Puppy Bowl

Puppy Bowl is an annual three-hour television show on Animal Planet. Shown opposite the Super Bowl, it has the highest ratings of any show shown at that time on cable besides the Super Bowl. It features a number of puppies playing in a model stadium with no audience, minimal commentary and instant replay shots and bowl cam. As of 2006, a half-time show the "Bissell Kitty Half Time Show" is also included featuring a group of kittens taking the field on a large scratching post for 30 minutes. The first Puppy Bowl was shown in 2005.

The puppies featured in Puppy Bowl are from shelters, and the show contains information on how viewers can adopt rescued puppies and help their local shelter. The bowl seems to have an age limit of 3 months, so there have been no recurring players.

Puppy Bowl II Averaged 690,000 viewers for its broadcast (a 23 percent increase over Puppy Bowl I), equivalent to MSNBC's rating for the State of the Union address. 5 million people in total watched Puppy Bowl II throughout its three airings.

Puppy Bowl III is planned to air on Feburary 4, 2007, with the addition of the Tail-Gate Party.

The Bowl Cam is a camera that is inside the bottom of a watering bowl, so that it becomes possible to film an animal drinking water.

The rules

Bowl-Cam - A camera at the bottom of the puppies water bowl, with a wide-angle lens allows viewers to watch the puppies drink water up close.

Puppy Penalty - When a puppy defecates on the floor, a referee would blow a whistle, call "Illegal Motion", throw a flag over the poo and scoop it up.

Puppies are given a wide variety of chew-toys and bones to play with, and they are free to tackle, bite, and do as they wish. Jazz music is added in to the clips in post-production.

Much like the Thunderdome, there are no rules at the Puppy Bowl.

Bissel Kitty Half-Time Show

Starting with Puppy Bowl II, at the 1 hour 15 minute mark, the puppies leave the field and a 9 foot tall scratching post is brought out with a wide variety of kittens for the Bissel Kitty Half-Time show. This features kittens playing for 30 minutes with lights, laser pens, balls of yarn, scratching post, flint sweepers, and a wide variety of other toys. The grand finale of the Puppy Bowl II Half-Time Show was an airhorn blast that sent most of the cats running away scared. Puppy Bowl III did not show the cats' departure from the field.

The players

Puppy Bowl II featured a total of 14 puppies. They included:

• Agatha, 2.5 months old, a Whippet/Beagle mix
• Badger, 3 months old, an Australian Cattle Dog mix
• Barry, 3 months old, a Miniature Poodle
• Belle, 2.5 months old, a Retriever mix
• Bessie, 2.5 months old, a Hound mix
• Cha Cha, 3 months old, a Springer Spaniel
• Danny, 2.5 months old, a Beagle mix
• Disco, 3 months old, Springer Spaniel
• Domino, 2.5 months old, a Retriever mix
• Louie, 2.5 months old, a Retriever mix
• Mickey, 2.5 months old, a Hound mix
• Sheeba, 2.5 months old, a Shiba
• Tab, 2.5 months old, a Labrador retriever mix
• Zena, 2.5 months old, a Beagle mix

Puppy Bowl III players included: [1]

• Bess, 13 weeks old, a mix
• Bomber, 9 weeks old, a Samoyed
• Gypsy, 15 weeks old, a English Bulldog
• Izzie, 15 weeks old, a Cairn Terrier
• Jacky, 14 weeks old, a Pomeranian
• Jackson, 10 weeks old, a Golden Retriever
• Larry, 12 weeks old, a Vizsla mix
• Lucy, 10 weeks old, a Shepherd mix
• Milo, 12 weeks old, a French Bulldog
• Noah, 9 weeks old, a Pekingese
• Porsche, 13 weeks old, Boxer
• Quesadilla, 10 weeks old, a Terrier mix
• Sonny, 10 weeks old, a Puggle
• Spencer, 16 weeks old, a Border Terrier

External link

• Puppy Bowl website on discovery.com