Dogs with Jobs

Nine year old collie, Peggy Sue, is on her last agility season this year.  Owner, Rachel Williams took some time out from organising the Agility trials at Dogs Day Out in Hampshire to talk about the sport in general and Peggy Sue's career.  Rachel is interesting on the working urge in collies - Peggy Sue will retire from agility, but she has no plans to stop. She's also bringing on her y...

Tweed, the springer spaniel has the distinction of being the UK's first digital asset detection dog.  Martin King of the Devon and Cornwall Police Dog Section tells the origin story of this vitally important search discipline in the UK. Known as electronic storage detection, digital asset detection and various other names, Tweed's skillset is firmly established as a key discipline for ev...

This is the origin story of the charity, Service Dogs UK, which supports veterans of the military and blue light services in training their own PTSD assistance dogs.  Hear its founder and operations director, Garry Botterill, on the various training models, and how his own lived experience in the military and police has informed the training model and contributed to the approach taken by Serv...

Rey is a rescue dog who supports his human partner, Jack, with the challenges of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  What is striking is the reciprocity that defines this partnership, in which each is helping the other.  There are many practical tasks that a PTSD service dog is trained to help its owner with day to day life However, it's the psychological impact that we explore in th...

A bonus edition of Dogs with Jobs. We're sharing a wonderful interview created by the International Guide Dog Federation to celebrate International Guide Dog Day 2026. It features four very different human/guide dog partnerships from all over the world. The interviews go beyond the mechanics of guiding and training, and explore the emotional and social aspects of the relationship. You may recognis...

River, a little black spaniel in a bright orange vest is searching river bank in a Hampshire nature reserve. On this occasion, it's a demonstration only. River is unique: the only conservation dog in the UK trained to find signal crayfish ( Pacifastacus leniusculus ), an American invasive species that was farmed as a delicacy in the UK in the 1960s and escaped into the wild. The signal crayfish is...

Spirits are high as 18 dogs and their owners brave the rain to clear rats from an area of cover crop on a shooting estate in Hampshire. It’s a “bobbery” pack of different breeds, from a sizeable lurcher to a mini sausage dog, along with terriers and hounds. Host Kate Fairweather marvels at how the different breeds instinctively apply their skills to the jobs that suit them best -...

Albert is a clever young working cocker showing plenty of talent at his grisly, yet very important job. P.C. Matt Thompson of the West Midlands Police is a joy to listen to - he is focused 100% on Albert while he's waiting for his next "big" dog. Albee is showing plenty of potential and Matt is an articulate and humorous interviewee.   Please be aware that, there is some detail about the...

In this Christmas and 5th birthday special programme, creators Kate Fairweather and John Welsman  pick some of their favourite episodes to celebrate five years of fun making podcasts together. Episodes referred to in this episode:  The National Police Trials 2025  Nathan Foy on the guide dogs that have taken him from boyhood to parenthood ,  Harley, the peanut allergen detectio...

A window into the working life of Billy, a young spaniel with a promising career ahead of him as a drugs detection dog.  Billy’s handler, Police Constable Paul King describes Billy’s training and how they navigate the leap into operational work. There's plenty of detail along the way - the difference between proactive and passive drug scanning.  Drugs detection work is a grea...

Short but sweet, this episode of Dogs with Jobs was recorded in New York City, on the run up to Thanksgiving holiday. Koa is a Rhodesian Ridgeback - not a breed you see in therapy work too often. His owner, Andy Honda, is a Rhodesian Ridgeback fan, and chose Koa as a future running partner. They live a couple of blocks from Central Park in Manhattan, New York City. Andy explains how Koa ended up w...

Meet Baloo, a charismatic Belgian Malinois whose promising police career was cut short when she was hit by a suspect's car, leaving her for dead at a crime scene in 2018.  Baloo came out of emergency surgery full of metal bolts and without her front right leg. As an amputee, she was forced into medical retirement. Baloo was adopted by retired police dog handler, Mandy Chapman, who sensed the...

Former prison officer and highly experienced prison dog handler, Simon Broadis, describes the demands on prison dogs and how they have evolved over several decades in the prison service. A rare window into the working lives of prison dogs.  Recorded at the Dogs Making a Difference Awards 2025, organised by the charity,  Service Dogs UK .  Find other  dogs with interesting jobs...

Rescue dog Phil alerts his 22 year old handler, Felicity Brown, to impending collapse or sudden loss of consciousness.  His alerts give her time to sit, lie down or seek support. He is also trained to perform autism related tasks such as deep pressure therapy, locating named people or safe exits, and helping her avoid emotional dysregulation. Phil and Felicity are the first dual trained partn...

A short but sweet mid-month catch up with Jez and his owner/handler, Phil Gibbon.  Jez is a saluki whippet and the youngest of a team of sighthounds that together work under the stage name "Little Nippers", as a performing troupe of terriers and lurchers at country shows all over the UK. Their entertaining performance at country shows educates the public and demonstrates the lost sport of cou...

Duke is a working cocker spaniel.  A rescue dog, who has, thanks to the training expertise of Service Dogs UK, forged a surprise career as a fully trained PTSD service dog with British army veteran, Pete. Spending Saturday at a busy country show in itself demonstrates the impact Duke has had on the life of his owner and handler. Before his partnership with Duke, Pete couldn't go into a shop.&...

Working Cocker Spaniel, Oreo, is in the vanguard of an evolving detection discipline within the West Midlands Police dog section. Oreo's handler, P.C.  David Croft and instructor, Tony Brown talk to Kate Fairweather about what Oreo does and why it is a crucial element in gathering evidence of criminal activity.  Recorded in the back of a police van at Crufts, the UK's largest dog show, i...

Sara McCarthy took her Working Cocker Spaniel, Logan, to her local Canicross club a few years ago, to get outside a bit more.  She and Logan have gained so much more from the exhilarating sport of Canicross. Indeed, they love the sport so much that they recently joined the elite group of canine and human athletes that have completed an ultra-marathon. Sara explains the joys of Canicross, the...

What is canicross? Team GB athletes, Sarah Gillam and Jen Davies, explain the challenges and joys of this ultimate team sport for two athletes running together - one canine, one human. Canicross UK describes it as " ...off-road running with your dog. Your dog wears a harness specifically designed to allow them to pull, you wear a belt/harness which allows hands-free running and you are attached to...

Veteran police dog expert, Bernhard Flinks, talks to Kate Fairweather during a break at the UK's National Police Dog Trials 2025.  A wide-ranging conversation with Bernhard, who spent over 40 years in the German police force. Bernhard has been hugely successful in the uniquely German sport, "Schutzhund" (German for Protection Dog), also known as IGP.  This is something of a triathlon for...

Hear the UK's top police dogs demonstrate the skills and qualities needed to operate at the very highest level. Courage, physical strength and agility, tracking ability, steadiness, precision and responsiveness are all tested during the UK trials. For the handlers, too, the pressure is on: competing against the best, being watched and judged by their peers.  Join Kate Fairweather at the Natio...

A short but uplifting episode, with a timely update on an important medical research project that seeks to isolate and establish what is hoped will prove to be unique bio-markers for Parkinson's disease. Our interiewee is Claire Guest OBE, whose charity,  Medical Detection Dogs has been at the forefront of some remarkable breakthroughs using bio detection dogs. When Dogs with Jobs visited in...

When the time came to step up, much loved pet collie Tay abandoned the sofa for the sheep farm, where his herding talent has made him indispensable to lambing season on the farm.    Owner and professional trainer Martina Miradoli tried Tay on various sports, including agility, scent detection (he was good at this) and introduced him to sheep. Despite her efforts to stimulate him, his dri...

Viper is a German Shepherd just months off retirement after a colourful career in the West Midlands Police as a Firearms Support Dog. Handler, Police Constable Dave Short gives an insight into how the relationship has evolved over the years with Viper, who was his first police dog.  Dave joined the Dog section with 17 years of policing under his belt, but as a newbie in the Dog Unit, learned...

Meet Harley, trained in peanut allergen detection - a highly unusual discipline - yet one that makes perfect sense.  Harley is one of two golden retrievers in the busy family household of this episode's interviewee, Natalie Rice.  Natalie is the primary handler, but we’re focusing less on Harley's training in this episode; instead exploring the human element and the impact of her w...