Mark your calendars, because we are one month out from the biggest, fluffiest, most important sports event of the year: Puppy Bowl!! The games of Puppy Bowl XXII will touch down on our screens on Sunday, February 8 at 2pm ET, streaming on (takes a deep breath) Animal Planet, Discovery, TBS, truTV, HBO Max, and discovery+, phew. (And just think, soon we’ll be able to add Netflix to that list. Mergers have consequences!) As they do each year, Puppy Bowl is adding players to the roster for their biggest lineup yet: 150 rescue dogs (including 15 special needs pups) from 72 shelters who will square off on the returning competitive teams Ruff and Fluff. But that’s not all — we’re getting a brand new event, a game within the game, with the first Pro-Dog Halftime Showdown. Featuring teams Oldies and Goldies, this halftime game will be played by, you guessed it, senior dogs. This is fantastic!

Puppy Bowl, now in its 22nd year, is the longest-running call-to-adoption television event, known for filling a tiny football field with playful, adoptable dogs. For 2026, Puppy Bowl will be a three-hour canine sports event featuring a record-breaking 150 rescue dogs from 72 shelters across the United States, Puerto Rico, and the British Virgin Islands.

Referee Dan Schachner has returned for his 15th year to ensure all the furry competitors play fair as Team Ruff and Team Fluff fight for the win and the coveted Walmart “Lombarky” trophy and the BISSELL MVP (Most Valuable Puppy) title.

Among the puppy players are 15 pooches with special needs, a record number for the Puppy Bowl field. For the first time, the Puppy Bowl will feature a match with dogs from the far end of the age spectrum, with a special exhibition game starring senior dogs. For the match, Team Oldies will take on Team Goldies and will go head-to-head in the all-new Pro-Dog Halftime Showdown.

This isn’t the only new element added to Puppy Bowl XXII. The 2026 event will also offer viewers an inside look at shelter staff members cheering on the puppies representing their rescues for the first time. Puppy Bowl 2026 will also have a Barking Lot Tailgate party hosted by Raising Cane’s.

While plenty of the Puppy Bowl is packed with cute gridiron hijinks, the 3-hour special will also have “Pup Close and Personal” segments focused on how some of the dogs got celebrity help before the big game, so they were prepared for football and a forever home.

Of course, fan-favorite elements from past Puppy Bowls will be returning, including the adoptable segments, play-by-play commentary, puppy cheer squads, and the kitten-studded Temptations Skybox.

“Puppy Bowl XXII celebrates the spirit of the underdog with a gameday celebration that combines the excitement of a sports matchup with uplifting adoption stories,” Joseph Boyle, head of content at Discovery Channel, said in a statement. “By introducing new segments like our senior spotlight and enhancing fan-favorite elements, we are creating a deeper connection to our audience and delivering the most entertaining sports spectacular on television.”

[From People]

I thought there was no improving on the perfection of Puppy Bowl. Clearly, I was wrong. Creating an event to spotlight senior dogs, often overlooked for adoptions, is exactly the kind of team spirit these games were founded on. I can’t wait to watch these seasoned pros take the field to show the puppies how it’s done! Glad to see that referee Dan Schachner is returning, though as of this writing there has been no confirmation on whether assistant ref Whistle will be joining him. To keep our tails from wagging out of control during the countdown to February 8, the official Puppy Bowl website has opened up a “Most Popular” competition for the starting lineup. The voting is in rounds, with 16 players to choose from during this first week, until the ultimate winner is announced the day before the big game. My early favorites include the puntacularly named Chappell Bone (Pembroke Welsh Corgi) and RuPaw (Boston Terrier), along with the food themed Fudge (Pomeranian-Chihuahua mix) and Brûlée (Boston Terrier-French Bulldog mix). Brûlée is deaf and has blue eyes that appear to look in different directions and I LOVE HIM.

Update by CB: I logged into the WB press site and they had a ton of photos of these beautiful adoptable dogs! If you’re interested in any of the dogs in the gallery, click on the image to view it full size. Right click over the picture and open it in a new window or save it. The dog’s name and adoption details are in the file name. You can see more dogs at PuppyBowl.com!

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