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Series / That's My Dog!

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Game Show that ran from 1991-1995 on The Family Channel, in which two families and their dogs competed in dog-oriented challenges in a quest to earn prizes for themselves and a year's supply of dog food for their pets. Competitions varied between head-to-head races against the clock and turn-based challenges.

Each episode featured the Mixed-Up Maze, where dogs had to navigate a labyrinth riddled with giant dog food traps, water bowls, toys and other distractions, and ended with the Doggie Decathlon, a standard canine agility course that served as the show's Eliminator.

The show was hosted by Steve Skrovan for the first two seasons, with Wil Shriner taking over for the last two.


Game Show Tropes in use include:

  • Personnel:
    • Game Show Host: Steve Skrovan, then Wil Shriner.
    • Lovely Assistant: Roxie Stice and then Susan Pari for the Skrovan version; none for the Shiner run except for a bull mastiff named Tiny toward the end of the series.
    • The Announcer: Dean Miuccio for the majority of the run, with Gene Wood listed for a couple of early episodes.
  • Covered in Gunge: Very rarely, although there was one challenge that involved the dogs fetching bones attached to ropes connected to containers over a poncho-clad human teammate's head. The goal was to release the container with dog biscuits. A second container held small stuffed dogs, while a third held a small amount of gunge. On one occasion, the host released it onto the contestant's head after the challenge for laughs.
  • Golden Snitch: The primary example would be the Doggy Decathlon, which could be worth up to 100 points to each team (for most of the run, it was 7 obstacles for 10 points each, with a 30-point bonus for completing all of them). Additionally, in the final season, where the fourth round was a sports themed challenge, any game which allowed unlimited scoring (most notably Hound Hurdles) could easily become this.
  • Product Placement: Iams dog food and then Kibbles 'n Bits, both as a prize and as an obstacle in the Mixed-Up Maze.
  • Retired Game Show Element: The Talent Showcase, in which each dog performed a talent in front of three judges, was axed for the last season and replaced with the Doggy Bowl, a sports-themed challenge.
  • Rules Spiel: Before each of the mainstay challenges.

Other tropes in use include:

  • Early-Installment Weirdness: The earliest episodes featured “Have a Ball” as the permanent round 2 game (the dog had 30 seconds to fetch and return up to 6 balls at 5 points each), there was a “Canine Quiz” round (6 dog-related trivia questions on the buzzers at 5 points each), and the Doggy Decathlon was 8 obstacles (with a 20-point bonus for full completion).
  • Hold Up Your Score: Played straight with the Talent Showcase, which was scored with three judges holding cards numbered 1 to 10; while the very vast majority of judges gave honest assessments, one of the judges on one episode was a small child who ended up giving one of the dogs a 1.
  • The Maze: The titular "Mixed-Up Maze".
  • Non-Indicative Name: The Doggy Decathlon consisted of 7 obstacles for the majority of the show’s run. Averted in the final season, where there were indeed 10 obstacles.
  • Obstacle Exposition: Done before the Doggy Decathlon, the final obstacle of which was always for the dog to jump through the big "O" in the That's My Dog! sign.
  • Timed Mission: The majority of the challenges, whether done head to head or by taking turns. Typically, the opening event was played in 60 seconds, the second and fourth rounds in 30 seconds, and the maze gave 45 seconds (60 in the last season).
    • For the last season, the Doggy Decathlon was extended from 60 seconds to 100 seconds; however, a savvy observer will notice the clock jump from 41 to 39 under the revamped format (which also increased the length to 10 obstacles, with no perfection bonuses).
  • Transatlantic Equivalent: The programme originated in the United Kingdom, where it was perhaps the best-known series produced by former ITV company TSW.

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