Episode 7 Sport Relief's Top Dog

72 dogs,

24 celebrity team captains.

And one big tournament to find

Sport Relief's Top Dog.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

On tonight's show...

..TV presenter Jenni Falconer

and her puggle, Alfie

are joined by

Jay Elcock, a dog trainer from Buckinghamshire,

and Cedar, a flat-coated retriever

working as a hearing demo dog,

and Andrew Dicker, another dog trainer from Coventry

with his pet Border collie, Tag.

They're taking on...

OJ Borg, a radio and TV presenter

and his Jack Russell cross, Lebowski,

are joined by Sue Dudley,

an ex-Navy lieutenant from Worcestershire

and Pippin, a collie cross

working as a pets-as-therapy dog.

And Claire-Louise Denier, a hair salon owner from Kent

with her pet Labrador, Indy.

So it's Team Jenni

versus Team OJ.

It's Sports Relief's Top Dog.

APPLAUSE

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Gaby Roslin!

Hello and welcome to Sport Relief's Top Dog,

the show for all the family, except cats and postmen.

Over the next 30 minutes, our four-legged friends will be

taking a splash, crawling through tyres

and preparing for the Great Escape, all in aid of Sport Relief.

At the end of the show, the fate of our two teams will be decided

in the ultimate cross-country race as they compete in the Bark-Off.

The question is, will tonight's winners be fast enough to

qualify for the final?

Only one team will be crowned

Sport Relief's Top Dog.

So let's cut to the chase and meet tonight's first team.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

So we can now meet team captain at Team Jenni,

that'll be captain...Jenni!

Hello, and who is this, please?

This is Alfie, Alfie Muggle, the puggle.

A pug is a pug and a...?

A pug and a Beagle. It's like one of those new cross-breeds.

Is it true that this gorgeous little Alfie

-ate a whole chicken?

-He did.

The thing is with Alfie,

he will do anything for food.

In particular, chicken.

Alfie, the very best of luck to you,

my love.

Let's hear it for Jenni and Alfie!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Hello, Jay.

Introduce us to your very clever dog.

This is Cedar.

Cedar is a demonstration dog

for the charity Hearing Dogs for Deaf People.

We tour the country

showing people the work that hearing dogs do,

which is to alert their deaf owners

to really important sounds in the home like smoke alarms,

the alarm clock in the morning,

and they also go out and about in public

wearing a coat which is really recognisable

which helps deaf people be a lot more confident

and independent and able to go out and enjoy themselves

in the hearing world much easier.

Wonderful, wonderful job that you do

-and you're very gentle and sweet.

-You're welcome.

Thank you.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-Hello, Andrew.

-Hello, Gabby.

-This is Tag.

-He's my little superhero.

Tell us about Tag.

Tag is ten, a Border collie,

he is a pet first and foremost,

he does agility,

he is my soul mate,

he picked me out the litter.

He's just my best friend.

AUDIENCE: Aw!

People get really emotional about their dogs -

it's happened to you as well.

-I'm terrible.

-Welcome to the show.

Very best of luck to team Jenni!

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Team captain is OJ for Team OJ!

-Hello.

-Welcome to the show.

Please introduce us to your lovely dog.

This is Lebowski. He is my best friend, my confidant,

my business partner.

-What is he?

-Part Jack Russell,

part Coton de Tulear...

Coton de Tulear?

That is, apparently, a Madagascan palace dog.

Oh, very smart.

Which looks like a bichon frise. Sit!

Well-trained(!) Yes, I can see.

There you go.

-You have got a little trick...

-This is the only trick. Respect!

Yeah, there you go.

Oh, it's so lovely!

OJ and Lebowski!

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

-Hello, Sue.

-Hello.

Could you please introduce us to your lovely dog?

This is Pippin. She's a therapy dog,

so she goes to care homes for the elderly

and for dementia sufferers.

It's the highlight of the week for some of them.

Am I right in thinking this is your very first dog?

She is, yes.

What made you suddenly decide to go for a dog?

We'd always wanted one. The circumstances weren't right.

Then we found her at the local rescue home.

They think she had been thrown out of a car when she was a puppy.

Oh, no!

Don't, I can't bear how people can do that.

What a gentle little soul.

Thank you very much, Sue and Pippin!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Claire... Hello, Indy.

Look at this. Tell us about Indy.

She's a Labrador and she is 20 months old.

She is fun to be around.

She likes to steal socks.

She doesn't like going out in the rain.

Do you have a little dog umbrella?

No, she'll hold and hold and hold until she's desperate

to go out and then she will go in the rain.

Claire and Indy, let's hear it for Team OJ!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

So the dogs are ready and the tails are wagging.

Let's get on with our first game.

Team OJ have put forward Claire and Indy

and Team Jenni have put forward Jay and Cedar,

so now it's time to play Pawprint Sprint.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

This game is against the clock.

Ellie will throw the ball past the marker.

The handler must encourage their dog to swim

as fast as possible to retrieve it.

The time will stop when the handler has the ball back in their hand.

They each have three attempts and the fastest time wins.

We flipped a coin to see who's going first

so as Claire and Indy go off to get ready,

I wish you the very best of luck...

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Hello to our canine water experts,

David and Ellie, standing by in the pool.

Give us a wave, Dave!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Give it some welly, Ellie!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

So this is it - the competition starts right here,

right now.

-Good luck, Claire and Indy - are you ready to go?

-Yep.

-On your barks...

-Ready.

-Get set.

-Ready.

-Go!

Go on, Indy, good girl!

Go, go, go, go, good girl!

So all our canine chums have been chosen to take part

in the challenges most suited to them.

Indy is a Labrador,

Known for being good retrieving dogs and great swimmers,

so she should be pretty good at this challenge.

With the ball back in Claire's hands,

it's time to shake that coat to get streamlined

for another quick time.

Indy takes a second dunk in the pool

and kicks those Labrador legs.

Claire describes Indy as a bit of a show off

and on this showing she is living up to that reputation.

APPLAUSE

Yes, good girl!

Go, go, go!

This is Indy's final ball to retrieve and with that jump

she's making sure she is top dog in this pool.

Come on, girl. Yes!

BLEEPER SOUNDS

A speedy showcase from Indy. You can tell

how much she loved it in the pool.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

That was really good.

-Indy was fast, do you want to know the time?

-Yes, please.

17.2 seconds

-was the fastest run.

-Excellent.

So now you know what you have to beat.

Are you ready up there?

-Ready.

-On your barks,

get set...go!

Cedar is another retriever -

in fact, a flat-coated retriever,

so this could be a good match-up.

In fact, flat-coats tend to be the lighter of the retrievers.

Remember, Cedar is against the clock

and it's Jay's role to encourage Cedar to retrieve the balls

in lightning-quick time.

Apparently, once she brought back a mobile phone

she'd found a field

which Jay managed to reunite with her owner,

so fetching a ball should be a piece of cake.

Last throw of the dice

and Cedar's eagerly anticipating.

She's like a rocket with her take-offs.

That went all the way. Good girl!

One last big lunge to get her nose in front

and there's not a dry spot in the studio.

BLEEPER SOUNDS

So has Cedar lived up to the challenge

laid down by Indy?

If she hasn't, she definitely went paw-to-paw.

If you remember, you had 17.2 seconds.

-Would you like to know your team time?

-Yes, please.

13.4 seconds!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

That means that Team Jenni are the winners!

Many, many congratulations.

We couldn't do the ultimate dog show without making time for a dog's greatest trick.

Yes, it's slow-mo, it's close-up,

it's Indy and Cedar doing

the Wet Dog Shaggy Shake.

MUSIC: "Shake Your Groove Thing" by Peaches & Herb

AUDIENCE CLAPS

To ensure the dogs are well looked after,

we brought along five canine experts

at the top of their profession.

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

Time now for our two team captains to battle it out

in our second round.

Now, we're nice people on this show,

we don't make our celebrities jump through hoops.

No, we make them crawl through tyres.

Each player and their dog will have to jump through

as many tyres as possible before they run out of time.

Each time the celebrity crawls through a tyre,

they'll receive one point,

plus an extra two points if they can make their dog follow suit.

However, going through the same tyre twice in a row will not count

and means nul points.

Time for them to take their positions - let's play Dog Tired.

OK, you're both ready. On your barks, get set, go.

This round should be a good match.

We've got two small dogs so they should easily

jump through those tyres.

As you can see with Alfie, when there's food involved,

his team alliances go out of the window.

You're stealing my dog, OJ.

That is probably the Beagle in Alfie taking over

because they are so easily won over by strangers.

Don't forget, it's the team that goes through the most tyres

in the time limit that wins.

He's forgetting they haven't actually jumped through.

Lebowski is not going through that tyre that easily.

Alfie, Lebowski!

Just watching you do it!

OJ is having to tirelessly take the lead

if he wants Lebowski to have a chance.

While, on the other end, Jenni and Alfie

puddle through the rubber tyre river.

I'm exhausted!

Time's ticking down. OJ and Lebowski have a lot to do here.

BLEEPER

Now, Lebowski has been lifted through.

That is going to count against him.

So, with all that dog swapping going on,

who is the winner of Dog Tired?

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Well done all four of you,

but I'm afraid that last point didn't count

because you lifted Lebowski.

He said, "Daddy, I can't get through, help me."

That's great you helped him, but you don't get the two points.

But I can reveal now that Team Jenni

scored...

48 points!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

That's a huge amount, well done!

And Team OJ scored...

20 points!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

It's still good.

That was Daddy's fault.

So at the end of our second game,

it's two-nil to Team Jenni!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

While we catch our breath it's worth remembering why we are all here tonight.

The cash you give to Sport Relief

can really help change lives

And there are many projects which need your support.

Here's what happened when Kirstie Allsopp

went to Tanzania last year.

There are very few job opportunities

in some parts of Tanzania,

particularly for women.

More and more women are having to find ways of generating income

to support their families.

Money raised is supporting a fantastic project

called the Tanzanian Gatsby Trust

that is providing education and mentoring

That really does make a difference.

Queen, at the age of 59,

runs a batik industry.

She received vital training that not only enabled her to send her children

to school, but also allows her

to use her new-found business acumen

to train young people so they have a chance at a better future.

SHE LAUGHS

Yes, it's beautiful, it's your passion.

you've got two employees,

you will have two more in five years,

you have made it into a business.

Queen has taken a tiny amount

of training

and run with it.

It's a real example of where a very small amount of help

has enormous ramifications.

Please do text if you can.

The money you give really can make a difference.

Now it's time for the next challenge,

which requires a good nose and a fast set of legs.

Playing for Team OJ we have Sue and Pippin and for Team Jenni,

Andrew and Tag.

Right, onto the rules.

Our celebrity team captain will be

padlocked inside this cage.

There are four sets of keys attached to a ball just like this one,

hidden beneath these four mounds of leaves.

To free their celebrity, the dogs need to retrieve

one key at a time

and then return the key to the handler

Who will pass it on to the celebrity

to try and unlock themselves.

The winners will be the fastest team to free

their celebrity.

Let's get ready for Leaf It Out.

So Jenni has been locked up

and we can't get her out

until you get the keys. Andrew, are you ready?

On your barks, get set, go!

Andrew says that Tag

will retrieve almost anything,

so I think Jenni's in good hands here.

Find it. Tag, come!

Tag sniffed that out sharpish.

Well done, Tag, thank you.

First lock out of the way, Tag wastes no time - he's off to find the next.

Remember they must find all four keys.

Border collies are apparently capable

of comprehending over 1,000 words

and in this round Tag needs to respond well

to Andrew's commands to go to the right mound.

It's then Tag's job to rummage through the leaves

and get the key and ball back to the cell.

Good boy! Find it? Good boy!

Good lad, come on!

It needs to be done in record, prison-breaking time

and he's back to unlock his team leader.

Good boy, there we go.

Yeah! Good boy!

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

So Tag sniffed his way to unlocking a good time.

Tag, well done. Your time was one minute and 44 seconds.

Congratulations to Team Jenni!

OK, Pippin - on your barks, get set, go!

Pippin needs to find all four keys to unlock her captain

in the quickest time to win the challenge.

You should have smeared the ball in sausage.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Pippin is up against a good time,

so can she jailbreak quicker than the other teams?

Yeah, and find the ball.

Number one, number one.

Where's the ball?

Find the ball!

She's not found anything in the second heap

so she's decided to move onto the next one.

Where is it?

Pippin's decided to go for the third key instead.

That's OK as long as she gets all four.

Come on, I've been in here a long time. I need to be broken out.

Bring the ball-y, the ball-y.

So she's gone back to the second mound of leaves,

gets her nose right in there.

-If she doesn't succeed, do I have to stay here for ever?

-Yes.

-Damn!

You can do it.

Excellent, she's finally found it!

-Good girl!

-I smell freedom!

Pippin's going to have to be sharp with the final key

if she's going to stand any chance.

Straightaway!

She can't waste any time, though, if she wants to beat Tag.

Here we go. Right, all I need to do is unlock this...

-Free!

-Yeah!

Has Pippin's jail-breaking been efficient enough to win the round?

Now, if you remember, Andrew and Tag,

their time was 1.44, that's what you had to beat.

I can now tell you that you did it in...

Two minutes and one second.

-Never mind, Pippin.

-But, still, well done.

OK, let's see what that does to the overall score.

It's big congratulations to Team Jenni, they're in the lead...

And that 3-0 lead will earn them a very handy time advantage

of 30 seconds in the final showdown.

Brace yourselves, people! It's time for the Bark Off.

Now, in front of our teams are some classic British landmarks

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

Now, 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.

-HOOTER BLARES

They will only get two attempts at each obstacle,

and they cannot move on until they hear this sound.

BELL DINGS

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.

Now, Team Jenni are in the lead,

which means that Team OJ have the pressure of going first.

It's time now to play the Bark Off.

OK, I wish you all the very best of luck.

On your barks, get set, go!

Now, Indy had a great time in the water challenge,

but it wasn't enough to win her heat,

so can she give a little bit more

to help her team win first place?

Good girl, here, come on! Come on, girl!

-Indy's on quickly.

-Sit.

-Wait.

-BELL DINGS

And she's perfected Swindon's magic roundabout,

and with a humongous leap over Sherwood Forest,

you can really tell she wants to win Top Dog.

-EXCITED BARKING

-Pippin is so excited!

Wow, she climbs Mount Snowdon like it's only five foot tall.

Good girl! Come on!

She's weaving in and out smoothly and quickly.

Indy's only recently started agility training, but you'd never guess.

She seems a seasoned pro.

Indy on board the ferry across the Mersey.

-All she has to do is stay on board.

-Stay, stay.

-# So ferry cross the Mersey... #

-Stay, stay!

Always a good chance for our doggy friends to sit back.

Good girl! Let's go, come on!

With a leap like that,

she may have given her team-mates a fighting chance.

Wonderful! Here goes Pippin!

Look at Pippin go!

So, Pippin had her work cut out on her last challenge,

but she seems to be making up for it.

Wow, she makes Sherwood Forest look like it's not even there.

Yeah, you can really see Pippin's eagerness,

she's like a ball of energy. Straight over Mount Snowdon.

Pippin's weaving in and out seamlessly.

Pippin may have put OJ's team back in the game.

# So ferry cross the Mersey... #

I think this is the first time Pippin's taken a break.

Can't wait to jump, though, can she? Look at her.

Lovely over Hadrian's Wall.

Finally, it's OJ and Lebowski.

What's this? What's this?

Oh, dear, Lebowski's got off to a bad start

so OJ's trying to retrieve the situation to get Lebowski going.

Lebowski! Lebowski!

-This isn't going well.

-That way! Go on!

Lebowski's leaving OJ's team with a lot to do.

He's going to have to get back on course soon.

-BELL DINGS

-Lebowski!

-Go on, move on, move on.

Lebowski ends his attempt at Land's End, moves on to Stonehenge.

HOOTER BLARES

Go on, Lebowski. Yes!

-And he's over Tower Bridge.

-Here we go! Sausage!

Through Barking. OJ is going to need a lot of sausages.

Lebowski! Lebowski!

Oh, dear, Lebowski's been distracted by the audience.

-It's all going wrong here!

-Lebowski! Lebowski!

Jack Russells have been known to be stubborn at times.

He is definitely doing his own thing.

OK, Lebowski's decided to join us again.

Up, up, up!

Sausage, sausage. Here we go, here we go.

There you go, sausages to get him up and over.

It's amazing what these dogs will do for food.

Sausage!

Lebowski will only get on this ferry if there's going to be some food.

-# So ferry cross the Mersey... #

-Stay, stay.

He really has entertained us today.

-At least it's going to be interesting to see his finish.

-Stay...

More sausage! Come on!

HOOTER BLARES

-Is he going to give us a big finish?

-Just do one, come on.

Oh, you know what, pick him up and carry him over the jump!

He makes the jumps! Thank you, Lebowski, and, for OJ,

well, he's really been given the run-around.

APPLAUSE

The aim of the Bark Off is for the dog to follow its owner,

and Lebowski did it his own way,

but have the other dogs done enough to keep OJ's team in the game?

You did that in 5 minutes 27 seconds.

-Yeah, beat that! Beat that!

-Well done!

So, you know the time to beat.

On your barks, get set, go.

Remember, it's a maximum of two attempts at each obstacle

and it's the quickest team in this round that will win the show.

First up for Jenni's team is Tag, who is a trained agility dog.

Andrew describes Tag as a very obedient dog.

That's definitely the case on the magic roundabout.

Devoted as ever, Tag waits for Andrew.

-Go on, get it, get it, get it, get it!

-Oh, look!

Wow, he's given Pippin a run for her money in the weave.

# So ferry cross the Mersey... #

Across the Mersey, and it's paws down

and let your handler do all the work.

-# And here I'll stay... #

-Good boy. Good boy.

So, it's over Hadrian's Wall and Team Jenni get off to a good start.

Cedar gets off the blocks and she makes a massive leap.

It's like Michael Jordan over Stonehenge.

Cedar's claim to fame was giving a demonstration to Prime Minister

David Cameron, so this dog knows what it's like to perform under pressure.

BELL DINGS

Job done, and once again makes a beautiful leap over Sherwood Forest.

So graceful, it's almost ballet.

Takes her seat on the ferry, and takes in the view.

# So ferry cross the Mersey

-# Cos this land's the place... #

-Good girl!

And finishes off with a trademark leap.

BELL DINGS

So, finally, it's team captain Jenni with Alfie the puggle.

Now, if you remember, Jenni said Alfie will do anything for food.

And it looks like that's working.

Here it is! Come on, Alfie.

There's more if you sit here. Sit!

-Sit!

-Now, most of the celebrity dogs have had little training,

but Alfie is starting to look like a pro.

-BELL DINGS

-Yeah! Come on!

Over the lower Sherwood Forest jump. Understandable with a dog his size.

Alfie and Jenni go through the UK's longest station name side by side.

Rockets over Mount Snowdon.

Here it is, here it is, here it is.

Finishes the weave and, as a treat,

it'll be a trip on the River Mersey.

There's some in there. Sit down, good boy.

Stay.

# So ferry cross the Mersey... #

Oh, dear, dog overboard. Jenni's going to need to get him back in.

OJ: If you could stay there about ten minutes... >

-Stay there!

-# So ferry cross... #

She's going to have to reel the boat in much quicker than this.

The trouble is she's also trying to keep him in.

-# And here I'll stay...

-#

Yes!

Through John O'Groats.

Team Jenni's dogs have done her proud,

especially as the opposition have pushed her all the way.

It's definitely going to be a tough call.

OK, the time to beat was 5 minutes and 27 seconds.

And I can reveal that you managed it in a time of...

3 minutes 41 seconds!

Well done!

APPLAUSE

Huge congratulations to Team Jenni for winning tonight's show,

which means each of your dogs gets a dog toy.

-AUDIENCE:

-Ahhh!

But, was it fast enough to qualify for the semifinals?

Only the top four winning times of the series will make it through,

and your time of 3.41 puts you in...

second position so far!

APPLAUSE

Congratulations, it looks like they're in with a chance,

and I'm afraid that Team Jules now moves down to fifth place

and are sadly out of the running.

Remember, if you want to take part in all of the Sport Relief fun

and games, then please sign up for an event near you.

You can find all the details, fundraising ideas,

and buy Sport Relief treats for your dog or yourself at...

Thanks to all our dogs and owners for taking part,

and thank you so much for watching. We'll see you tomorrow. Good night.