Dogs with Jobs

Dogs with Jobs
Genre	Documentary
Developed by	Merrily Weisbord Kim Kachanoff
Written by	Sara Gilbert Maura Kealey Shelley Tepperman Jon Kalina
Directed by	Serge Marcil Susan Mawhood Eli Gorn Ole Gjerstad Ramelle Mair
Narrated by	Jon Kalina John Ralston
Theme music composer	Lance Neveu Mathieu Vanasse
Country of origin	Canada
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	65
Production
Executive producers	Glen Salzman David York Katherine Buck Andre Barro
Producers	Maura Kealey Robert DeLeskie
Editors	Barbara Brown George T. Clarke
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	Cineflix National Geographic Channel Slice
Original release
Release	September 2000, 04 (04-09-2000) – September 2004, 07 (07-09-2004)
Related
Animals at Work

Dogs with Jobs is a Canadian documentary television series about working dogs and show dogs.^[1][2] Each half-hour episode consists of two to three segments on individual dogs from around the world.^[1] The family-friendly series has featured service dogs, search and rescue dogs, police dogs, herding dogs, and others. Segments show footage of dogs on the job, and also include stories of their rescue, training, 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.^[3]

Weisbord and Kachanoff sold the show to Cineflix producer Glen Salzman, who presented it in a "market simulation" at the September 7, 1998 Banff International Television Festival.^[3][4] 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 pledge drive.^[3]

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.^[1][5] As of November 2014, the first three seasons were available on Netflix instant streaming.^[6][7] As of February 2016, the first two seasons were available to stream on Netflix instant streaming.^[6]

Reception

In his The New York Times review, film critic Matthew Hays 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!", and called the show "as simple and as slightly absurd as its name".^[3]

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 on September 4, 2000.^[3][4]

Common Sense Media awarded the show four out of five stars 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."^[8]

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 of Dogs with Jobs, having the same structure, and even featuring at least fifteen of the same dogs.^[5]

Episodes

^[9]

See also

• K-9 to 5, an American television series about working dogs.

References