For a civilian dog, the underdog.
Trainer Alex Chavarin and his four-year-old pit
bull that he says is really a mutt, Team Leonittis.
My name is Alex Chavarin.
I'm from Victorville, California.
And this is my four-year-old bulldog mix, Leonittis.
Leonittis was an accidental breeding.
I had an American pit bull terrier and I had a bulldog.
When you have a male and female together, things happen.
[LAUGHS]
I put my heart into him.
And he gave me his heart.
He's giving me so much joy.
Winning "America's Top Dog" would mean the world to me.
You know, definitely coming in with an off-breed,
it would be awesome if we could go out there and show
everybody what a mutt can do.
All right, the 80-pound big boy
looks like he's ready to go.
CURT MENEFEE: They're ready in two languages.
[BEEPING]
[BUZZER] - All the way.
CURT MENEFEE: They'll automatically advance.
The time to beat is 4 minutes, 15 seconds.
Into the van, no problem.
And out of the van, no problem.
Yeah!
NICK WHITE: They're off to a fast start.
I'm really impressed.
Ah.
Yes, sir.
Hurry, hurry, hurry.
Yeah!
CURT MENEFEE: 35 seconds to Fire Escape.
Great pace.
Can they keep it up?
NICK WHITE: Alex tugged the rope to say, this is important.
Leonittis understands he got it.
Great communication.
They're big-boned dogs, so they're not
going to move at the same speed as your standard Belgian
Malinois, where they overcome.
Is that explosive power.
CURT MENEFEE: Explosive is an understatement.
This mutt is blowing up Fire Escape.
NICK WHITE: He's saying to those K9s, how do you like me now?
CURT MENEFEE: So far, it's just over a minute and a half.
And they've made it to the top.
Now we'll see if this muscular big boy can fly.
NICK WHITE: Yeah, I think this is going
to be his biggest challenge.
He tosses the toy over.
Over the three-foot wall.
No issues whatsoever.
CURT MENEFEE: Alex choosing the ramp on the four-foot wall.
Now, anyone can use the ramp.
But obviously, it takes longer than jumping.
Nice job.
Over it.
Over here.
NICK WHITE: No issues with the four-foot wall.
But the ramps are costing them time.
Hurry, over!
Over!
CURT MENEFEE: Can they make up the time on Rope Bridge?
This dog is impressive.
NICK WHITE: Yeah, that's going to be
really interesting to see how he does
moving on to the Splashdown.
This is his biggest test.
Great teamwork here.
Alex showing him it's OK to get in the water.
CURT MENEFEE: Alex working hard here.
Team Leonittis was well ahead.
But now it's getting close.
NICK WHITE: This looks like it may have turned
out to be his Achilles heel.
They're great dogs, but they're big.
They're dense.
Those things usually do not go hand-in-hand with being
great swimmers, Curt.
I know that feeling.
Hurry, hurry, hurry!
NICK WHITE: Finally, Leonittis jumps in and doesn't even
go for the toy.
That's trust.
CURT MENEFEE: Now they only have 15 seconds to make the swim.
NICK WHITE: Alex helping Leonittis with the swim.
Great teamwork.
CURT MENEFEE: Final seconds are ticking away as they climb out.
Will he make it?
A buzzer beater here on the combined
with a time of 4 minutes, 8.72 seconds.
Unfortunately, it also means the competition
is over for our team from "Live PD," Team Tango.
NICK WHITE: Leonittis surprised me in round one.
He actually did much better than I expected.
Leonittis, ready?
CURT MENEFEE: To avoid elimination,
they need to find three items in 4 minutes, 32 seconds.
[BUZZER]
NICK WHITE: Leonittis trains with human scent.
Typically, this is skin oil.
So that's what we're using on the five items during his run.
CURT MENEFEE: Translation-- he's sniffing for sweat.
[BARK]
NICK WHITE: That was an alert.
And Alex caught it.
CURT MENEFEE: And they identify the first item.
Wow, that was fast.
NICK WHITE: Looks like I might be proved
wrong again by this team.
CURT MENEFEE: Hey, I'm glad you said it.
Next, they're into the locker room, where there are
36 different lockers, and the scent of feet,
and Lord knows what else.
NICK WHITE: The locker room smell
shouldn't mess up Leonittis because he trains
with a very specific scent.
But it sounds like you have some experience
with those smells, Curt.
CURT MENEFEE: More than we have time to discuss, actually.
[BARK]
NICK WHITE: Right there, that's an alert.
CURT MENEFEE: Oh, no.
Alex grabbed the baseball helmet.
Will he go back for the shoe?
No, they're moving on.
Oh, no.
Now they're getting lost in the maze.
Up, up, up, up, up, up, up.
CURT MENEFEE: And it's costing them time they can't afford.
After a strong start, they're in trouble.
[INAUDIBLE]
NICK WHITE: Leonittis seems overly excited.
That makes it difficult for Alex to spot a change in behavior
and recognize an alert.
Alex keeping Leonittis on a leash
and trying a detailed search.
But he's feeling the pressure, and that stress
is traveling down the leash.
Good.
NICK WHITE: That looks like an alert.
But Leonittis is so amped up, it's hard to tell.
CURT MENEFEE: Another incorrect item.
They need to find three more items in less than a minute.
NICK WHITE: I really don't see a solid search strategy.
The maze is proving to do exactly
as it is designed-- throw confusion in for the handler.
CURT MENEFEE: Back to the locker room,
where they were so close before.
[INAUDIBLE] Good.
CURT MENEFEE: And the final seconds tick away, ending
the run for tonight's Underdog.
The lights go out on Team Leonittis
and their hopes of advancing.
Good.
Alex, such a nice job.
The underdog of the night, and you guys
made it to the second round.
What can you say about your dog, Leonittis?
I'm super proud of our work here today.
And what can you say?
Man, come out here today and play with your best friend,
it was awesome.