OkcPets Magazine March 2021

34 OKC Pets • March/April 2021 Meet the Host and Judges It was just two months before the show was scheduled to shoot, and the judges had not been selected. Since I had won a dog training reality show and hosted another one for Animal Planet, I had my fingers crossed that my name would be thrown in the hat. Sure enough, it was.  When I received the call to be the expert judge, I was so pumped! Nobody knew the course like I did, which would make sense because I designed it! Joining me on-screen would be the famous Kym Whitley as the host. She is an American comedian and actress best known for her roles on television sitcoms, such as “Animal Practice,” “The Boondocks,” “Young & Hungry” and “The Parkers.” Crystal Powell was hired as the style judge and is best known for her roles in “Kevin Hart Presents: Hart of the City” and “America’s Got Talent.” As Whitley navigates the competition for viewers at home, Powell will be handing out points for style and owner/dog connection. Since I am the only trainer on the judges panel, I will be looking for technical difficulties and how they navigate the course with their best friends.  Format “The Dog Games” consists of three rounds of competition with one contestant being eliminat- ed after each round. The first round simulates the game of HORSE, like in basketball. The first contestant chooses a trick or cue from the list they were provided and performs it for the judges. Then the next competitor must do the same trick suc- cessfully or receive a letter in the word HORSE. The first contestant to collect all five letters will be eliminated.  Round two is an obstacle course but with a twist. Each element will have a special distrac- tion to add to the difficulty of the agility course. The contestants start out sending their dogs through a raised tunnel that finishes with a swimming pool of plastic balls. Another obstacle is a giant tube with tennis balls and bacon hanging down nose-level for added distraction. The highlight of the course is the final challenge, where a balance beam is set up crossing a closed off area filled with puppies, also known as Puppy Pond. If that isn’t the ultimate distraction, I don’t know what is!  Round three will leave us with two dog/ owner teams remaining. In this round, they will perform a showstopper routine highlighting all the tricks and flips they have up their sleeve to impress the judging panel. The winner will take home $5,000 to a chari- ty of their choice.  And the Winner Is… You will have to watch to find out! You can stream “The Puppy Bowl Presents: The Dog Games” on Discovery+. Discovery+ includes content from every media property under the Discovery umbrella, which includes: HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Animal Planet, OWN, Discovery, Discovery+ Originals, Investigation Discovery, Magnolia Network, A&E, Lifetime, History, Trvl, DIY Network, Science Channel and The Dodo. Behind the scenes