
Up next, k9 team rico.
This duo went from pen pals to partners.
Before casey could meet him in person,
They shared pictures and updates.
- Aww. - But I'm not quite sure
How the dog sent him pictures...
- I know. - And updates.
That's me typing with paws. - [chuckles]
- Let's hear more on how
This relationship came to be.
[dramatic music]
- My name's casey cox. I am a lieutenant
And k9 handler in prairie du chien, wisconsin.
And this is my partner, k9 rico.
Rico was born in canada.
When I went up there, the first time
He met me, we just clicked.
- Yeah. I--I sent him pictures.
That's a weird question, now that I'm saying that.
[laughs]
Up.
Yeah, good boy!
Rico does tracking.
Yeah, rico.
Criminal apprehension. He's very obedient.
Very good at bite work. Super agile.
I am a little bit worried about the dock dive.
Rico was walking on our dock.
The water was like glass.
He thought he could walk on water.
Nosedive, plummeted right in.
He hasn't really liked water ever since.
I think I'm gonna get wet, more than likely.
♪ ♪
- We'll find out if team rico can indeed get this done.
If they can beat 3 minutes, 15 seconds,
They'll take the hot seat from dixie.
But if they one-up that and beat asti's time of 2:48,
That'll guarantee them a spot in the doghouse.
All right, lieutenant cox and rico.
[countdown beeping]
♪ ♪
- Heel. Up.
- Oh! - Oh, that's a fast start.
- Up, up, up, up, up. - There's teamwork.
- It really is. They're both up and over.
- Oh! - Oh, a little tumble
For lieutenant cox. - But he's back up.
Barely loses a step.
- I fully expected the dog to knock down the gate.
- Let's go, whoo-hoo! - All right.
The zig zag. - Yeah, let's go.
- They've worked for three years together
On the force there in prairie du chien, wisconsin.
- Whoo-hoo! Let's go.
- They're a team that is in sync.
Would you agree with that statement?
- Amen to that, brother.
- Good boy, whoo-hoo. - All right.
Now, he said he was a little nervous about him
Pressing the button here. - Step.
- There we go, he got it. The nose knows, right?
- Yep. - So the ramp comes down.
Up to level three, we go.
- Rico, up, let's go.
- "where, up here?" - rico, heel.
- A little more action. - No, heel!
- Oh. - Heel!
- Went back down. - Rico went all the way
Back down to the first level.
- Oh. - Rico, heel.
- He's running round and round.
- Uh-oh. - Let's go.
- Are we gonna have another runaway dog?
Okay, he's back.
But still, he's gotta make up some time.
Now they've gotta go all the way back up
To the third level. - Step up, heel.
- And meanwhile, obviously, the clock keeps going.
I expect police k9s
To have trouble with buttons and levers,
But they normally stay by their handler's side.
Not rico!
- Heel. Step.
- All right, press the paddl. - Yes, okay.
- We do that. No problem.
- Good boy. Whoo, let's go.
- Now they're back on track.
- Up, up, up, up, yeah. Good boy, good boy.
Okay.
Okay, boy, whoo!
- Rico with no difficulty pulling the tug
And getting that flag up, which brings the ramp down.
They head back down to street level.
Now let's get to the dominoes.
Despite the detour,
Rico's still got a pretty good chance
At beating asti's time and moving on.
- Good boy, heel. Hey, heel.
♪ ♪
Step up. Yeah, good boy.
- And the dominoes go down.
- Woo-hoo. Heel, heel.
- Yes. Here we go.
- Good boy.
♪ ♪
- Across the shaky bridge. Absolutely no trouble there.
Let's see how he does with the dock diving.
Casey was worried about this one.
Rico's got a fear of water. - Heel.
Yes. Ready?
- A full stop. - Okay, let's go!
- And they do it-- both: Oh!
- I thought it was gonna be teamwork.
- Come on, ricky! Let's go, buddy!
- Instead, lieutenant cox jumped in.
- No, come!
- And rico is still on dry land.
- Come on, right here. - Wow, this is a repeat
Of asti's trouble at splashdown.
Question is, can rico recover
Quick enough to beat her time?
How do you get the dog in the water
When you're already in? - Come on, buddy.
- This is not looking good for team rico.
Maybe--maybe casey should act like he's in distress...
- Let's go, come on. - To get the dog interested.
- Let's go. [timer beeps]
- And there's the 30-second alarm.
Casey's gonna bring rico into the water himself now.
- Okay, good boy. - There we go.
- Whoo, let's go. - So now rico is in.
They will swim across... - Yeah, buddy.
- Together. - Yeah, good boy.
- Now the clock is ticking. This will be close.
- Up, up, up. Good boy.
- So now they've got a great chance.
- Okay, right here. Okay, okay!
- Can they do it? - Right here.
- Get at it. - Okay.
- Clock is still ticking. - Right here, right here.
- Oh, boy. - Right here, okay.
Right here, rico. - They passed asti's
Second-place time,
So they won't get the guaranteed doghouse spot.
- Not interested in the tug. - Okay, right here.
- All barks, no bite.
- Now, the 30-second alarm will happen
Before the elimination time
Of 3 minutes, 15 seconds.
But they still want to stop the clock
And post the best time possible here.
- Hey. - And now they're coming up
On that 30-second mark. [timer beeps]
An casey pulls the tug, stopping the clock at 3:11.
Similar issues to team asti,
But rico's issues on that final tug
Put that doghouse spot just out of reach.
Instead, they're in the hot seat, while team naz
And team asti will advance, and team dixie is eliminated.
Up next, it's matthew white and his rottweiler, big ben.
When matthew applied for season one of "top dog,"
They actually didn't make the cut.
- Aww. - This is a tough competition.
- Tough. We take the best of the best.
- Absolutely, so, they took it as a challenge.
They worked even harder for over a year,
And now it's big ben's chance
To prove he belongs
On the big stage.
[dramatic music]
- My name is matthew white. I'm from glendora, california.
And this is big ben. He's a german rottweiler.
Sit. Down.
♪ ♪
I was in the united states marine corps for five years.
I did two combat tours to iraq.
♪ ♪
After I got out of the military,
I started working as an explosive detection
K9 handler, and I opened up my own business,
A-z k9 training and boarding.
I have three kids, ages eight,
Six, and four, and I have seven dogs.
And there's also dogs that I board here.
So there's never less than 10 or 15 dogs here
At my house at all times.
When I started out doing all this stuff with a rottweiler,
I've been told rottweilers are too heavy for that.
They're not good for scent detection,
They're not this, so I just said, "okay,
"well, I'm gonna do all the sports
"and pile on everything, and we'll show you
That a rottweiler can do all those things."
We've put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into this,
So we're gonna make it count.
Ready? [dog huffs]
You ready for "top dog"?
♪ ♪
- So, the time to beat for big ben
Is team rico's time of 3:11. If they can beat that,
They will move on to the doghouse.
If not, team rico will be advancing.
Team big ben is ready to run.
[timer beeping]
95 pounds of rottweiler.
Can he make it over this jump?
- There we go. - Yeah, up on top and over.
Now he got it. Oh, look at him go!
- Marine with the takedown.
Big ben.
[cheering]
- We talked about big ben being 95 pounds.
Matthew said when he got him,
He thought he was gonna be 120,
Which is why he named him... Both: Big ben.
- Instead of just ben.
[cheering]
So, they make it through the zig zag with no problem.
Up next is the fire escape.
- All right, let's get up that 10-foot ramp.
Yes, 10 feet.
- Ben, come on.
- Hey, big ben taking a shortcut,
Going up the side.
- Doing a lumber there.
[cheering]
Button, button.
- Got it. - There we go.
Accidental button touch.
- Now up to level three and the lever.
- Matthew's a big, long, tall drink of water.
He's gotta lower his head getting up these ramps.
- Whatever they're doing is working so far.
- Oh!
♪ ♪
- Big ben forgot he needs to go with him.
- Please cooperate, ben.
- Ben. - Come on, ben.
- Ben, come on.
- Big ben's distracted.
- Ben. - But we just saw police
K9 rico wander all the way down the ramp,
So they're still very much alive.
♪ ♪
- There we go. - Yeah.
Oh, he went right to that tug.
- Good tug. Nice.
- Starting to make up some time here.
They were. - Come on.
- He wants to play with that tug.
- Ben, come. - Toys are fun, right?
- Leave it. - It's not playtime.
We're in a competition!
♪ ♪
- Big ben wearing that tug like a necklace.
- I've not seen this in the competition yet.
- So, matthew goes down first.
Big ben follows him.
- Up next, the dominoes.
- This should be no problem.
Big boy knocks them down.
Starting to pick up the pace here.
[cheering]
- Shaky bridge.
- Big ben seems comfortable on the shaky bridge.
This run is very similar to team rico's at this point.
But remember, rico lost a lot of time at the splashdown.
Now, the moment of truth.
- Get in that water, ben.
- There we go. - Oh!
♪ ♪
- Now he's got a chance. - Come on, come on.
- Oh, he's got a great chance.
He's got just under 30 seconds here
To beat team rico's time of 3:11.
- Get it, get it. Get it.
- Bite it! - Get the tug, and he does.
This dog will definitely make it into the doghouse.
2 minutes, 50 seconds.
- I like it. - Unfortunately,
That means team rico is eliminated.
So our final round will be underdog team asti,
Underdog team big ben,
And working dog team naz
Facing off in the doghouse.
It's full of huge obstacles,
Spider webs, and even a scent room.
- I wish I had a scent room in my house.
Yeah, and always have some nice meatloaf,
Maybe some barbecue ribs.
That house would smell-- - that's called a kitchen,
Normally, in most people's house.
Yes. - [laughs]
- Before we go, let's check in
With a previous "top dog" competitor.
- Hi, I'm sergeant jauernik with the onslow
County sheriff's office. This is k9 bonito.
We were on season one rapping with the short cops
And the big dogs.
- Just oozing confidence out there.
- I think with us being on the show,
It just made a better bond between the two of us.
We have had an extremely successful narcotic unit.
When I came on the show,
I said that we had a record-breaking year.
We broke that record this year.
We get recognized.
People will approach me and say,
"are you bonito's mom?
He was good on that show."
[laughs]
Now dave, we are down to the doghouse.
We saw everybody run through the k9-combine,
And we have moved on to the final three.
With more on tonight's doghouse,
Here's our canine correspondent, rachel.
- Rrrachel. - Thanks, guys.
We are about to see these three teams
Lay it all on the line.
This is the doghouse.
First, in a game of trust,
Our teams will transform into super dogs,
As they rappel 20 feet down
To the doghouse to door breach,
Where the handler will use a battering ram
To knock down the front door.
Then it's the game room,
For the ultimate test in detection.
The dogs will sniff out two scented items.
Tonight, they'll be looking for the coffee maker
On the brown wooden shelf
And the blue globe on the side table.
From there, it is off to divide & conquer,
Where the dog goes up the spiral staircase
And the handler goes up the ladder.
Separation is not often trained for,
So this presents a unique
And surprisingly difficult test of obedience.
Then, on to a portion of the course
Riddled with obstructions: The low crawl,
Followed by the tangled mess
That is spider web,
Designed to slow down the nimblest of teams.
They'll finish the course with everyone's favorite
Test of athleticism and obedience: The takedown.
They'll chase down the top dog decoy.
Once the dog is recalled to the finish mat,
The time stops.
- That's a good boy! - The team
Who completes doghouse in the fastest time
Will be tonight's top dog.
They will win $10,000, an additional $5,000
To the animal charity of their choice,
And they will be back to compete for the title
Of america's top dog
And the grand prize of $20,000.
Whoo!
- Are you ready?
- First up is April vaillancourt,
The returning trainer from our first season.
Let's check out underdog team asti.
[upbeat music]
- Last year, when I had rogue...
- And here they go.
- She found her first three items
Faster than the other dog did.
- She's on track with our two leaders.
- But she just didn't quite get the fourth item in time.
- This proves to be their achilles heel.
- So now I've actually had a chance
To do the course with asti.
She has a fabulous nose.
I'm very impressed with her nose work.
Get it, get it, get it! Yeah, good girl.
In the doghouse, that's where we get to do our bite work.
So that's pretty much my only concern,
Is whether she's gonna turn on for the decoy or not.
Everything else, she should be great on.
♪ ♪
- All right, enough talking from us.
- I secretly like to think
That they tune in just to watch us.
- That's the second reason. - Oh.
- All right. Ready?
- And here goes team asti.
[dramatic music]
- Easy, stay. Yes.
- Backward and down the side.
What an interesting way for April and asti to go off.
- Uh-huh. - Excellent, good job, girlie.
Excellent job.
Good girl.
- That's kind of a spider-man move.
That kind of crawl down the wall there.
- Good girl. Yeah.
- Good encouragement from April, though,
To keep asti calm.
- Stay with me. Here.
Asti, come! Asti, come.
- Asti's ready to go.
[laughter]
- And asti's gone. - Good night!
- Asti, come! - Oh, boy.
- Asti escapes again. - Heel, asti, come!
- Kind of the theme of the night, isn't it?
- Come. - We got a runner.
- She comes back. - Stay with me, uh-uh.
Stay with me. No.
- Well, there's almost 20 seconds lost
Right off the bat.
- Easy. Here.
Come, asti! Asti, come.
- There she goes again. - Mind of her own.
Asti's here to play. - Come here!
- Oh, boy.
- Want to show off that speed, maybe.
- Wait.
Wait. Come here.
- Go ahead and breach, will you?
- Here. - Okay.
Now, once we get inside the door,
Hopefully she's back and focused.
- Now it's called the game room,
And the game is, curt--
- To find two scents. - Okay.
So, they're looking for an espresso maker
On the wooden shelf, and...
- The globe. - The globe on the side tabl.
- Where is it? Asti, come here.
You gotta focus. Hey, hey, focus.
Easy. Search.
- And we'll look for an alert here from the doberman,
To let the handler know, "hey, I found something."
- Asti, come!
- And she takes off for a third time.
- Sometimes we see this happn when dogs get distracted
By all the other things we have on the set.
- Come here. - Crew, cameras, squirrels.
- Wait. - Asti is a free-range dog.
Let's just say it that way. - [laughs]
[timer beeps]
- They spent over 30 seconds in the game room,
So they tell her right there,
- Yes. - One under the coffee maker.
One scent.
Asti's escapades have eaten p a lot of clock here.
We'll have to see if this underdog team
Can find the next item.
- Here, no. - You never know.
It's the first dog to run.
- Yeah, just gotta be faster than the other two.
- Yes. Excellent, good girl.
- There we go. So we've got the two scents.
- And now it's divide & conquer.
Now, we've already seen divide & conquer with these two.
- The divide part is not hard.
- Up, up. Go, go, go, go, go.
- Good job, but... - Nope.
- Of course, nope, she wants to come back down
And be with April. - Go.
Go, go, go, go! Asti!
Oh, my-- - we feel you, April.
- Earlier, she said the dog has a mind of its own.
- Yeah, well, she was right.
- Yes. - Wait.
- Okay, so asti makes it up top.
Waits for April. - Wait there.
- We've half-conquered this. All right.
- Good girl. - Okay, now it should be
A direct sprint to the finish from here.
- Get up. Go, go, go, go.
- I see no problem with the low crawl.
- Right?
- Asti's like, "I know how to do this."
- We've got the web.
- Spider web. - 1,000 feet of web.
- Good girl.
- All right. Through the door.
- Wait. - Get back down
The stairs, to the street.
- Easy. - Now, will asti
Take--do the takedown, or just do some more playtime?
- Hey! - Get him, go!
Get it! - The decoy is off.
- Get it! - Asti's sprinting.
- Get it, asti! - Oh, missed the target.
♪ ♪
- Get it! - There we go.
Gotta hold on for three seconds.
They do.
And now it's back
To the finish circle. - Asti, come!
- And that will do it.
4 minutes, 37 seconds for asti,
The adventurous doberman pinscher.
- I'm surprised it's only 4:37. - It felt longer?
- Yes. - Is that what you're saying?
It did for April too, trust me.
Underdog team big ben and working dog team naz.
They will each take their shot
Now, we've already seen team asti run the doghouse.
- Asti, come. - 4 minutes, 37 seconds
At that time in the doghouse when we return.
Is their official time. - Mostly run.
- Yeah, mostly--more running
Than doing the doghouse.
Up next, though, is team big ben.
Before they enter the doghouse, let's hear
How this underdog team that didn't make the cut
In season one plans to prove their worth.
♪ ♪
- Big ben is a heck of an athlete.
One of his best features is going the bite work.
Good boy!
He'll bite anything you put in front of him.
He bites hard, and he bites fast.
You name it, he can do it.
Good boy. [dog barks]
Good boy, that's a good boy.
- Team big ben needs to beat 4:37.
That's the official time if they want to take the lea.
- On your bark, get pet, go!
- So, being a retired military police officer,
You gotta think that matthews probably rappelled
Down a wall or two in his life.
- You know it. - Gravity works.
- Yes, it does. - They get down pretty quickly.
- All right. - 4 minutes, 37 seconds
Is the time that they are chasing.
Big ben's the seventh-fastest rottweiler in the country.
- Wow, I'm looking forward to the breach.
- He probably does well with that too, yes.
- Oh, he does. - Search.
- What's big ben's scent tonight?
- Big ben's scent is birch.
- Birch! All right, tree lover.
- Looking underneath the coffee pot and the globe.
Those are the two places the scents are hidden.
You know what rottweilers are famous for?
- What's that? - These are your kind of dog.
Drooling and flatulence. - Thank you.
I'll take that as a compliment.
- Okay, they get the first one.
- Under the coffee pot.
The espresso pot.
- Well ahead of the pace we saw set by team asti.
- Search. - It's funny, because April
Did make the cut in season one,
And big ben didn't.
Think he's got something to prove here?
[cheering]
- Search.
- And there, underneath the globe...
- There's the globe. - They find the second.
It is time to move on to divide & conquer.
- Down. Stay.
- Now, look at this. Sit.
- A sit and stay, they call it, right?
- Yes. So matthew will go to the top
And then call big ben up. Smart.
- Okay. Come on, up.
- I like this move. - Yes, good dog.
- What a good boy. - So it ensures that he
Doesn't go up and come back down.
They don't waste time. They're making good time.
Well under two minutes here,
As they go through the low crawl.
- Couple big fellas through the low crawl.
Now, big fellas got to get through the spider web.
How many feet here?
- 1,000 feet of bungee cord. - 1,000 feet of bunge.
Don't get caught up, big fella.
Good stumble.
- That big body having a little bit of trouble
Getting through there. Oh, they got that door
Open quickly.
They know what they're doing.
They make it down the stairs.
And now it's time to chase the decoy.
♪ ♪
- [laughs]
Oh, matthew. Tripping over big ben.
♪ ♪
Oh! - Oh, just missed it.
Missed again.
Got it. All right.
So he bites on to the decoy.
Holds on for three seconds. - Ben, hey, me!
- Back to the finish line,
And what a time. - Nice.
- 2 minutes, 36 seconds is their time,
More than two minutes faster than team asti.
So team asti is eliminated, and team big ben
Is one run away from being tonight's top dog.
- Good boy. - All right.
It's time for our last run of the night.
But first, let's see if bomb-sniffing working dog duo
Team naz has any doubts about their skills
As they head into the doghouse.
- Let's do, for funsies.
[upbeat music]
- The cool thing about naz's
Personality--dutch shepherds,
They're 100 miles an hour.
But luckily for me, he's got a pretty good off switch.
Good, that's a good boy. Yes.
Which is great for having a dog
That does the type of work that he does.
At the end of the day, I'm not worried about it whatsoever.
He's gonna kill it.
Are you america's top dog, buddy?
Are you america's top dog?
[dog barks] yeah, yeah!
Good boy.
- Team naz is just about ready
To see if they can beat team big ben's time
Of 2 minutes, 36 seconds,
In our final run of the night.
- Back for some show.
- We're back, and it's time for the final run of the night.
Right now, team big ben has the fastest time
Through the doghouse.
That time is 2 minutes, 36 seconds.
- Good time. - So we'll find out
If working dog team naz
Can beat that time and win the title
Of tonight's top dog.
- Tonight's top dog title, $10,000,
And infinite bragging rights on the line.
- Good boy.
- They are ready. They are set.
- What happens next? - Why don't we all--go.
- Go, go, go, go, dog.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
Dog's like, "hey, man, we don't fly.
Hey, dude. Bro."
- Robert's got a firm grip on him.
They're going down together. Just calming him down.
- Relax.
- That's where the partnership comes in.
- It sure does. Remind me of the breed.
- The breed is a dutch shepherd.
- A dutch shep. - Ready?
- Explosive detection team will try to beat the time
Of 2 minutes, 36 seconds,
And win the title of tonight's top dog.
- All right. Dog is on course.
First time we've seen that tonight.
They're ready to breach the door here.
- Looks like they've done this before.
Naz and robert into the game room.
Looking for those two scents.
- Naz, right here. Hey.
- And what's our scent?
- One is underneath the globe.
The other is underneath the coffee pot.
- No, I meant the scent. - Oh, the scent, I'm sorry.
- Yes. - Black powder.
- That looks like an alert from naz,
But it's incorrect.
Took a very deliberate look at those shelves.
♪ ♪
So, after 30 seconds,
A light will come on, clueing them in as to
Where one of the scents are. There's one scent.
- Hey. Come here.
- Good dog.
- See if they can find the second.
- Yes, quickly. It's a globe.
Correct? - Yes, it is.
- We see the globe in our-- - right there, on the table.
You would think being an explosives detection dog,
Scenting would be one of its strengths.
But you have to remember, working dogs aren't used
To scenting under a time constraint,
So sometimes, the nerves can get to them.
He got it.
- I thought so too. I thought it'd be right away.
I thought it'd be very quick. - Naz.
- Okay, so they move on to divide & conquer.
Correct? - Up, up, up, up, up.
- Correct. Under two minutes right now.
Keep in mind, 2:36 is the tie they have to beat,
So they got to start hustling here.
- They certainly are on pace.
- Up here. Naz, over here.
- Low crawl time. - Good.
- Quick, now, all right. - Platz.
- And he sits, stays, and so they won't lose any more tim.
- 1,000 feet of bungee.
- This working dog team, much faster here
In the second half of the course.
Now just a few seconds behind big ben.
♪ ♪
- Naz is waiting. Get over there, naz.
- Let's see how quickly robet can open the door.
Time becoming an issue.
- Open, all right. - Down the stairs.
- Let's get that decoy. - Get that decoy.
Seconds left.
Team big ben sitting and watching,
Hoping that they will wind up the victors tonight.
♪ ♪
Here's naz, with once chance to take the victory away.
They bite, but not enough tie left to beat big ben.
- Naz, here!
Yes, good boy! - They get back quickly,
But not soon enough.
They miss it by seconds.
2 minutes, 40 seconds.
And so, team big ben is tonight's top dog.
So the big boys with the big win.
- Yep, he's got $10,000.
- You are tonight's top dog.
- Thank you. - How you feeling?
- I feel great. - Wow.
$10,000.
What are you gonna do with it?
- Probably train more dogs. - Train more dogs.
I love it, maybe this guy gets some treats?
- Yeah. - Okay, amazing.
Now you have to chance to come back and compete
For $20,000
And the title of america's top dog.
You got a little bit of time.
What are you gonna do until then?
- Probably gonna rest a little bit,
And then we're gonna train some more.
- Well, congratulations. - Thank you.
- We're so excited to watch you come back.
And good boy, ben. A good boy, mr. Big ben.
He has no idea what's going on. He just won $10,000.
- Team big ben, the official winner of tonight's top dog.
That'll do it for us tonight, however.
Thank you for joining us. For rachel bonnetta,
My man david koechner, I'm curt menefee.
We'll see you next time on "america's top dog."
- Stay. Stay, sit.
♪ ♪
[arf]