America’s Top Dog is a TV series on A&E. In the show, dogs from around the U.S. compete against one another by completing tasks and running an obstacle course. Each round’s winner receives $10,000 plus $5,000 donated to an animal charity. Weekly winners also win a spot in the finale where they can take home $25,000 and the title of America’s Top Dog.

Falco vs Dax

In the premiere episode, K9 Officer Falco from the Fargo Police Department in Fargo, North Dakota, competed, along with his handler Officer David Cochran against LivePD’s K9 Dax to win the first episode by a whopping three seconds on the show’s obstacle course. K9 Dax is from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office in Illinois and appeared on the show with his handler, Deputy John Forlenza.

In December 2019, the Fargo Police Department announced that K9 Falco would be the dog the department had hinted at competing on the show in a November statement. Cochran and Falco have been partners for twice the time as the other competitors on the show, which includes police K9s and civilian dogs.

An 8-year-old Belgian Malinois, Falco was born in Winnipeg, Canada. He has been with his handler, Cochran, over the entire length of his career in law enforcement. Their long career together probably accounted for the smooth communication that allowed them to win the top spot.

The Boneyard

Competitors on America’s top dog compete in a massive obstacle course called The Boneyard. On the course, the competing K9s and their handlers have to complete a unique set of skill challenges, including taking down suspects, tracking scents, and tests of agility and strength. The dogs and their handlers must rely on their training and communication skills to complete the course in a faster time than their opponent.

An example of the obstacles that the K9 and handler face include The Fire Escape, which is a four-story tower that requires the K9 to pull down a ramp to gain access to each successive floor. This obstacle tests the communication skills between the handler and the dog as it involves more than just commanding the dog to grab the ball at the end of the rope, but also pulling it down.

Another obstacle in The Boneyard is The Rope Bridge. The K9s must negotiate the obstacle by walking across the bridges wobbly planks while maintaining their balance. The obstacle is so hard because the first instinct of any K9 going across it is to jump off when the bridge first starts to wobble.

A final task of the course is to catch a fleeing suspect by grabbing onto them with their teeth. They must then successfully release and make it to the finish line. K9 Falco was able to complete the course in 1:20, beating K9 Dax’s time of 1:23.

Here is the video of Team Falco competing against LivePD K9 Dax and his handler in the final round on America’s Top Dog.

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Source: A&E