Not just pups this time: 'Puppy Bowl' embraces older dogs
[February 05, 2026]
By MARK KENNEDY
NEW YORK (AP) — This year, the Puppy Bowl isn't just about puppies.
Older dogs are getting some attention, too.
There will be a halftime showdown between Team Oldies and Team Goldies,
offering a showcase for senior dogs as a reminder that they also need
adoption and love.
“Everyone wants the puppy and, unfortunately, the reality of puppyhood
is it’s tough,” says Victoria Schade, the show’s lead dog trainer and
wrangler. “I think people don’t realize that until they’re deep in the
thick of it. That’s the beauty of an older dog, an adult dog, a senior
dog: They bring a different sort of calm.”
This year's event — Puppy Bowl XXII — will bring together 150 dogs from
72 shelters across the United States, Puerto Rico and the British Virgin
Islands. It airs Sunday, simulcast across Animal Planet, Discovery, TBS,
truTV, HBO Max and discovery+.
The Puppy Bowl made its debut as counter-programming to the Super Bowl
in 2005. Dogs score touchdowns on a gridiron carpet when they cross the
goal line — any goal line — with a toy in their mouth.
The puppies are split into two teams — Team Fluff and Team Ruff — and
each dog is given a nickname — like “Slick Rick” or “J-Paw” — and a
specialty, like “Epic end zone dance.”
The pre-taped show is really just an excuse to spend time watching
adorable dogs play with chew toys, wag their tails furiously and lick
the camera. A deeper reason is to encourage animal adoption.
“The message of Puppy Bowl is about helping animals who would otherwise
not have a great chance in life, especially even more acute in some
cases with older dogs because they are often overlooked,” says Joseph
Boyle, head of content for Discovery Channel.
Good boys and girls
The Puppy Bowl has become a programming tent pole for Discovery — “It’s
gigantically important for us,” says Boyle — and also a slice of civic
campaigning. “I don’t know that there’s a lot of television out there
that does advocacy in such a strong way,” he says.
The inaugural Puppy Bowl was watched by nearly 6 million viewers. Last
year, 12.8 million viewers tuned in. By comparison, 8.66 million watched
the recent Golden Globes.
Boyle says the show is a godsend to animals shelters and rescue groups
that don't have the resources to advertise and that's echoed by the
folks at Muddy Paws Rescue, a foster-based rescue group in New York
City.
Mallory Kerley, the group's marketing director, says viewers can check
out different breeds and personalities and realize there are other
options than breeders.
“If they can see a puppy that they fall in love with onscreen, hopefully
they can find that one also in a local shelter or rescue,” she says.
Shelters and rescue groups say the massive spike in adoptions during the
pandemic has leveled off and has recently taken a dip as families face
economic challenges.
“When you can’t afford to put food on your own table, you can’t even
think about feeding or adopting a dog,” says Kerley. “So that has been a
challenge in the rescue world as a whole.”
Schade, a dog trainer and novelist who adopted a puppy during last
year’s Puppy Bowl to be friends with her older dog, says the senior dogs
in the Puppy Bowl have tons of spirit and add something special to the
show.
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This image released by Warner Bros. Discovery shows dogs
participating in Puppy Bowl XXII, airing Sunday across Animal
Planet, Discovery, TBS, truTV, HBO Max and discovery+. (Ryan
Muir/Warner Bros. Discovery via AP)
 “They bring a different energy to
the field,” she says. “With the puppies, we have that unbridled
puppyhood enthusiasm, whereas the senior dogs they’ve got a
playbook. They’ve been through a lot and they’re going to strategize
a little harder than those puppies are.”
Tips on caring for an older dog
Senior dogs have some advantages over puppies: They're often
house-trained, are fine being by themselves and may have already
been taught to sit or stay.
“They really make great dogs for people who don’t want to be home
every two hours checking in on an eight-week-old puppy, who want to
be able to take their dog and have them be calm,” Kerley says.
Schade warns prospective owners that the dog they see in the shelter
environment isn’t necessarily the dog they're going to end up with.
“It is such a challenging environment — it’s loud, it’s crowded,
it’s unfamiliar — so, of course, you’re going to see a different
version of who that dog is at their core,” she says.
“Once they have the opportunity to have that very important
decompression period, which is typically about three months, you
start to see the real dog. Once they’re through that, you get to see
this incredible devotion, love and gratitude for their new life.”
Schade says the Puppy Bowl is helping dispel myths about animals in
the shelter system — like that they're broken or that there's only
one kind of dog available. “Look at our players and you’ll see
that’s not true,” she says.
“There’s the expression, ‘You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,’
which is not true,” adds Schade. “Dogs love learning for their
entire lives and as long as we’re focused on science-backed dog
friendly training, there’s no reason why an older dog can’t learn
anything and everything.”
Kerley faces a dilemma on Super Bowl Sunday — Muddy Paws Rescue has
sent two puppies to the Puppy Bowl, one on each team.
“I’m not sure which team we’re going to be rooting for. We’re going
to have to root for them all,” she says. “It’s definitely the cutest
day on television. Even my dog loves watching along.”
How to watch and stream the Puppy Bowl
The Puppy Bowl airs Sunday, Feb. 9 at 2 p.m. Eastern/11 a.m. Pacific
and will be simulcast across Animal Planet, Discovery, TBS, truTV.
The show repeats throughout the day on those channels.
It will stream on HBO Max and discovery+.
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