''Dogs with Jobs'' is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

documentary television series about

working dog A working dog is a dog used to perform practical tasks, as opposed to pet or companion dogs. Definitions vary on what a working dog is, they are sometimes described as any dog trained for and employed in meaningful work; other times as any dog ...

s and

show dog A show dog might refer to any dog entered into a dog show. More specifically, a ''show dog'' is a dog which has been specially bred, trained, and/or groomed to conform to the specifications of dog shows, so as to have a chance of winning. Often ...

s. Each half-hour episode consists of two to three segments on individual dogs from around the world. The

family-friendly A family-friendly product or service is one that is considered to be suitable for all members of an average family. Family-friendly restaurants are ones that provide service to families that have young children. Frequently, family-friendly produc ...

series has featured

service dog In general, an assistance dog, known as a service dog in the United States, is a dog trained to aid or assist an individual with a disability. Many are trained by an assistance dog organization, or by their handler, often with the help of a prof ...

search and rescue dog A search-and-rescue dog is one trained to find missing people after a natural or man-made disaster. The dogs detect human scent and have been known to find people under water, under snow, and under collapsed buildings. Applications A dog ...

s, police dogs,

herding dog A herding dog, also known as a stock dog, shepherd dog, sheep dog or working dog, is a type of dog that either has been trained in herding or belongs to breeds that are developed for herding. Herding behavior All herding behavior is mo ...

s, and others. Segments show footage of dogs on the job, and also include stories of their

rescue Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, or the urgent treatment of injuries after an accident or a dangerous situation. Tools used might include search and rescue dogs, mounted search and rescue ...

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...

, and relationships with their owners and handlers.

Production and broadcast

The idea for the series came from Canadian writer Merrily Weisbord and her daughter, veterinarian Kim Kachanoff. They made use of a "doggie-cam", giving viewers a glimpse into the dog's perspective. Weisbord and Kachanoff sold the show to

Cineflix Cineflix Media is a Canadian global media production and distribution company. Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, it has branches in Toronto, New York City, London, and Dublin. Subsidiaries include United Kingdom-based Cineflix Rights, ...

producer Glen Salzman, who presented it in a "market simulation" at the September 7, 1998 Banff International Television Festival. The series premiered on Canada's Life Network (now Slice), where it received positive ratings and reviews, before premiering in the US a year later in the form of a 90-minute compilation during a

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

pledge drive A pledge drive is an extended period of fundraising activities, generally used by public broadcasting stations to increase contributions. The term "pledge" originates from the promise that a contributor makes to send in funding at regular interval ...

. The series is produced by Cineflix, in association with Slice in Canada and the National Geographic Channel internationally. The series' initial run lasted five seasons, from January 8, 2000 to September 7, 2004, including 65 episodes, and airing in 57 countries. As of November 2014, the first three seasons were available on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

instant streaming. As of February 2016, the first two seasons were available to stream on Netflix instant streaming.

Reception

In his ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' review, film critic

Matthew Hays Matthew Hays is a Canadians, Canadian film critic, writer, film festival programmer and academic. He won a Lambda Literary Award for his 2007 book ''The View from Here: Conversations with Gay and Lesbian Filmmakers''. Hays teaches film studies, j ...

wrote that "the gently narrated, heartwarming stories of ''Dogs With Jobs'' are certainly the antithesis of other reality-based animal programming like Fox's ''

When Animals Attack! ''When Animals Attack!'' is a series of television specials aired by Fox in the United States during the mid- to late-1990s. The specials compiled graphic clips of various animals attacking humans. The series was credited to the network's " alter ...

''", and called the show "as simple and as slightly absurd as its name". The series earned a cult following and achieved strong international sales. Said executive producer Glen Salzman, "This show really does work like magic with audiences." The series was featured on a segment of ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. Produced ...

'' on September 4, 2000.

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

awarded the show four out of five

stars A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ma ...

for quality, and three out of five points for inclusion of positive messages. They deemed it appropriate for children aged five and older, calling it "a good TV choice for the family" and "a great way to introduce kids to the idea of a 'working dog' so that they can recognize and respect those they might meet in everyday life."

''Animals at Work'' dispute

On September 3, 2012, Merrily Weisbord, who developed the show, sued Cineflix and producer Glen Salzman in Quebec Superior Court for $400,000 over their program '' Animals at Work'', also called ''Frisky Business''. Weisbord alleged that the program was a knockoff or

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

of ''Dogs with Jobs'', having the same structure, and even featuring at least fifteen of the same dogs.

Episodes

References

{{reflist, 2, refs= {{cite web, title=Dogs with Jobs, url=http://www.cineflixproductions.com/shows/19-Dogs-with-Jobs-, publisher=Cineflix Productions, accessdate=8 May 2015 {{cite web, title=Dogs With Jobs, date=2 October 2009, url=https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/dogs-with-jobs, publisher=Common Sense Media, accessdate=8 May 2015 {{cite news, last1=Hays, first1=Matthew, title=Wanted: Dogs With Jobs And Heartwarming Tales, url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/03/arts/television-radio-wanted-dogs-with-jobs-and-heartwarming-tales.html, accessdate=8 May 2015, work=The New York Times, date=December 3, 2000 {{IMDb title, tt0976066 {{cite news, last1=McLeod, first1=Tyler, title=A nose for hard work, url=http://jam.canoe.com/Television/TV_Shows/D/Dogs_With_Jobs/2000/06/16/734558.html, accessdate=8 May 2015, work=Canoe.com, date=November 26, 2004 {{cite web, title=Dogs with Jobs, url=http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/80020999?trkid=202653, publisher=Netflix, accessdate=8 May 2015 {{cite web, title=Dogs with Jobs is now available on Netflix Instant, url=https://twitter.com/netflix_bot/status/533733416580423680, website=Twitter, accessdate=8 May 2015, date=November 15, 2014 {{cite news, last1=Swaby, first1=Nickeesha, title=$400,000 Demand for Dog Show Sequel, url=http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/08/23/49559.htm, accessdate=8 May 2015, publisher=Courthouse News Service, date=August 23, 2012 {{cite web , title=Dogs with Jobs , url=https://thetvdb.com/series/dogs-with-jobs , website=TVDB , access-date=30 August 2022 Television shows about dogs 2000s Canadian documentary television series 2000 Canadian television series debuts 2004 Canadian television series endings Television series by Cineflix Slice (TV channel) original programming National Geographic (American TV channel) original programming

Production and broadcast

Reception

''Animals at Work'' dispute

Episodes

See also

References