by Kate Johns

Created on: February 09, 2010   Last Updated: February 04, 2013

Awww, isn't he a cutie?! Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl makes you want to reach through the TV screen and scratch behind a puppy's ear. The stars are adorable, endearing, funny, fluffy, small and they yip every so often as they run from one end of the football field to the other.

Animal Planet first aired the Puppy Bowl in 2004 to counter the Super Bowl. Although the Puppy Bowl is not as famous as the Super Bowl, it does attract millions of eager viewers each year. For people who love animals but do not necessarily love the Super Bowl, unique television abounds as cute, cuddly dogs run around and play with each other. The pups are supposed to grab a fake bone and make haste for the Puppy Bowl's end zone, but most dogs just play with each other.

The Puppy Bowl is similar to a real football game. The dogs romp up and down on a fake football field, inside a fenced-in arena, while a fake crowd watches the "game." Cheering crowd noises are piped into the show. An announcer announces the dog's names, as a referee, who kneels on the field does his job. He scoops up tired pups as they fall asleep from exhaustion on the field. He scoops up poop from the accidents the puppies produce on the show. The referee fills up a water bowl for the puppies to lap a drink of re-hydration.The referee also takes bad dogs off the field when they  produce a penalty.

Each year, it seems the Animal Planet adds a little more to the show, including a Kitty Halftime Show and cheerleaders. The show has also included sleeping rabbits and a blimp with hamsters running around inside as if they were actually flying the blimp.

The show is fun to watch and is great for young children with short attention spans. Kids can run out of the room and catch up on the fun when they return. The show plays continuously all Super Bowl day, so if you missed it the first time, you can catch it on the rebound.

For adults, it's okay to watch until complete boredom of watching puppies nipping each other sets in. For small children, it is a great way for them to see dogs playing, and not get in the way, getting tossed on their butts.Older children will become bored easily and probably start asking for a pet of their own. The Puppy Bowl is for true animal lovers, just as the Super Bowl is for true football lovers.

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