Kenji, The Sweetest "American Dog"

She Got Booted Of The Show, But Her Owner Has Nothing But Praise

(CBS)  For the past couple of weeks the fur has been flying on CBS' new reality show, "The Greatest American Dog."

The dogs and their owners all live together and are competing for $250,000.

Thursday night Elan Hagens and her giant schnauzer Kenji, were the second team to be kicked off the show.

"I love the show and the concept of it," Hagens told Early Show co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez. "Ideally it's supposed to be judged on the relationship between owner and dog."

Despite the loss, Hagen is still very proud of Kenji.

"Just because your dog doesn't know the best tricks does not mean you don't have a good relationship with your animal," she said. "No matter what, we have the most awesome relationship and everybody out there knows she is the sweetest dog in America."

Thursday night, Kenji had to sit still in a restaurant with her favorite food around her and she blew it. The judges said Hagens was too harsh with her.

Hagens doesn't think so.

"First of all, I was not harsh. My dog is not ten years old and not a Frisbee performing dog," she said. "She's 13 months old. She did awesome for her age and I couldn't be any happier with her performance."

[rushman71]

Kenji? They misspelled it. It''s BENJI, you durn fool!!! Get it right!!! LOL

[ocdogs1]

Kenji was my favorite contestant. I admire the owner''s ability to handle a fun-loving, intelligent
and sometimes stubborn breed. Their dance showed the
dog and owner were totally in tune with one another. One could see the love between them. Kenji and her owner got a bad rap from the pompous, conceited dog trainer "for the Stars"!!!!!! Why not help Kenji and her owner, instead of belaboring one point of criticism?
The dog that should have been dismissed is the Jack
Russell Terrrier because it bit the Bulldog in the eye. There is nothing obedient about a dog biting another dog. Dogs who exhibit aggressive behavior are dismissed from the show ring. The owner of the Jack Russell, further, never apologized to the Bulldog''s owner.
I believe the dog owner complaints about fellow contestants are responsible for having the first two
dogs eliminated. A comment like "I''m worried Kenji will distract our dogs" is not in the spirit of dog obedience competition. It should be about how well the dog and owner relate to one another and react as a team, when encountering difficult or new situations.
Take care Kenji!!!!!