Reality TV has gone to the dogs

Without the help of choreographers or voice coaches, Leroy, Andrew and 10 other contestants have been preparing for stardom on a new reality show. They’re intensely training by running, jumping, fetching and just looking adorable.

They’re all vying for the title of “Greatest American Dog,” CBS’ new unscripted series hosted by pet expert-zoologist Jarod Miller.

With weekly challenges and a three-judge panel, the program offers a grand prize of $250,000 for the winning dog-and-human team. It premieres at 8 p.m. Thursday.

“Leroy has been getting ready for a show like this since he was a baby,” said Teresa Hanula of Fairfax, Va., whose border collie is poised for his close-up. Leroy, a 5-year-old with mismatched ears, is “obsessed with Frisbee and loves swimming,” said Hanula, a former high school Latin teacher.

To prep Leroy for life on camera, she said she held a puppy shower “with people, pinatas, kids, music and noise, everything he would find remotely distracting. And he loved it. He knows when it’s showtime.”

Laurie Williams, a Stafford, Va., dog trainer, said Andrew, her purebred Maltese, has a calming effect on other pooches. At the canine day-care center she runs, Andrew “will walk among larger, more active dogs, and it’s the coolest thing in the world,” she said. “Andrew shows that you can have a well-mannered dog that you can take everywhere, can learn anything and looks fantastic as well.”

Like some human reality shows, “Greatest American Dog” requires the participants, both four- and two-legged, to live together during the competition.

R.J. Cutler, the show’s executive producer, described the “canine academy” as a shared situation that is fun for the dogs and homelike for the people.”

“But you also find there are issues, not just with dogs eating others’ food and playing with their toys,” Cutler added. “You have 12 different approaches to training dogs, with 12 people who are certain theirs is the best way to have a relationship with a dog. And you’ll see how the dogs work and perform beyond what anyone could ask.”

The weekly challenges go beyond high-flying tricks and standard obedience commands. Each episode tests a specific quality, such as loyalty, courage or intelligence, Cutler said, and is designed to show how humans and animals cooperate.

Cutler is counting on animal attraction for ratings, citing the millions of dog owners in the United States. “People are passionate about their dogs for good reasons,” he said. “They’re great souls, fun to watch, and they make great TV.”