Mario Lopez Reveals His French Bulldog’s Gold Medal Skill Ahead of AKC National Championship Dog Show

While dog owners across the world prepare to watch the AKC National Championship, presented by Royal Canin, on New Year’s Day, Mario Lopez and his pup, Julio Cesar Chavez Lopez, are working on the French Bulldog’s very special set of skills—straight chilling.

The EXTRA host is part of a six-person team of celebs, whom along with their pooches, are representing #TeamDog for the Animal Planet special, with Lopez and Julio Cesar Chavez heading up the non-sporting group, #TeamFrenchie.

“We think we’re going to steal the show, and we’re really looking forward to checking out the show,” Lopez told PopCulture.com ahead of the show, saying if his dog were to win a gold medal in anything, it would be “snoring.”

“He’s a great cuddler,” he added. “He’ll just sleep with anyone and cuddle up next to you”

In addition to the Saved By the Bell actor, actress McKenzie Westmore and her greyhound Asha are representing the hound group and #TeamGreyhound, country star Brett Young and his chihuahua Oscar are representing the toy group and #TeamChihuahua, Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson and her Golden Retriever Nash are representing the sporting group and #TeamGolden.

Also competing are Hallmark Channel host Cameron Mathison and his Doberman Red representing the working group and #TeamDoberman, actor Kellan Lutz and his Australian Shepherd Koda representing the herding group and #TeamAussie, and Football Hall of Famer Marcus Allen and his Wheaten Terrier Zoey representing the terrier group and #TeamWheaten.

And although dog lovers are invited to share photos of their own dogs with their corresponding hashtags and the tag of Royal Canin for the chance to have their pup shown on TV, Lopez reassured PopCulture that there are only “friendly rivalries” going on among the celeb team heads.

He’s definitely pushing for #TeamFrenchie though: “I like that we’re the non-sporting group, meaning we just chill,” he joked. “[The other teams] all pretty equal, we don’t view any of them as any sort of stiff competition. We show no sense of urgency to prepare, ’cause we’re just that confident.”

The AKC National Championship, presented by Royal Canin, returns to Animal Planet as a four-hour special on Monday, Jan. 1, 2019 at 6 p.m. ET. An encore of the special will air beginning at midnight, and the show will be available in its entirety on Animal Planet GO.

Photo credit: Noel Vasquez/Getty Images for Extra