The Palm Dog Award is a yearly alternative award presented by the international film critics during the Cannes Film Festival. Begun in 2001 by Toby Rose, it is awarded to the best performance by a canine (live or animated) or group of canines during the festival. The award consists of a leather dog collar with the term “PALM DOG”. The name of the award is a play on words of the Palme d'Or, the festival's highest honor.

First reported in June 2002, the Palm Dog has been reported by major news outlets around the world, including Financial Times Deutschland,Sydney Morning Herald,The New York Times, the BBC, the Los Angeles Times, and ABC News. In 2009 the judges for the Palm Dog were The Times chief film critic James Christopher, Evening Standard's Derek Malcolm, The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw, Heat Magazine's Charles Gant, and Kaleem Aftab from The Independent.

The following are list of recipients and nominees of the Palm Dog. Winners are in bold.

Jonathan Parker Fitch (born February 24, 1978) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing as a welterweight in the UFC. As of May 2012, Fitch is ranked as the #5 welterweight fighter in the world by Sherdog.

After graduating from Carroll High School (Fort Wayne, Indiana), Fitch enrolled in at Purdue University in 1997 and graduated in 2002 with a Bachelor's in Physical Education and a minor in History. As a walk-on to the Purdue wrestling team, Fitch – a four-year letterman – wrestled under the tutelage of Tom Erikson and eventually became the team captain of his wrestling squad. Fitch secured a starting spot early on in his career, but struggled to find initial success. Compiling an 8-23 record his sophomore season, Fitch impressively turned that around to compile an 18-12 record in his final year. He finished with a 45-51 record overall for his collegiate wrestling career.

Tom Erikson– a former PRIDE fighter – would occasionally bring other mixed martial artists to the wrestling gym, and Fitch would be introduced to such fighters as Mark Coleman and Gary Goodridge. The sport, and the money that the top-tier fighters were making interested Fitch, and he started his mixed martial arts career in 2002.