Most Anticipated Sports Event … For Dog Lovers

Somehow we lucked into seeing this big sports event a few years ago, and it just happened to be the first year ever for the Puppy Bowl. Every year while the pro football Super Bowl is going on, the Animal Planet broadcasts the Puppy Bowl. Even though you would think you could only watch just a few minutes of it, for some reason it’s impossible to not watch the entire thing.

For those that are uninitiated in the annual Puppy Bowl, there is a large play area that is fenced in and decorated like a football field. The puppies are led into the area/field going down ramps that they can’t climb back up to escape. They’re introduced to us like “players,” with their age and breed. The “goals” are glass water bowls at either end of the field. They have little cameras installed in the bottom of the water bowls, so when the dogs go there for a drink, you can see them drinking from the bottom up … until they knock all the water out. Eventually a poodle, lab, or other water dog, splashes all the water out of the bowl, and they need to wait for it to be refilled.

Of course, there is a ref and penalties. When the puppies go to the bathroom, any kind, the ref comes out and blows his whistle, announcing a penalty. He then comes out with paper towels and a spray and cleans it up. If the puppies start fighting too aggressively with each other, he’ll stop that as well, and try to redirect them to the chew toys that are out. There is always one puppy or a pair if they’re siblings, who seem to be the major troublemakers.

Starting last year, there was even a tailgating party going on. There were several dogs sitting in lawn chairs in another room, watching play by plays and grilling out Sausages and drinking bottled water. Watch out for some of them; they seem to get very upset by some of the game plays! Our feline lovers aren’t left out, as there is even a kitten half-time show. The field is cleared during half-time and a condominium-looking scratching post is brought out. Kittens climb and play all over the scratching post, and while they’re absolutely adorable, you just can’t wait to get back to the puppies.

The best part of all is the more serious part of the whole thing. The puppies featured here are from shelters. Information is always available on how to get the puppies you see on the show, or others, from area shelters or rescue organizations. Click here to see the starting lineup, which includes Border Collie Mixes, Jack Russell Terriers, Golden Retrievers, and more!

Even if you’re normally a football watcher and into watching the big game, if you are at all an animal lover, you have to turn the on for just a little bit. It’s one of those things that’s hard to watch without a smile on your face. For a show that is consistently the most watched cable show aired at the same time of the Super Bowl, those 6 million people watching can’t be wrong.