Episode 11 Sport Relief's Top Dog

72 dogs,

24 celebrity team captains...

..and one big tournament to find...

..Sport Relief's Top Dog.

On tonight's show...

TV presenter Louise Minchin and her Labrador Holly

are joined by Matt Dixon,

a fire investigation dog handler from the West Midlands,

with his working fire investigation dog Peppa.

And Christina Burdett, an administrator from Stockport,

and her pet Border collie Flyte.

They're taking on...

TV presenter Martin Roberts and his golden retriever Mylo

are teaming up with Sally Mowbray,

an administrator from Henley-on-Thames,

and her working search and rescue springer spaniel, Poppy.

And Sam Innes,

an activity coordinator from Scotland

with his pet Border collie, Kai.

It's time for our two teams to go head-to-head.

It's Sport Relief's Top Dog.

CHEERING

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Gaby Roslin.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Good evening and welcome to another week of Sport Relief's Top Dog,

the show where the dogs take the lead.

There are approximately eight million dogs in this country

and tonight, we've brought six very special dogs all here

in aid of Sport Relief.

Tonight, our four-legged heroes will be serving up some tennis,

enjoying a silver service

and playing amateur detective.

Two teams are led by a celebrity captain

to compete against each other in three thrilling games.

And, as ever, the show will come to a frenzied conclusion

as the dogs go wet nose to wagging tail

in The Bark Off, our finale game.

The race is on, the pressure is mounting,

let's meet our first team.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

So for Team Louise, we have Captain Louise.

-Hello, Louise.

-Hello.

-Lovely to see you at this time of day.

-Thank you very much.

-It's nice actually.

-I always wake up with you!

Now...in the nicest possible way! Now, introduce us to Holly

-cos Holly's a little bit of a surprise to us.

-She is.

Holly is in fact my niece's dog cos my lovely dog, Waffle,

who is a golden Labrador,

came into season two days ago.

I've known Holly since she was ten weeks old.

She's absolutely lovely.

She's very affectionate, quite obedient.

My children have done some dog training with her

but I've not.

Oh, well, your perfect show, then!

-Welcome, Team Captain Louise and Holly.

-Thank you very much.

APPLAUSE

-Hello, Matt.

-Hello.

-Now, Peppa does an incredible job.

Peppa's a fire investigation dog

and we use her to search for traces of flammable liquid

and ultimately help us find the arsonist.

She's a little bit of a Scooby-Doo character but great fun.

-May I ask you something really ridiculous?

-You can.

Do pointers really point?

She only does it sporadically, now.

But she does still point sometimes, yeah, which is...

It's always a nice photo opportunity.

Well, if we get one of those this evening, it'll be magnificent.

-Let's hear it for Peppa!

-APPLAUSE

-Hello, Christina.

-Hello.

-Now, tell us about Flyte.

Flyte is a blue and white Border collie.

You don't see a lot of them in the UK.

She does a few activities, flyball agility, swimming...

which is her favourite sport and she loves that.

But you actually work her as well, don't you?

Yeah, she does a bit of sheep work

and then obviously all the sports, as well.

She's going to be doing something very special this evening, as well.

Let's hear it for Flyte and Team Louise!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-So Team Martin... Of course Captain Martin.

-Hey!

-Hi, Gaby.

-And look at this magnificent dog.

This is Mylo the wonder dog.

He is a seven-year-old golden retriever,

one of two dogs, golden retrievers, that I've got.

The other one's called Bagel.

So we had a real issue deciding who would actually be here today.

Now, is this true, that Mylo sings?

-You're putting him on the spot?!

-Yeah.

-Are you going to sing?

Are you going to sing?

-No! Oh, well.

-Obviously not!

Let's hear it for the non-singing Mylo!

LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE

-Hello, Sally.

-Hi.

-Now, this is Poppy.

-Yes.

And tell us about Poppy because again,

she does an incredible job, don't you, Poppy?

Poppy's a six-year-old English springer spaniel

and she's trained to look for missing people.

We do search and rescue.

So how do you train a dog to do that for lowland rescue?

I just train to do general human scent.

So we're in country environments, in the woods or fields,

where there's not going to be many people at 3am.

And they just have to go and find a human being.

Completely overwhelmed by the work that these amazing dogs do.

Thank you very much. Let's hear it for Poppy.

APPLAUSE

-Hello, Sam.

-Hello.

-Now, introduce me to your lovely dog.

-This is Kai.

Kai is a four-year-old male Blue Merle Border collie.

Born in North Wales and raised in bonny Scotland.

-I couldn't tell by your accent, couldn't tell(!)

-No, no(!)

Now, this dog sort of, you know, gets the ladies, doesn't he?

What does he do? Walk around with a rose in his mouth and sing?

-It's the wiggle in the bum.

-OK.

And then he says, "Well, let me see YOU wiggle."

And then they'll just wiggle.

-And they wiggle, just like that?

-Yes.

Well, you're a very lovely dog. Let's hear it for Team Martin!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-BARKING AND WHINING

-Our six hounds, as you can hear, are ready for action.

So let's get straight on with our first game which, as usual,

takes place in the pool.

Each team has chosen their players.

Team Louise decided to put forward Christina and Flyte

and celebrity team captain Martin is with his dog Mylo.

Let's get down to business and play New Balls Please.

-APPLAUSE

-In this game, they throw, or should I say serve,

a tennis ball into the pool, beyond the 3m service line.

Their dog must then swim out

to collect the ball and bring it back.

And then their handler can put it into the basket.

Keep it going till the time's up.

The dog that returns the most balls wins the game.

Now, we flipped a coin to see who's going first.

-So Martin and Mylo, good luck.

-OK. Thank you!

Off you go to get ready.

As usual, our water experts are standing by in the pool.

Give us a wave, Dave!

CHEERING

-Give it some welly, Ellie.

-CHEERING

OK, we all wish Martin and Mylo the very best of luck.

-You ready?

-Yes.

On your barks, get set, go.

All Top Dog events

have been designed to suit each of our furry friends

and first up is Mylo.

But he's not so sure he wants to get his feet wet.

That's it, go on! Good boy!

Mylo's second time around and looking determined.

-Oh, get both of them!

-He's a bit greedy,

-he's going for two balls!

-That's it.

Mylo, forget about the second ball. Come on.

Now, the reason there are two balls in the pool

is because Mylo really didn't fancy jumping in, first time.

Here we go!

Golden retrievers are very successful

in a dog water event called dock jumping,

and Mylo, on this performance,

looks like he should sign up tomorrow.

Mylo's a big dog

and this could count against him when trying to retrieve this ball.

And on that jump, you can see he likes to keep his head dry.

-That's it, brilliant!

-You've got 15 seconds.

Martin serves up a fourth ball

but can this golden retriever go for gold and get back in time?

-You've got ten seconds!

-Oh, come on!

-Come on, come on, come on!

-Oh, can he do it?

-Mylo really looks like he doesn't want to let Martin down.

-Three, two,

-one.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-BUZZER BEEPS

-Oh, no, that's not going to count.

You've got to give it that one!

-It wasn't in the basket and I'm very strict!

-Ah!

-LAUGHTER

-It's over, Mylo.

Mylo, it's finished.

Mylo loved this event so much he wanted to go in for more.

-You were really good.

-You've got to give him that fourth ball.

I'm so sorry. I'm very bossy. It didn't reach the basket.

No, only three balls but it was very good - three balls.

-Rub up against her back legs.

-Many congratulations.

OK, let's see how Flyte now does.

-Are you ready?

-Yeah.

-OK.

-On your barks...

-Ready, ready, ready!

-..get set, go.

Go!

Now, in this event,

it's the most balls retrieved in the time allocated that wins.

Now, Flyte comes from a family of flyball competitive Border collies

so it's in her blood to compete.

And as a reminder, flyball is a sport for dogs.

Ready, ready, go!

This time, Flyte goes into full flight to get this ball back.

Yeah, good girl! Get it, get it,! Come on, come on!

Yes, good girl!

Ready, ready, ready...

Go, go!

Again, Flyte hits the dizzy heights as she glides through the air.

Yeah, good girl! Come on, come on, come on, come on!

It's really important that Flyte can keep this momentum up

so they can win.

Ready, ready, ready, go!

Now, if this Border collie sneaks this one in,

she'll be bordering on victory.

-15 seconds.

-Come on!

Come on, come on. Come on, come on! Good girl!

Not content with what she has,

it's time for one last splash in the pool, I think.

Flyte, come on! Come on, come on, Flyte!

Come on, Flyte!

-BUZZER BEEPS

-Oh, good girl!

Yes, Flyte, in this event, really lived up to her name.

Well done! That was really good.

OK, the results are in.

Now, Martin, well, don't look at me like that!

-You had three balls.

-Three and three quarters.

And Christina... No, three!

Christina, you and Flyte managed four balls!

-CHEERING

-Many congratulations.

Which means that Team Louise have won the first round.

CHEERING

Off you go now and get yourselves dried off.

Now, I don't know about you but after all that excitement,

I need something to calm me down.

Something slow, subtle and that always makes me smile.

You know what it is -

Mylo and Flyte doing the wet dog shaggy shake.

-CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-Now, we love dogs on this show

so we've recruited five highly-qualified experts

to take care of them.

Reena Patel is our resident vet

and senior clinician at her local practice.

Roy Dyer is our canine consultant.

He's been training dogs for over 50 years.

Kristina Glover is a veterinary-approved

pet behaviour counsellor.

David Pugh trains dogs to swim and save lives.

And alongside him is his apprentice, Ellie Bedford.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Now, let's move straight on to our second round.

Celebrity team captain Louise and her dog Holly

are competing against Sam and Kai.

This game is a real test of the bond between dog and handler.

Here we have a lazy Susan

and we're going to spin it round

so a series of red and blue bowls

pass in front of the dogs' delicate noses.

Each bowl contains sausages but the owners must ensure

their dogs only eat the sausage from the red bowls.

The dog must resist the blue bowl for five seconds.

It's one point for each bowl correctly avoided

or correctly eaten.

The team with the highest score at the end of the round wins.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the clash of the cloches

as we play Take It Or Leave It.

On your barks, get set, go.

Now, in this round, our canine amigos will score points

if they eat from the red bowl and resist the blue.

It's important the handlers can help the dogs tell the difference.

-Oh, Holly, no, no!

-Oh, and it's nose first into the bowl.

No points scored.

Holly's a last-minute substitute for Louise's own dog

so it's probably why this challenge is proving difficult.

-Well done, good girl.

-She scores from a red bowl.

Oh, my God. Holly, here.

Oh, no, Holly, look at this.

-Oh, it's blue.

-Holly...oh!

LAUGHTER

-Good girl.

-Louise tries to fend Holly off.

Nothing's holding this dog from its food.

-Look at her tail!

-Again, another blue bowl.

Ah, it's red!

It's meant to be in front of her for five seconds!

But she still gets points for the red bowls.

Well done. There's none left, Holly.

Holly's apparently scared of vacuum cleaners

but here she's hoovered up everything in sight.

Holly couldn't resist temptation

but you did manage three points.

Well done!

OK, here we go, on your barks, get set, go.

Good boy.

Good boy. Don't touch.

No, naughty sweeties.

And with a blue bowl first, he shows firm resistance and scores a point.

Kai! Good boy.

Now, some say that dogs are colour-blind

and there is some truth in this

because they don't see red and blue as we do.

But dogs have two different colour receptors in their eyes

and CAN tell the difference between the two colours.

So it's important the handlers identify to them

which is the colour to avoid and which one to go for.

Blue bowl revealed, Kai's resistance will be key to winning.

Sit.

-PING!

-Good boy!

Border collies are very good dogs to train

and Kai is a great example of this.

-Naughty sweeties!

-Now, either Kai is a picky eater or the blue bowl,

-to him, is just a dog's dinner.

-Good boy.

-PING!

-Good boy!

-Well done.

-Good boy, well done!

Well done! Super boy.

What is this?

And finally, a treat from the red bowl. Perhaps a dessert!

Ready, get it! Good boy!

Yes! Get it! Get it, get it, get it!

-Point scored.

-Well done. Super lad.

Kai in this round has shown he can skip a snack

and cements his place at the head of the table.

-BARKING

-Now, as you may remember... Yes, I know,

-you want to know how many points you got.

-Yeah.

Six points! Well done!

-CHEERING

-Good boy, well done.

All of which means that at the end of our second round,

both teams are level with one game each.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Now, all of tonight's contestants

are here to support a really great cause.

The best way to fundraise is by getting sponsored

to enter an event at the Sport Relief Games.

But there are all sorts of ways

you and your dog can make a difference.

The first ever Sport Relief Games

take place from Friday the 21st to Sunday the 23rd of March.

The best way to join the fun and games

is to sign up to run, cycle or swim.

-ALL:

-We're the Sport Relief mountaineers!

But there are lots of other ways you can take part

and raise money for Sport Relief

along with your faithful friend.

How about charging a fee

for colleagues to bring their pooches to work?

Or you could ask for donations in exchange for walking people's dogs.

For more ideas, and to get your own fundraising kit, visit...

Please do get involved.

There are projects funded by Sport Relief all over the world

trying to change lives for the better.

Right, now its time to play our third game,

which demonstrates a canine's remarkable sense of smell

and clever skills of detection.

Playing for Team Louise we have Matt and Peppa

and for Team Martin we have Sally and Poppy.

So onto the rules.

Lurking somewhere in the garden are four balls

that the dogs must dig out just by tracking the scent.

The dog that finds all four balls in the fastest time

will be the winner.

So now, let's play Sherlock Bones!

OK, Peppa is standing by.

On your barks, get set, go!

In this event they need to sniff out the ball amongst the leaves

as quickly as possible.

Oh, no! Peppa seems to be leaving her own scent.

Hopefully, this isn't sabotage.

OK. Toilet break out of the way.

-Back on the job and she retrieves her first ball.

-Next one!

Peppa is a fire dog and she's been scent trained since 11 months.

She's now five years old. This should be a walk in the park.

That's her second ball.

APPLAUSE

This hound needs her investigation skills in full swing

if she's to get more balls to win.

She's cheering her on.

In amongst the flowers and a well-trained nose

finds another ball.

-Good girl!

-One more ball to find.

This pet detective is making Sherlock Holmes

look like an amateur.

INDISTINCT

Find, Peppa.

It's her final ball to find. Where else would it be?

-Good girl!

-There it is. Dead on centre.

-Well done!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Peppa celebrates in style.

Great detective work from our investigative fire dog.

APPLAUSE

Congratulations, Team Louise.

Your time was one minute 49 seconds.

Congratulations.

OK. Poppy, you know what you have to beat.

Your team are cheering you on already.

On your barks, get set, go.

Go on, find it. Quick, find it.

Find it. Where is it? Find it.

Like Peppa, Poppy is scent trained and is a search and rescue dog.

Where is it? Find it.

Bring it here.

She's using her skills to full effect as she finds her first ball.

This is looking a very good match-up so far.

Unlike humans, where we mostly use our eyes to make our way through

everyday life, a dog mostly uses her nose.

Yes. Find it. Find it. Find it.

Poppy seems to be on the case. She finds her next ball.

They reckon that dogs can identify smells somewhere between

1,000 to 10,000 times better than us nasally-challenged humans.

Find it. Where is it? Find it.

Good girl!

Poppy keeps popping up with all the right answers

as she sniffs that ball out.

She can't smell anything there so moves to the other corner.

Can she find the lat ball?

-Yep.

-Good girl. Well done.

Poppy has revealed she's a match for Peppa

when it comes to detective work.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Well... Now remember Peppa got one minute 49 seconds.

-But she did have to go to the loo, though.

-It doesn't matter.

It was one minute 49.

Would you like to know your time?

No, not really.

-One minute...

-Yes.

..40..

It's got to beat it then.

..seven.

CHEERING

One minute 47.

The winner is Team Martin. Team Martin is now ahead 2-1.

That 2-1 lead will earn them a time advantage in the final.

It's showtime, people. It's time to play The Bark Off.

CHEERING

As you know by now, in front of our teams

are some classic British landmarks.

Each team must make their way from Land's End to John O'Groats.

This is a relay race.

The course will be completed one dog at a time.

If an obstacle is refused or incorrectly cleared,

they'll hear this sound...

KLAXON REVERBERATES

They will only get two attempts at each obstacle.

They cannot move on until they hear this sound...

BELL RINGS

The team that completes the course in the fastest time

will take overall victory and be in with a chance of going through

to the grand final.

Team Martin are in the lead, which means that Team Louise

have the pressure of going first

and because they're lagging behind,

they'll be starting their run with 15 seconds added to the clock.

It's time now to play The Bark Off.

Here we go. On your barks, get set, go.

It's the quickest team around the course that wins the show.

Walk on. Walk on.

Flyte gets off to a flying start over Tower Bridge,

galloping through Barking.

-On to Swindon's Magic Roundabout.

-Wait.

Wait. Wait.

BELL RINGS

Amazing composure. Over Sherwood Forest.

This dog shows a few of her moves and spins at the end of

-the longest railway station name in the UK.

-Flyte! Walk on!

Flyte using her air miles over Mount Snowdon.

Weave.

Wow! Look at that! Beautifully done.

And no delays as she weaves through the weave.

-Wait. Wait. Wait.

-On her alternative mode of transport

across the Mersey, Flyte waiting to disembark.

FLYTE BARKS

And jumps over Hadrian's Wall to the finish.

Next up, our short-haired pointer, Peppa.

Peppa. Up.

It's a good thing it's London Bridge that burnt down

and not Tower or Peppa the fire dog may have had to stick around.

On to Magic Roundabout.

TICKING

BELL RINGS

Just look at her! She's springing around with enthusiasm.

Over the Giant's Causeway. Beautifully done!

There she goes, boarding the ferry across the Mersey.

# So ferry... #

-Some sturdy sea legs there.

-Lovely view.

Always a better view standing.

Come on! Up!

Makes easy work of Hadrian's Wall and gives Team Louise

a fantastic advantage.

CHEERING

If you remember, Holly isn't Louise's dog.

She is her niece's. If she can get Holly all the way round,

it'll be an amazing performance.

Brilliant dog! Brilliant dog! Here you go. Go and get it.

Holly is on her way down to the tube.

Oh, no! Looks like she's larking through Barking.

Good girl!

There's no time to miss the tube in this game.

-Good girl.

-Louise is a Breakfast News journalist

and she wants to make sure Holly doesn't put her on the front page

for all the wrong reasons.

-In, in, in.

-Apparently, Holly loves swimming.

Let's hope she doesn't get confused

and decide to take a dip in the Mersey.

Good girl. You're a brilliant Labrador. Stay. Oh, no!

KLAXON REVERBERATES

No, the temptation was too strong.

Finally calming down. Holly showing her amazing temperament,

focusing on Louise.

Sit, sit, sit, sit, sit...

She's nearly made it. Oh, no. She's out.

BELL RINGS

Move on.

Louise takes a lead, through example.

It's a strong finish.

Nearly.

Come back!

BUZZER

Team Louise getting great headlines with that fast performance.

APPLAUSE

Congratulations, Team Louise.

You did magnificently well.

You did that in a really, truly, very good time

of three minutes 37 seconds.

Is that good?

Very good indeed.

Team Martin, you know what you have to beat.

I wish you the very best of luck.

On your barks, get set, go.

Kye is very well trained. A lot expected of this dog.

-Steady. Wait. Steady.

-He's trying to get ahead of Sam at Tower Bridge.

-Steady.

-We're going underground.

Tunnel.

Kye, come.

On to Magic Roundabout. Border collies are known

for their intense look.

You can really see that there.

Move on now to jog.

Wait. Wait. Over.

Kye doesn't take the easy option over Sherwood Forest.

A good competition dog will always challenge itself.

-Come, Kye. Weave.

-Kye is weaving but Team Martin are losing time here.

Good boy.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

He's got his ticket for the ferry. Waiting for his owner.

Wait.

# So ferry... #

He decides not ready to leave just yet.

He's not sure about this one, is he?

OK, he's changed his mind.

Ready to move on to land.

APPLAUSE

We're losing time over these jumps.

Ready. Ready.

Over. Through.

Swiftly through John O'Groats and over to Poppy.

Sally's dog is a search and rescue dog.

Let's hope she can rescue some back for Team Martin.

She's not sloppy, our Poppy.

BELL RINGS

-Move on to the jump.

-Takes on lower trees of Sherwood.

Tunnel.

-And following Sally through the tunnel.

-Walk on.

And then a leisurely scale over Mount Snowdon.

Weave, weave, weave, weave, weave!

Look how seamlessly she weaves in and out.

You can see why this pair have 45 competitive rosettes between them.

And we're through to the finish.

Time for Martin and Mylo.

They're easily through Land's End.

-And speeding over Tower Bridge.

-Through here!

It doesn't look like Mylo's one for travelling on the tube.

CROWD: Mylo! Mylo!

The crowd are really getting behind him, though.

Good boy! This way! Mylo! Here! That's it!

Thankfully, he wasn't stuck in between stations for too long.

Through the tunnel together.

It's not only Mylo with energy. Martin's energy really helping them

get round this course.

Mylo is struggling to keep up with him!

-Mylo, come here! In here.

-You can help Mylo in.

Stay there! Stay there!

It's another dog that doesn't want to board.

Go, go, go!

Stay there. Stay there.

# So ferry... #

Mylo's having none of it. They'll have to move on.

-Over Hadrian's Wall.

-Here!

-He's going to have a second go at that one.

-Through here!

Martin gets Mylo through to the end.

KLAXON REVERBERATES

APPLAUSE

I can really see the affection between these two.

Whoa!

Have Team Martin done enough to take the honours

of Top Dog?

OK. If you remember, the time to beat was three minutes 37 seconds.

Would you like to know your time?

Four minutes and three seconds. But well done.

A very good try.

Which means huge congratulations to Team Louise.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Your dogs each get a dog toy as well.

Well done! Well done! Thank you.

But was it fast enough to qualify for the semifinals?

Only the top four winning times of the series

will make it through.

You time of three minutes 37 seconds

puts you in third position on the leaderboard,

which means you have a guaranteed through to the semifinals.

Congratulations!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

If you want to take part in all the Sport Relief fun,

please sign up for an event near you.

You can find all the details, fund-raising ideas

and sport relief treats at:

Thanks to all our dogs and owners for taking part.

Thank you for watching. We'll see you tomorrow. Good night!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE