Dogs with Jobs

Explosives detection work is a highly specialised discipline within the police, and the stakes are high.

On this episode of Dogs with Jobs, we meet Police Dog Ted, one of 17 explosive detection dogs working within the West Midlands Police Service, one of the largest urban police forces in the UK, which even has its own breeding scheme.  

Ted's handler, Police Constable Damo Smart, has over 21 years' experience as a police dog handler and instructor. Damo was part of the West Midlands Police display team in the Crufts arena with dozens of police colleagues and dogs.

Performance over, he joins Dogs with Jobs presenter Kate Fairweather in the press room at Crufts to talk about P.D. Ted, and where such specialised police dogs fit into the overall framework and resources within the police service.

Travel sickness is a no-no for explo dogs, who must be away from home for big sports events and royal occasions as part of the job.  Damo explains why it also takes a certain attitude from the handler to work these dogs, given the high stakes involved. So a steady attitude and the ability to relax once the work is over is key.

Damo explains what he looks for in an explo dog and what it takes to search at this level - and to search safely.  

Connected episodes: 

• Jax the victim recovery dog with Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary;
• Mabel the emotional support dog in the Hampshire & Isle of Wight fire service
• P.D. Didi, the general purpose police dog
• Keo, the wellbeing support dog in the police

More photos at shineradio.uk/dogswithjobs 

Do you work your dog or dogs?

If you would be interested in coming on the show, please get in touch with Kate at [email protected] or call 10730 555 500. 

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather 2024

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meet Bakersfield and Strike, as they relax in the dressing room, during a break between performances. These two collies are competing at the highest level in the Heelwork to Music competition at Crufts, the world's biggest dog show. 

It's a glamorous business, yet the atmosphere in the dressing room is cosy and good natured. Both handlers are veterans of the heelwork to music competition, with many appearances at Cruft behind them. 

Bakersfield's handler, Lucy Creek, explains what the sport entails and how she fell into it. To do well, her dogs have a focus and energy that marks them out from being tiny puppies. Lucy explains how distractions in the arena might call for a bit of improvisation on the fly.

Heelwork to music demands precision movement from the dog. The freestyle round allows plenty of room for humour and artistic inspiration and the individual performances are very different from each other, so a delight to watch from the arena side.

It's the first time Strike has performed at Crufts, but his handler, Lucy Heath has been here 16 times with various dogs, performing in the heel work to music category. She's honouring her last, beloved dog by choosing her favourite medley from the musical, Grease for the freestyle. With Spike by her side, their performance is a huge crowd pleaser.

Update, Strike and Lucy Heath have been on Britain's Got Talent to great acclaim since this was recorded, in April 2024. 

More photos at shineradio.uk/dogswithjobs 

Do you work your dog or dogs?

If you would be interested in coming on the show, please get in touch with Kate at [email protected] or call 10730 555 500. 

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather 2024

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A fascinating and rare glimpse into the world of fox red Labrador Jax, a police victim recovery dog.

There are fewer than 40 dogs working in this highly specialised field within the police in the UK.  Victim recovery dogs - also known as cadaver dogs or human remains dogs - search for human remains, blood or tissue as well as shallow graves or blood spattered evidence such as clothing or weapons.

The stakes are high. On the one hand, the work of Jax and dogs like him is key to identifying forensic evidence, which can be definitive in prosecuting violent crimes. But there's a very human side too: in a search for a missing person who is presumed dead, the location of a body can bring much needed closure to family and loved ones. 

It's not an everyday sort of job, and Jax is often deployed as part of a large missing person search, travelling from home and dropping into unfamiliar sites. His steadiness, sociability and love of the hunt means that he and his handler are a highly effective part of the wider search teams.

Police Constable Felicity Thomas of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary talks training, rewards and the thrill of the search with Dogs with Jobs presenter, Kate Fairweather.

Browse more dogs with interesting jobs.

• Hear about the astonishing work of Medical Detection Dogs Florin, Iggy and Asher
• Keo the Oscar Kilo (OK9) wellbeing dog in the police
• Meet Mabel, emotional support worker in the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire Service, from her owner, the Chief Fire Officer.
• Hear about Didi the Police Dog

Do you work your dog or dogs? If you would be interested in coming on the show, please get in touch with Kate at [email protected] or call 10730 555 500. 

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather 2024

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This month's episode is a short but interesting one.

Presenter Kate Fairweather introduces springer spaniel Bonnie, who works as a bedbug inspector checking hotels - including some household name, super smart hotels - for bedbugs.  

Many of the best hotels consider it best practice, to have regular sweeps for bedbugs.  Sometimes a hotel has had a past problem, had it treated, and wants to check that these unwelcome little visitors have not returned.  

Other clients are highly sensitive and don’t want anyone to know they have bedbug detection dogs in the house - which also makes sense! For more sensitive clients, Simon Chapman and bedbug detection dog Bonnie do out of hours visits, leaving Bonnie's working harness at home, and pretend to be a regular owner and pet dog out on an evening walk... 

Simon Chapman of K9 Manhunt Scotland explains to Dogs with Jobs presenter Kate Fairweather how he keeps Bonnie motivated and up to scratch. 

Browse more dogs with interesting jobs.

• Hear Simon talking about how he took five detection dogs to the Isle of May for a conservation project 

Do you work your dog or dogs? If you would be interested in coming on the show, please get in touch with Kate at [email protected] or call 10730 555 500. 

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather 2024

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The first seabird conservation project to use detection dogs in the UK.

A team of five detection dogs are deployed to an island off the east coast of Scotland, UK.

"Sprocker" spaniels Molly and Nelson, Storm the Belgian Shepherd and Piper the Springer spaniel are experienced detection dogs, but this was their very first conservation project. With a short time window in which to work on the project, a pet dog, Esme, a Belgian Malinois, was been trained as a backup.  

It was a first for NatureScot, which looks after Scotland's natural heritage and, at the time, was the first time detection dogs had been used in the UK in seabird  conservation work with seabirds.

Their job was to start the process of surveying the Isle of May, which is a nature reserve, to establish the size of a new colony of storm petrels. The storm petrel is a shy, nocturnal, ground nesting bird hitherto not seen on in the east of Scotland.

How did they know the storm petrels were there?

As part of conservation efforts in the UK and elsewhere, fine mist nets are used as a safe way to capture wild birds for ringing. Licensed ringers place a lightweight ring with a unique number around a bird's leg. Once ringed, an individual bird's activity can be noted. Such information allows conservation organisations to understand bird population movement, changes and trends, and provides information vital for bird conservation. It was through this practice that the presence of storm petrels on the east coast of Scotland was first noted.

Simon Chapman of K9 Manhunt Scotland explains to Dogs with Jobs presenter Kate Fairweather how the project came about, what the challenges were and how the dogs - most of whom usually work as drugs dogs - stepped up to the challenge of a new type of project and distraction-heavy environment.

Other conservation detection dogs episodes:

• Barley the conservation detection dog and his international projects
• Nica, Nettle and Phoenix, the Japanese Knotweed detection dogs

Do you work your dog or dogs?

Contact me, Kate Fairweather if you would be interested in coming on the show, at [email protected].

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2024

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meet a talented trio of highly specialised detection dogs, who focus on UK’s most  invasive plant, the notoriously tough Japanese knotweed.

Nica the springer spaniel, Nettle the working cocker spaniel and Phoenix the Dutch shepherd devote their entire working lives and considerable skill on finding Japanese Knotweed.

Together with their talented handler, Kat Janczur of Canine Detection Solutions, they work with knotweed eradication companies, landowners and developers to survey construction sites, highways, railroads and individual properties. 

Japanese Knotweed is the UK’s most invasive plant.  Over two metres high in full bloom, it has evolved to withstand volcanic eruptions and seismic events, and can lie dormant for years, waiting to regerminate once conditions are favourable.  It’s a very, very tough plant, which means that it’s almost impossible to eradicate, and a constant fight to keep it down.

Nica, Nettle and Phoenix can detect even tiny bits of knotweed, as well as the underground rhizomes, which humans cannot see. This which makes them the most effective way to check sites, all year round. Kat explains how she keeps the team physically fit and mentally at the top of their game for this high stakes detection work. She explains some of the techniques she uses to keep her dogs independent, and to avoid handler bias when it comes to detection work.

Connected episodes:

Barley the conservation detection dog and his international projects

Do you work your dog or dogs?

Contact me, Kate Fairweather if you would be interested in coming on the show, at [email protected].© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2024

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Barley is a hugely talented 10 year old Border Collie, who works as a conservation detection dog on projects in the U.S. and Latin America.  

Barley has travelled all over national parks in the United States as well as Guatemala in the course of a varied and glittering career to date. He has trained and worked on 16 separate plant and animal scents, from zebra mussels to ocelots and other wildcats. 

And there's more on the horizon for Barley, who will be adventuring in 2024 with his owner and handler to Alaska’s remotest islands to study wolves, as well as travelling to El Salvador, where his olfactory superpowers will be used to identify any evidence of puma activity (pumas were declared extinct in El Salvador in the 1940s, but have been spotted in the last five years).

Barley's owner Kayla Fratt is an ecologist, dog behaviourist and founder of the U.S. based non-profit, K9 Conservationists. Kayla is currently studying for her PhD at Oregon State University, and canine conservation detection is a significant part of her PhD. A recipient of the prestigious U.S. National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, Kayla is highly knowledgeable, in love with her work and a lively and fun interviewee in a wide ranging conversation with host Kate Fairweather.

The use of conservation dogs is highly evolved in the U.S. so this is a great episode to listen to for an overview of dogs' contribution to conservation work. As part of field trials, dogs collect valuable data, enhancing our understanding of different species' population, behaviour and movement (migration), including those of endangered species.  Such data can, in turn, feed into understanding the bigger picture - how temperature changes are likely to affect biodiversity, for example. 

More information on the work of K9 conservationists, including their 18 week course on training conservation detection dogs.

You might also enjoy

• Nica, Nettle and Phoenix, the Japanese knotweed detection dogs

Do you work your dog or dogs?

Please get in touch with Kate Fairweather on [email protected] to suggest a topic, interviewee or with any feedback - I love to hear from you!  You can find more photos etc at shineradio.uk/dogswithjobs

Find more dogs with interesting jobs. 

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2024

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Presenter Kate Fairweather and co-producer John Welsman and his guide dog Benjy are delighted to be recording from the UK-based charity, Guide Dogs charity’s  Christmas Brunch. 

Over 50 dogs in a lovely restaurant in the heart of the City of London - what a delight. What an amazing atmosphere and absolutely no barking or dodgy behaviour, because they’re all beautifully trained. 

They’re not all guide dogs: Kate meets Zack the buddy dog, who provides companionship to an entire family but mainly supports his disabled young adult, also called Zack. 

We also meet Upton the Ambassadog and hear about his fundraising activities, as well as two beautifully named puppies, Errol and Dylan introduced by Glenys and Sue, who explain what's involved in being a puppy walker for the charity.

Guide Dogs' Dave Kent explains how the Christmas brunch celebrates accessibility and why restauranteur Martin decided to host the event at the the M Restaurant in Thread Needle Walk, to celebrate accessibility. 

Connected episodes 

• Follow Benjy the trainee guide dog over his five weeks training on the job
• John Welsman talks about how his relationship with Benjy's predecessor, Breck the guide dog developed over eight years of partnership.
• Meet Daisy, the autism assistance dog

If you work your dog or dogs, or know someone else who does, and who would be interesting to hear from, get in touch with Kate at [email protected].

Browse other dogs with interesting jobs.

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2023

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Endeavoured" is a show dog champion with a lot of silver trophies. 

His owner Patricia Sutton describes working life as a show dog, and the qualities needed to compete at national level. Pat is hugely knowledgeable, with an earthy turn of phrase, so the episode is packed with humour and detail. She runs the venerable Rossut Beagles kennel, which was founded by Pat's parents in the 1940s.

Known as Dev these days, the former show champion is living the dream, finding equal success in his post-showing career as a stud dog. 

In a first for Dogs with Jobs, we're giving a mild content warning on today's episode: expect a fairly frank discussion about sex and the mating process. 

Other beagle-filled episodes: 

• Keo, the beagle cross, who works as a wellbeing dog in the police service; 
• A kennel huntsman on working with a modern beagle pack in Meet the Beagles! 
• Lifelong beagle enthusiast Matthew Higgs on how to spot the wining beagle at a working hound show;

Do you work your dog or dogs? 

Please get in touch with Kate at [email protected] if you'd be interested in talking about your working dog.  More photos etc at shineradio.uk/dogswithjobs

Find more dogs with interesting jobs. 

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2023

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A rare glimpse into truffle hunting at the highest level, from Italy's National Working Trials, which took place in October 2023. 

Louise Mizen Ferguson, Chairman of the Lagotto Romagnolo Club of Great Britain takes us, via her audio diary, on a road trip to Italy with her Lagotti, Dario and Sage.  

This is the full version.  You can also listen to editorial highlights in the most recent episode of Dogs with Jobs, the show that celebrates the key workers of the canine world. 

• Hear the editorial highlights: British truffle hounds find success at Italy’s National Truffle Trials;
• Meet another truffle hound, Giglee, finding tuber borcii on a frozen morning in Sussex
• Listen to more dogs with interesting jobs. 
• Find out more about the Lagotto Romagnolo Club of Great Britain

Do you work your dog or dogs, or know someone else who does?  

Kate would LOVE to hear from you on [email protected]. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode of Dogs with Jobs gives a rare glimpse into truffle hunting at the highest level, from the Italian National Working Trials, which took place in October. 

Louise Mizen Ferguson, chairman of the Chairman of the Lagotto Romagnolo Club of Great Britain takes Dogs with Jobs to Italy.  Her own Lagottos, Dario and Sage, have had a lot of success in the show ring both in the UK and Italy. Indeed Dario has previously been graded in both the show ring and the working trails in Italy at this same event. 

This episode is an excerpt from an audio diary recorded by Louise in Italy. Louise discusses the intricacies of the working trials with fellow British Lagotto owner Lynn, who works Sibby.  She also talks to Lucy, whose dog Elsa performed well in the "tourist" class and about this wonderful breed in general.

It's great to have to gain a first hand account of what it is like to compete at this level, with the world's top truffle hounds.

We'll be back in the next epsiode with highlights of Dario and Sage's performances in the working trails.

• Listen to Louise's full length audio diary of the trip.

Connected episodes

If you enjoyed hearing about these working trials for truffle hounds, you may also like these episodes:

• Diva at the the UK's National Sheepdog Trials
• Clover, who competes at scurries in the UK at country shows
• Drake, a gun dog champion at working trails
• Another truffle hound, Giglee 

Do you work your dog or dogs? 

Please don't hesitate to get in touch - I LOVE to meet working dogs. You can reach Kate on [email protected] and explore the webpage for the series at shineradio.uk/dogswithjobs.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Breed enthusiast Barbara Brown introduces the wonderfully named Oberon.

He's a Clumber Spaniel, which is the largest English spaniel, and is a vulnerable breed, hailing from Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire. 

Oberon works as a gundog, specialising in heavy cover - using his superior nose to clear ground after a shoot. Barbara talks to Dogs with Jobs presenter Kate Fairweather about his talent, and discusses the breed, which is strongly associated with the Royal Family - King George V kept a pack of them, as did Prince Albert and King Edward VII.

Recorded at the Hampshire Country Sports Day 2023.

(Photo credit: Heidrun Humphries)

Connected Episodes:

• Alfie, the waterfowling retreiver (October 2023)
• Who's winning at the South of England Hound Show? (August 2023)
• The Sealyham terrier Rat Pack (July 2023)
• Meet the Beagles! (October 2022)
• Debit and Dervish, the hunting hound pups (November 2021)
• An insight into the breeding of hounds (November 2021)

Dogs with Jobs features the full range of working dogs, therapy dogs, military and service dogs, assistance dogs, bio detection dogs and other, random occupations such as truffle hunting, modelling and more. Browse more dogs with interesting jobs.

Do you work your dog or dog? 

Get in touch with Kate Fairweather if you're interested in coming on the show on [email protected].  Kate will be at the Countryside Alliance country sports show and the Alresford Agricultural Show, both in September in Hampshire.

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather 2023

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kate Fairweather discovers how far instinct can take a sheepdog with no formal training when it comes to working sheep. 

The dog handler, trainer and author, Stuart Barnes performs as the “Dog and Duck Show” at country shows. He draws on decades of experience as a shepherd for his performance, which took place at the South Downs Show in August 2023.

Stuart introduces Jess the sheepdog and Lassie the totally untrained sheepdog, who has spent most of her life in a kennel.  They star in the “Dog and Sheep Show 2023”, renamed because of the ban on poultry gatherings in the wake of Avian flu.

Stuart explains how he manages to coax a creditable performance from both dogs in the arena, despite their varying levels of experience. He shares stories and observations on dog behaviour, recalling some of the outstanding dogs he has worked with, and the combination of talent, perseverance and experience gained in the lambing pastures that characterised them.

Connected Epsiodes (sheepdogs and herding): 

• Diva the border collie performs at the National Sheepdog Trails 2023
• Sheepdogs Max, Edie and Joe gear up for lambing at Rothercombe Farm

Do you work your dog or dogs? 

Please get in touch wtih Kate at [email protected] if you'd be interested in talking about your working dog.  More photos and a video of the Dog and Sheep Show at shineradio.uk/dogswithjobs

Browse more dogs with interesting jobs. 

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2023

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meet Alfie, a super-fit fox-red Labrador whose owner Chris Green performs as the "Cornish countryman" at country shows.

Water-fowling is hunting wild ducks or geese for the pot. It remains legal under the UK's Hunting Act to hunt particular species during the shooting season. It is both solitary and - it's fair to say - a minority sport. Both dog and human require patience and a high level of physical fitness. Chris has ornithologist levels of bird knowledge and the last piece in the puzzle is having a well trained and talented retriever like Alfie for company. 

Chris explains Alfie's job during a long day spent water-fowling, which starts long before dawn. Chris learned from his father the art of water-fowling, and practices it today on various estuaries throughout the South West of the UK. He gives an insight into this ancient practice as he chats to Dogs with Jobs presenter, Kate Fairweather, in a break from performing.

This lively interview was recorded at the Country Sports Day 2023 at Bereleigh, East Meon.  

Connected episodes

You might also like other country show episodes: 

• How to spot the winning beagle at a hound show;
• Clover, the accidental gun dog;
• Meet the South Down Bloodhounds; and
• Meet the Sealyham terrier rat pack; 

Do you work your dog or know someone else who might like to come on the show? Get in touch with Kate, via [email protected].

Find more dogs with interesting jobs. 

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2023

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A jaw-dropping display of human/canine teamwork, precision herding and communication from the English National Sheepdog Trials 2023. 

Presenter Kate Fairweather sets the scene: 150 sheep dogs competing over three days for the privilege of representing England at the next stage of international sheep dog trialing. While they respond to whistled commands, these dogs must work independently of their handlers, often out of sight.  

Shepherd Cathy Cassie introduces Diva, who works a large Cumbrian flock of “heavy” sheep - an expression that, in the sheepdog world, is code for uncooperative and even aggressive… Cathy explains how the training required to compete in trails gives Diva an edge in her day job. 

Trainer and past winner Stuart Walton explains the site layout and why sheepdogs need courage as well as intelligence.  Junior Vice President Richard Smith explains the context of competitive trailing.

Recorded on location amid the wind whistling on a rather bleak hillside in Yorkshire, it’s fascinating to hear about the astonishing level of precision demanded to compete at national level. 

More information from the International Sheepdog Society.

Connected Epsiodes: 

• Sheepdogs Max, Edie and Joe gear up for lambing at Rothercombe Farm
• Instinct and herding: how far will instinct take an untrained sheepdog on its first go at herding sheep? Jess the sheepdog and Lassie the totally untrained sheepdog, who has spent most of her life in a kennel.  They star in the “Dog and Sheep Show 2023”,

Do you work your dog or dogs? 

Please get in touch wtih Kate at [email protected] if you'd be interested in talking about your working dog.  More photos etc at shineradio.uk/dogswithjobs

Find more dogs with interesting jobs. 

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2023

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Louis the yellow labrador volunteers at Queen Alexandra (QA) Hospital, a large and busy hospital serving Portsmouth and the surrounding area.

Today, Louis is joining a monthly session for those who serve or have served in the military. Led by Keith Malcolm, Armed Forces Covenant Lead Nurse, it is a welcoming space, just off the canteen, where people can relax with people who have experienc of and understand life in the services. The sessions are open to patients, relatives and carers. 

Louis is just one of around 15 or so of the Pets as Therapy team of volunteers at QA, whose contribution to hospital life was recognised, uniquely, by the Volunteer Award at the Parliamentary NHS Awards 2023. They were the only non-human team shortlisted.

In this rather gentle episode, we pad through the hospital with Louis on his way to work and get a sense of the impact of his presence on patients, relatives and carers through his interactions. 

Other therapy dog episodes: 

• Sprout the care home visitor
• Phantom the secondary school support worker
• Millie the hospital visitor
• Patricia Bland on the qualities needed to volunteer as a therapy dog.

More dogs with interesting jobs.

Find out more about volunteering with Pets as Therapy.

Do you work your dog or dog?

If you'd like to come on the show, Kate loves to hear about dogs with interesting jobs! Get in touch with her on [email protected]. 

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2022

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meet a working rat pack of Sealyham terriers, a Welsh breed, which is teetering on the edge of extinction.

Recorded at the Game Fair 2023 at Ragley Hall, interviewee Harry Parsons is known by many for his work in keeping the Sealyham terrier breed viable.  He has a pack of 30 at home, and has dedicated the last several decades to this engaging, intelligent terrier. With fewer than 140 puppies born last year, the Sealyham terrier is well under the 300 puppies a year threshold for being designated a "vulnerable breed". 

Harry talks to presenter Kate Fairweather about what he looks for in a terrier as well as the logistics of organising a rat hunt, which remains fully legal under the UK's Hunting Act. He explains that using terriers remains the only alternative to poison for keeping down vermin, particularly in agricultural settings.

Clearly devoted to his Sealyhams, he explains how he keeps them from overheating or getting overexcited while working, and how he sees the breed's future. 

Find out more about Harry's work with Sealyham terriers.

Connected Episodes:

• Who's winning at the South of England Hound Show? (August 2023)
• Meet the South Down Bloodhounds (November 2022)
• Meet the Beagles! (October 2022)
• Debit and Dervish, the hunting hound pups (November 2021)
• An insight into the breeding of hounds (November 2021)

Dogs with Jobs features the full range of working dogs, therapy dogs, military and service dogs, assistance dogs, bio detection dogs and other, random occupations such as truffle hunting, modelling and more. Browse more dogs with interesting jobs.

Do you work your dog or dog? 

Get in touch with Kate Fairweather if you're interested in coming on the show on [email protected].  Kate will be at the Countryside Alliance country sports show and the Alresford Agricultural Show, both in September in Hampshire.

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather 2023

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Champ is a six year old yellow Labrador retriever working full time as an engagement dog within the Australian police. 

It's an office-based role, five days a week for Champ, who supports the police officers' wellbeing within the Victorian Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (JACET), which falls under the aegis of the Victoria police, but which also works collaboratively with other agencies in child protection within the state and nationally.

Like emotional support or well being dog programmes elsewhere, Champ’s job wasn’t necessarily part of a strategy at the start, but grew organically and, as the interview makes clear, was made possible thanks to the generosity of Tessa Stowe of K9Support.com.au.

What is notable here is how Champ’s role has been surveyed, monitored and embraced by the organisation as a whole. His welfare is as much part of the approach as that of the officers he supports, and it makes the model look sustainable over time. 

Champ’s role is not just a job - it’s a prototype for how police and other emergency services could look at harnessing the emotional welfare benefits of canine company in the workplaces, in Australia and elsewhere.

Connected episodes

You might also like: 

• Keo the well being dog in the UK police; and
• Mabel the emotional support worker in the Fire Service

  Do you work your dog or know someone else who might like to come on the show? Get in touch with Kate, via [email protected].

  Find more dogs with interesting jobs. 

  © & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2023

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As country show season begins in the UK, this month on Dogs with Jobs, we’re seeing some of the top working beagles.  

Eleven packs are competing in the South of England Hound Show, which takes place in June each year under the auspices of the South of England Show near Ardingly. It's a timeless scene - show judges wear bowler hats and white coats and the event observes customs that have changed little in centuries.

Lifelong beagle enthusiast Matthew Higgs chats to Dogs with Jobs presenter Kate Fairweather from a shady spot by the side of the show ring.  

Matthew talks us through the classes. He explains what the judges look for and the qualities required to win a coveted winner’s rosette.

Matthew discovered beagles as a teenager and has never looked back. His entire family are involved in beagling, and they all “puppy walk”.  This means hosting two or more beagle puppies in much the same way as assistance dog pups spend time with a family to find themselves as individuals, before they start their working lives.

Connected episodes 

• Meet the Beagles! Hear from a kennel huntsman on working - and essentially living with - 51 beagles, recorded at the Alresford Show.  

Do you work your dog or dogs?

Kate is always interested in dogs with interesting jobs. Get in touch via [email protected]

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever wondered what assistance dogs' lives are like before they start work? 

This month we visit the charity, Medical Detection Dogs and meet the many young dogs in training for medical alert assistance work, who are working towards being placed with a  human partner.

The working dogs all live with families and volunteer fosterers at night and for the weekend. In the morning, the various detection dogs are dropped off at work, and the trainee medical alert assistance dogs arrive for training. 

Gemma Butlin of Medical Detection Dogs explains to Dogs with Jobs presenter Kate Fairweather how the charity keeps its many dogs relaxed and happy during their training, and what a typical day looks like for the charity's trainee medical alert assistance dogs.  

We hear from "puppy picker" Chris, who explains the qualities he looks for in very small puppies, and how they will be gently introduced to a range of stimuli - from hairdryers to tractors.  

A varied and exciting puppyhood is a key factor in developing the steadfastiness that will be required of the dogs once they start work with their human partners.

Connected episodes:

• Hear Plum the e-coli detection dog at work at the charity's training centre
• Meet Dr. Claire Guest and her three bio detection dogs as she describes how labrador Daisy detected her breast cancer, and inspired  the charity, Medical Detection Dogs
• Hear Simone Brainch of the charity Medical Detection Dogs on medical alert dogs

Browse more dogs with interesting jobs.

Do you work your dog or dogs? If you would be interested in coming on the show, please get in touch with Kate at [email protected] or call 10730 555 500. 

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather 2023

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the second of the Medical Detection Dogs series, we hear black Labrador retriever Plum at work. Her job is to detect E-coli samples at the Medical Detection Dogs charity’s training centre.

It’s important work! Her trainer, Mark, explains what she does, how long it takes and how they ensure that Plum is rested and ready for work.  Plum is being trained and working in parallel with four other dogs in this area.  All are doing well so far.   

Kate Fairweather hears from the scientific supervisor, Sophie, who sets up the working samples and explains how they get the best performance from the dogs.  The training centre is a curious combination of hospital grade cleanliness with dog treats and toys for break-time! 

• Hear Medical Detection Dogs CEO Dr. Claire Guest explain the charity's work and introduce her own three bio detection dogs - Florin the cancer detection dog, Iggy the trainee and Asher rescue turned super sniffer.

Find more dogs with interesting jobs. 

Do you work your dog or know someone else who might like to come on the show? Get in touch with Kate via [email protected] or 01730 555500.

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2023

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the first of a two part series, this month, Dogs with Jobs presenter Kate Fairweather visits the charity, Medical Detection Dogs and hears from its CEO, Dr. Claire Guest.

Claire led the team responsible for the world’s first study of canine detection of bladder cancer, which was published in the BMJ in September 2004. She founded the charity on little more than anecdotes and what was at the time - despite being published in the BMJ -  considered to be an eccentric conviction that dogs' olfactory superpowers could bring something new to the table in cancer research.

In a wide ranging conversation, Claire talks candidly about how her first dog, Daisy, detected her own breast cancer. She explains the charity's work in the key area of bio detection (the other is medical alert assistance dogs, which is the subject of a separate  episode). 

We are introduced to Claire's three pet dogs, who work as detection dogs at the charity's headquarters.

• Florin is a red Labrador, whose detection work data is being shared with a research team at M.I.T. in Boston to help them understand and ‘map’ how a dog perceives “bio markers” - which means the subtle changes in scent that indicate the changes in a human body caused by cancer or other disease. The data is feeding into the creation of an effective artificial intelligence algorithm for prostate cancer detection.
• Iggy and Asher are rescue dogs, for whom life as a pet didn't work out and who have settled since being given a job. Superstar Asher started on malaria and moved onto Covid-19. (It is unusual it is rare to be redeployed in this line of work and bio detection dogs tend to specialise for their whole career. 

Update: in the King's Birthday Honours in June 2023, Claire was recognised for her work with an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to Medical Knowledge, Public Health and Wellbeing. As we note in this episode, she started the charity 15 years ago based on little more than a hunch that dogs had plenty to teach us about scent. What a long way it's come since then.

Similar or connected episodes

• Hear E-Coli detection dog Plum at work at the charity's training centre. 

Do you work your dog or know someone else who might like to come on the show? Get in touch with Kate, via [email protected].

Find more dogs with interesting jobs. 

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2023

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A bonus edition of Dogs with Jobs - from the Big Apple! Presenter Kate Fairweather was in New York in April and ran into Caboose, unobtrusively doing his job at Manhattan's Staten Island Ferry Terminal.

Meet Caboose, a yellow Labrador as he works the late shift with his owner Michael from 9pm to 5am the next morning. Working with at least two other canine colleagues at any one time, he makes sure that any luggage, panniers or backpacks passing through this important transport hub are clear of explosives.

Like many professional dog handlers working in law enforcement, Caboose's handler was formerly a dog handler in the U.S. marines. He talks about what a working day looks like for Caboose. The partners work through an agency and so can be deployed anywhere, but Caboose and Michael's regular patrol patch is the ferry terminal, where there are at least three dogs patrolling at any one time.

Do you work your dog or dogs?

If you'd be interested in talking about it on the show, please get in touch with Kate at [email protected]. 

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Meet Labradors Bess and Buster, trained by police in the UK for detection work in the fight against illegal wildlife trade in Thailand.

Bess and Buster will be combating the trafficking of the Critically Endangered pangolin, the worlds only scaly mammal. Thailand is a key trafficking route for both alive and dead pangolins to China and Vietnam, where there is a ready market for their scales and meat. 

Grant Miller of ZSL talks to Dogs with Jobs presenter Kate Fairweather about the conservation context and why pangolins matter.  He describes what lies ahead for Buster and Bess, who will join the conservation charity’s team of experts in Thailand and work alongside conservationists, border force operatives and Thailand's own police and law enforcement.

International collaboration

The pair are just one element of a multi-prong approach orchestrated by the conservation charity, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). It is an excitingly collaborative effort, involving the dog training instruction team at the UK's Metropolitan Police, ZSL and Thailand's own law enforcement. Grant explains the knowledge transfer going on, with modern dog training best practices being shared with local conservation workers. 

The dogs' initial training in the UK - which both passed with flying colours - will be completed in Thailand, where the scents they’ve been training with will be mixed with pangolin scales and eventually be withdrawn entirely. At this stage, Bess and Buster will be ready to work in the field with expert local handlers to detect the scent of pangolins being smuggled at airports, ports and roads, so the pangolins can be rescued and released back into the wild.  

Why Pangolins? 

All eight species of pangolin are on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and considered threatened with extinction. Although a total ban on commercial trade in pangolins was introduced in 2017, the world’s only scaly mammal is victim to highly unsustainable levels of poaching and illegal trade for their meat, scales and other body parts – with 200,000 pangolins believed to be trafficked every year. 

Find out more about ZSL's conservation work. 

Browse Dogs with Jobs for more dogs with interesting jobs!

Do you work your dog or dogs?

If you work your dog or dogs and would be interested in coming on the show, please get in touch with Kate at [email protected].

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2023

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Keo works as an OK9 dog through the police wellbeing charity, Oscar Kilo. 

Keo was smuggled to the UK during the lockdown in 2020 - a time when the price of puppies was soaring, and a black market in puppies flourishing. He was rescued by the police, and was eventually adopted by IT specialist Scott Parker, who works for the Gloucester Constabulary.

Scott has had his own mental health journey, and he and Keo (who still dislikes lorries) have developed a remarkable bond, which has benefited them both.  Scott is fully trained as a mental health support worker within the police force and Keo trots by his side as a well-being support dog. We hear the various scenarios they attend typically in this interview.

Keo's individual story is one of triumph over adversity, helped by and helping his owner, Scott, and sharing the health benefit more widely within the police force.  

We hope to capture the big picture too, and profile the work of the OK9 charity over the coming months. 

You can find more information on Keo, photos etc on the episode webpage shineradio.uk/dogswithjobs.

Similar or connected episodes:

Meet Mabel, emotional support worker in the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire Service, from her owner, the Chief Fire Officer.

Browse Dogs with Jobs for more dogs with interesting jobs!

Do you work your dog or dogs?

If you work your dog or dogs and would be interested in coming on the show, please get in touch with Kate at [email protected].

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2023

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join Giglee, the truffle hunter as he searches for English truffle - the elusive, exclusive and very expensive underground fungus.

This month on Dogs with Jobs, Kate Fairweather goes truffle hunting with Giglee and his owner Tom Lywood.

Giglee is a Lagotta Romagnolo, an ancient breed that originated in Italy's Po Valley. This area was marshland in the sixteenth century, when the breed was used to hunt water fowl. Nowadays, the breed is very much associated with truffle hunting in Italy. It's a treat to meet one, as they are a rarity in the UK.

At one year old, Giglee is not yet a reliable hunter in comparison with Tom's three year old dog, Tobacco. He's easily distracted, but now he's going out hunting with Tom on his own, he's stepping up and starting to perform.

This interview was recorded during a cold snap in late January, with temperatures of -7°C  overnight, which was far from ideal conditions. Will the ground be too frozen to detect and dig truffles?  Find out in this month's Dogs with Jobs.

Browse Dogs with Jobs for other talented working dogs on Petersfield's Shine Radio.

Do you work your dog or dogs?

If you would be interested in coming on Dogs with Jobs, please get in touch with Kate at [email protected] or call 10730 555 500.  Kate is particularly keen to interview a sniffer dog! 

Search for Dogs with Jobs on your podcast app - and online anytime.

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2023

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meet Mabel, a glorious fudge-brown cockapoo (cocker spaniel and poodle cross) who works as an emotional support dog in the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire Service.

Mabel is interesting on two levels: first, for the role she's in currently, as the first emotional support dog in this fire service. Three of the UK's 17 fire investigation search dogs are also in Hampshire (we featured Louis the fire dog in 2022). So it's a regional fire service with a lot of knowhow around working dogs.

Secondly, she's also pilot testing how emotional support dogs could be deployed within this traditional and hierarchical emergency service. We've heard of emotional support dogs in other regions' fire services such as Avon and Scotland, but not too many.

Mabel's owner is the Chief Fire Officer, Neil Odin, who combines a strategic overview of the organisation as a whole with a thorough understanding of working dogs. He describes the difference Mabel makes to his working life to Dogs with Jobs presenter Kate Fairweather and explains how he thinks emotional support dogs could be integrated into a modern Fire Service.

You can find more information on Mabel, photos etc on the episode webpage shineradio.uk/dogswithjobs.

Similar or connected episodes

Hear about police emotional support dog, Keo, through the police wellbeing charity OK9

Browse Dogs with Jobs for more dogs with interesting jobs!

Do you work your dog or dogs?

If you would be interested in coming on the show, please get in touch with Kate at [email protected] or call 10730 555 500.  Kate is particularly keen to interview a sniffer dog! 

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2023

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We met Cashel the autism assistance dog a few weeks ago, in December.

This follow up episode features a planning discussion on how Cashel will support Leo over the next year. 

Leo, his parents, and Hilary Armour of Dogs for Autism have kindly agreed to share the audio of this development meeting. It gives a good insight into the level of care and thought that support a successful autism assistance dog relationship.  

A fascinating aspect of autism assistance dogs placed with young people is that both dog and human companion are still maturing and developing. Cashel was placed originally with Leo as a sixth form student with a predictable life.  Now Leo is forging a career in acting and music his life is less predictable and more complex. Which is part of why it's so interesting.

Thanks to Leo and family and Dogs for Autism for sharing this. Neurodiverse people (and their needs) vary hugely. An assistance dog is not for everyone, however appealing it looks. We know from the many approaches we've had via the podcast that a lot of people crave information about autism assistance dogs.

We hope to keep bringing you updates on Cashel and Leo, and provide a window into the ebb and flow, challenges and delights of a successful autism assistance dog and human relationship over time.

Cashel was trained and placed with Leo by the charity Dogs for Autism.

Find out more about autism assistance dogs in previous Dogs with Jobs interviews:

• Meet Daisy, another autism assistance dog who works with a non-verbal autistic teenager; 
• Hear an Interview from October 2021 with Hilary Armour talking about the work of the charity, Dogs for Autism.

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2023

You can find more information in other episodes and photos etc on our webpage at shineradio.uk/dogswithjobs. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meet Cashel, an autism assistance dog who joined his owner Leo Long during the pandemic, when he was a 17 year old sixth form student.   

Three years on, cavapoo Cashel's working life looks very different.  Lockdown is mercifully a distant memory, and Leo's acting career has taken off. Leo has recently starred as a gifted young autistic drummer in the feelgood Netflix hit, "I used to be Famous", performed Shakespeare on the London stage and taken a role in an ITV4 series.

Dogs with Jobs presenter Kate Fairweather hears about how Cashel came into Leo's life, their developing partnership and how he helps Leo day to day.

We've featured an autism assistance dog previously on Dogs with Jobs, through an interview with its trainer and mother of its human partner. This episode hears first hand from autistic actor and musician Leo about his lived experience with Cashel, and the difference an autism assistance dog makes to his life.

Cashel was trained and placed with Leo by the charity Dogs for Autism.

Update: Leo and Cashel had a development meeting a few weeks after this original interview, in January 2023.  They have kindly shared the audio from this, to give an insight into the planning and training that underpins a successful partnership.

Find out more about autism assistance dogs in previous Dogs with Jobs interviews:

• Meet Daisy, another autism assistance dog who works with a non-verbal autistic teenager; 
• Hear an Interview from October 2021 with Hilary Armour talking about the work of the charity, Dogs for Autism.

Find more dogs with interesting jobs. 

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2022

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Accompany Millie the golden labrador on her hospital rounds, as she spreads joy and warmth to staff and patients alike at Petersfield Hospital on this month's episode of Dogs with Jobs. 

It's a deceptively simple episode - the gentle sound of a dog padding around the hospital on an ordinary Thursday morning. Yet there's a magic here when the dog loving patients encounter Millie, and talk about how much they look forward to getting back home to their own much loved canine companions. 

Former rescue dog Millie is a Pets as Therapy (PAT) dog and Petersfield is just one of her regular stops. Owner Linda Tipple explains the rhythms of Millie's part time working life and its rewards.

If you are interested in volunteering with your dog, please take a listen to the January 2021 interview with Patricia Bland of Pets as Therapy, who explains the qualities she looks for in a therapy dog. See the photos as usual at shineradio.uk/dogswithjobs.

In this episode you can also hear the winning submission of Dogs with Jobs, which won Gold at the Community Radio Awards 2022 in Bedford in November.

Other therapy dog interviews

• Meet Louis as he attends a military veterans' support session at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth
• Meet Phantom, the secondary school reading assistant at Bohunt School
• Meet Sprout the care home visitor and university emotional support worker
• Hear from Patricia Bland on what qualities they look for in Pets as Therapy dogs. 

Do you work your dog or dogs?

Get in touch with Kate at [email protected] or on 01730 555 500. 

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2022

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Shine Radio programme celebrates the frontline workers of the canine world, and was named best podcast in the 2022 Community Radio Awards.

Hear the announcement and presenter Kate Fairweather's acceptance speech at the awards ceremony held on Saturday night.

The prize was one of three collected by Shine Radio volunteers. The Shine Radio recipe won bronze for best podcast and the station as whole was named the best digital community radio station in the UK.

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You rarely hear about bloodhound packs, because they are entirely uncontroversial. It's also a relatively new sport - there are barely a dozen packs in the UK. So this is something of a scoop!

Every Sunday, volunteer "quarries" pull on their trainers and run around 5km or so, following a route that has been pre-agreed with the landowners. Their mission is to outrun and outwit the bloodhounds, zig-zagging across the Hampshire countryside in order to throw them off the scent. It's rare that that they succeed. 

Bloodhounds are the undisputed kings of the scenting world. Their scenting abilities are so superior that they can distinguish between the scent of individual humans.

in this month's Dogs with Jobs, Kate Fairweather meets Jeremy Whaley, who is both senior joint Master and Huntsman of the South Downs Bloodhounds. He gives a rarely heard and remarkable insight into the working lives of his pack, which he started almost a decade ago.  

Find more dogs with interesting dogs.

Do you work your dog or dogs?

Please get in touch with Kate Fairweather if you would be interested in being on the podcast at [email protected] or find us on facebook or instagram.  

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2022

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode of Dogs with Jobs features a working pack of beagles.

Kennel huntsman Danny Allen describes the breeding, management and daily working lives of these characterful hounds to presenter Kate Fairweather.

Danny has worked with the Palmer Marlborough Clinkard Meon Valley Beagles for eight years, and combines insight into breeding, hunting and working of beagles with an obvious affection for his canine charges.

Find more dogs with interesting jobs.

Do you work your dog or dogs?

Please get in touch with Kate Fairweather if you would be interested in being on the podcast at [email protected].

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2022

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This month’s guest is Clover, a liver and white springer spaniel. The interview was recorded at the South Downs Show in August, where Clover was demonstrating her talents as part of the Hamble and Hound Gun dog club. 

Presenter Kate Fairweather chats to Jo Bennett about Clover, the first springer spaniel she ever owned. Clover’s need to work soon became apparent, and Jo started gun dog training as a way of keeping her stimulated and happy. It wasn’t long before Clover’s natural talent showed itself, and Jo has competed with this lovely spaniel to considerable success in scurries (scurries are competitions, in which gun dogs have to find and retrieve a series of lures in a certain order, working against the clock).  

Doing demonstrations with other gun dogs at country shows is part of Clover’s working life.  Jo explains how working breeds need mental stimulation as well as exercise, and discusses training tips for keeping clever dogs stimulated and happy. 

Discover more dogs with interesting jobs.

Do you work your dog or dogs? If you would be interested in coming on the show, please get in touch with Kate at [email protected] or call 10730 555 500.  (Kate is particularly keen to interview a sniffer dog!)

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather 2022

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Meet Little Nippers, a performing troupe of terriers and lurchers, who work the country shows all over the UK.

Their entertaining performance at country shows educates the public and demonstrates the lost sport of coursing, using an electric lure.  Coursing is the hunting of game such as hares with greyhounds, which use sight rather than scent, and has been banned in the UK since 2004.

Phil Gibbons talks about life on the road with his 10 dogs to Dogs with Jobs presenter Kate Fairweather. Nothing is too good for his beloved dogs, who have a comfortable movie-star style trailer when on the road, but are very much family pets when at home.  

Find other dogs with interesting jobs. 

Do you work your dog or dogs? Please get in touch with Kate Fairweather if you would be interested in being on the podcast by emailing [email protected].

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2022

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meet Louis, a talented springer spaniel, who works for the Hampshire Fire Service. 

Louis is a Fire Investigation & Search Dog and is trained to sniff out the presence of flammable materials efficiently and with outstanding accuracy in minutes, where humans might take days to cover the same area. There are just 17  working fire dogs in the whole of the UK, making Louis a rarity and something of a scoop for Dogs with Jobs.

Louis' career success is heartwarming, since he was made homeless at less than a year old. His original family simply couldn’t cope with his high energy and what dog handlers call  “play drive”. 

He was rescued by veteran dog handler and firefighter Sean White. Sean knew that Louis craved mental and physical stimulation, and that a job would allow him to channel all that energy in a productive way. 

Sean describes how Louis joined the fire service as a trainee, alongside Sean’s other Fire Investigation & Search Dogs, Harvey and Ruby.

Find out about other dogs with interesting jobs.

Do you work your dog or dogs?  If you would consider coming on the show, please get in touch with presenter Kate Fairweather on [email protected] or find us via facebook or instagram.

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2022

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tucked away in a converted barn in the tiny South Downs village of Ramsdean, Hounds for Heroes is a charity, which trains and provides assistance dogs for disabled veterans from the military and emergency services. 

Founder Allen Parton talks to Dogs with Jobs presenter Kate Fairweather about how the dogs are trained, and explains the story behind the dogs' names. He also explains what they look for in "puppy parents", the other vital component in raising a well balanced assistance dog. 

This is a companion piece to the Dogs with Jobs edition, which focuses on E.J. the military assistance dog.

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Meet E.T., (short for Endal III), a talented young labrador retriever and third in a line of exceptional assistance dogs. Handler and owner Allen Parton is a disabled ex-Royal Navy Chief Petty Officer, who founded the military assistance dog charity, Hounds for Heroes, in 2010. 

Allen returned from the Gulf War in 1991 with a serious head injury to spend five years  in hospital, following which he needed specialist day care. He tells Kate Fairweather about how Endal became his first, “accidental” assistance dog. In the early days, Allen was unable to communicate verbally and used signing alone to communicate with his dog. In the circumstances, it's quite moving to hear Allen describing his recovery - he's come a long way with the help of his hounds. 

Endal was succeeded by E.J. (Endal Junior), whose death in Spring 2022 left E.T. (Endal III) in the hot seat!  Together with Rookie, an experienced assessment dog, E.J. is already supporting Allen day to day. Allen explains how the assistance dogs in his life have given him purpose, transformed his health and helped his relationships. He also describes how the charity he founded helps other disabled servicemen and women. 

Find other dogs with interesting jobs.

Do you work your dog or dogs, or know someone who does?  You can get in touch with Kate at Dogs with Jobs at [email protected] or find Dogs with Jobs on Facebook or Instagram.

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather 2022

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This month, we meet Simone Brainch from the UK charity Medical Detection Dogs.

Simone explains how the charity has developed since 2014, including its network of Medical Alert Assistance Dogs.

The charity's specially trained assistance dogs alert their owners to impending medical emergencies, such as hypo-glycemic episodes or even allergic reactions. These dogs work incredibly closely with their human partners to warn them of an impending health episode, giving them the time to make themselves safe.

It’s all down to the dogs’ amazing sense of smell - they are trained to identify tiny odour changes emitted by their owner before an emergency and alert the person to take preventative action. 

Find out more at Medical Alert Assistance Dogs.

Explore other Dogs with Jobs episodes (and see photos!) on our website.

If you would like to come on the podcast and introduce your working dog(s), get in touch at [email protected].

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather 2021

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meet Phantom. This retired racing greyhound first showed his therapeutic chops at the Greyhound Rescue Centre in Rake, with his calming influence on other greyhounds. After four years as a family pet, he has embarked on a second career, volunteering as a PAT "Read to" dog in the Solaris Nurture Unit at Bohunt School in Liphook. 

Presenter Kate Fairweather meets Phantom and his owner, Erika Harris, for a Sunday morning coffee at Petersfield Heath's cafe, the Plump Duck. 

More info on how to volunteer as a Pets as Therapy dog in our interview with Patricia Bland, published last January.

Find out about other dogs with interesting jobs.

Do you work your dog or dogs?  Get in touch with Kate about your dog's working life, she'd love to hear from you! Just email [email protected].  More info at shineradio.uk/dogswithjobs/.

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This is a companion to November 2021 episode, which featured hunting hound pups, Debit and Dervish.

The modern English Foxhound is one of the healthiest in the canine world. Bred for function rather than form, these supremely athletic hounds cover 15-20 miles of country in a working day. Depending on their hunting country, they might need strong back legs for hill work, overall muscular strength to navigate heavy plough, or speed for the hilly grassland of the South Downs. 

Hound breeding expert Carolyn gives an overview of how bloodlines are tracked and how hunts collaborate on hound breeding. The hound stud books go back to 1800 and are a vital part of breed management. Carolyn, has overseen the hound breeding for one local hunt and is trustee for several others. She explains how breeding is managed and documented and how individual hunts cooperate to keep the gene pool healthy. 

Jobs with Jobs presenter Kate Fairweather hears about the lure of the Peterborough (hound show) champion, how hunts cooperate with each other in drafting hounds between packs, and why no money changes hands.

If you would be interested in being featured with your dog or dogs on Dogs with Jobs, please get in touch with Kate Fairweather at shineradio.uk/dogswithjobs.

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather 2021

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Meet Debit and Dervish. These affectionate, exuberant hound puppies live with their puppy walker Carolyn in an orchard in Hampshire.

They arrived at 8 weeks old and will spend most of their first year here, before they return to a local trail hunting pack, which, which numbers some 38 couple (76) drag hunting hounds.

Their puppy walker will ensure that they encounter a wide variety of people, children, horses and farm animals as well as cars, tractors. Although their destiny is pack life, hunting trails for the local hunt, this socialisation is a vital part of their development as a working hound. 

Carolyn explains some of the traditions of hound ownership and gives an insight into the local hunting community, at the centre of which are the hounds.

She explains to presenter Kate Fairweather how hounds like Debit and Dervish have been carefully bred to combine stamina and pace in equal measure to suit their country in the South Downs, and why they have the distinction of being one of the healthiest breeds in the canine world.

Do you work your dog or dogs and would consider coming on the show?

Get in touch with Kate Fairweather via [email protected]

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather 2021

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The charity Dogs for Autism was founded by a dog trainer, pet behaviourist and special needs schoolteacher, to focus on training, placing and supporting assistance dogs for  autistic people, including children.

Neurodiverse people vary as much as neurotypical people. However, they tend to share certain characteristics, such as extreme sensitivity to particular noises or other stimuli, which make navigating public space and everyday life a challenge. 

Hilary Armour, CEO and founder of Dogs for Autism, explains the many levels on which an autism assistance dog can make a difference. 

Its presence signals to the general public that someone needs assistance, and often makes them kinder and more supportive. An early warning of an autistic meltdown makes it easier for a family to risk everyday things like walking through a shopping centre or visiting the park together.

For an autistic person, a trusted canine companion brings security and confidence, and often a first taste of freedom. 

Find out how more at Dogs for Autism.

©️ & ℗ Kate Fairweather 2021

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Meet the talented Daisy, who works with a non-verbal autistic teenager and his family.

Hear how golden retriever Daisy has transformed the lives of her human partner, Marcus, and those closest to him.

Daisy provides an invaluable early warning of an impending meltdown with 100% accuracy - which has opened up public places and travel to the whole family. When Marcus does become emotionally disregulated, her training in deep pressure work means that she helps him to calm down.  

Presenter Kate Fairweather meets Marcus’ mum, Hilary Armour, a skilled animal behaviourist, dog trainer, special needs schoolteacher and founder of the Alton-based charity, Dogs for Autism.

Hilary personally trained her son's first assistance dog.  She explains the subtleties of family groups, where the dog is part of a team of carers. She also describes how the assistance dog partnership evolves when child and dog grow up together as part of the family.

©️ & ℗ Kate Fairweather 2021

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Meet Alfie, a handsome, half 'patched' dalmatian in this month's Dogs with Jobs and hear about his busy working life as a  model and actor.

Blessed with a muscular physique and rakish looks, thanks to his unique face patch markings, Alfie has starred in rap videos, TV programmes and is much sought after as a model by household names such as Boden and furniture manufacturer, made.com.

When you look this good, does anything else matter?  Well, yes! Alfie’s work requires a performance ethic with first class obedience and exceptional steadiness - all of which are very useful on a fashion shoot. 

Presenter Kate Fairweather hears from Alfie's owner Jan Kiley about how his career took off, and what’s next for this handsome fellow.

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2021

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Kate Fairweather introduces Drake, a talented black labrador retriever, who was England’s top scoring gun dog two years in a row at the “Gun dog Olympics” - a.k.a. the Anglesey International. Hear Drake hunting for a dummy bird on the Cowdray Estate in West Sussex, helped by whistle commands from his owner, Jason Mayhew. 

Gundog trainer Jason tells the story behind Drake’s competition success in field trials - which simulate the conditions of a large scale pheasant shoot. 

Drake and retrievers like him must stay 100% focused on their handlers over significant distances and against a VERY noisy backdrop. How do they do it? Find out in this month’s Dogs with Jobs.

See more pictures and find out more about Dogs with Jobs at shineradio.uk/dogswithjobs, follow us on Instagram or find us on FB.

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather 2021

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This month, Dogs with Jobs follows young guide dog Benji over five weeks as he starts “on the job” training with owner John Welsman. 

From their first encounter in June, through two weeks of residential training at a Southampton hotel, instructor-supported training around their home town Petersfield and navigating their way to London via public transport.

After an intense five weeks, Benjy and John are ready to strike out on their own.

Kate Fairweather hears about the highs and lows on this month’s Dogs with Jobs.

Other connected episodes

• John Welsman talks about how his relationship with Benjy's predecessor, Breck the guide dog developed over eight years of partnership.
• Browse other dogs with interesting jobs.

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2021

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meet Rusty, a red, short coat collie with just one thing on his mind.

He works with his handler, Kev Saunders MBE as part of the Hampshire Search & Rescue (HSAR)  team, which supports the police on large scale searches for missing persons. 

He talks to Dogs with Jobs presenter Kate Fairweather about how things have gone in the pandemic, with a shift away from finding elderly confused people towards a younger demographic of vulnerable missing persons.

Kev explains their role as a vital and valued tool in large scale searches, when Rusty is mobilised alongside helicopters, drones and manpower when they're mobilised on a lowland rescue job.

It's basically a second job for Kev, who has volunteered for 15 years with HSAR and whose work was recognised with an MBE. Rusty is his second dog.

Find out more about supporting Hampshire Search & Rescue at https://hantsar.org/

© Kate Fairweather 2021

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How did an English Bull Terrier end up as a calming presence in Petersfield's care homes? Find out in this month's Dogs with Jobs, with presenter, Kate Fairweather.

Sprout is a "one off" in many ways. He survived an operation that went horribly wrong in his puppyhood and, with the help of his owner, Lizzie Strickland, he has overcome the considerable disabilities he was left with.

Now he spreads joy to the elderly in the town's care homes and helps university students struggling with their mental wellbeing.  

Other therapy dog episodes: 

• Louis the hospital visitor (Portsmouth)
• Phantom the secondary school support worker
• Millie the hospital visitor (Petersfield)
• Patricia Bland on the qualities needed to volunteer as a therapy dog.

© Kate Fairweather, 2021

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The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association oversees the country's largest breeding programme and trains around a quarter of the world's guide dogs..

Over coffee with John Welsman, Kate Fairweather hears about the astonishing range of work done by the UK charity and some of its newer initiatives. 

John is part of the charity's Canine Affairs team, which strategises about the future of guide dog ownership and works with government and service providers on behalf of Guide Dogs. He talks about some of the charity’s newer initiatives and explains the breadth of the its work for visual impaired people in the UK.

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Meet Breck, a talented golden retriever recently retired from an eight-year career in partnership with a highly experienced owner, whose job has entailed travelling all over the UK.

Breck's steadiness and adaptability proved to be essential qualities for success in guiding at this advanced level. 

Breck's owner John Welsman discusses some fascinating insights into the responsibilities and challenges facing both parties to Dogs with Jobs presenter, Kate Fairweather. John charts he evolution of this richly complex partnership over time. 

Other connected episodes

• Hear John Welsman as he and his new guide dog Benji (Breck's successor) hit their residential training course.
• Browse other dogs with interesting jobs.

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2021

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In Dogs with Jobs this month meet Max, Edie and Joe, the close knit team who together ensure a successful lambing operation at Rothercombe Farm, Stroud.

The Border Collies' obsessive herding instinct comes into its own. With over 1000 expectant ewes, the fields become an outdoor maternity unit for six hectic weeks. No surprise that things can get a little intense...

Farmer Andy Snow talks to Kate Fairweather of Shine Radio about how he can recognise talent in a puppy, on the job training them and how each dog's personality, preferences and particular skills come into play with an impressive team effort at lambing time. 

For photos, visit https://shineradio.uk/dogswithjobs

Connected episodes:

• Diva at the English National Sheepdog Trials 2023

Do you work your dog? Kate would love to hear from you!  Sporting dogs, caring dogs, service dogs - the more varied the better. Get in touch on [email protected].

© and Kate Fairweather, 2021

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Bonus episode of Dogs with Jobs!

In the course of researching this podcast, Kate Fairweather talks to a lot of people about working dogs. Here she talks to Jim Noble, who has spent a career devoted to working dogs - gun dogs, police dogs, sniffer dogs, search dogs. 

In the early 2000s the Hampshire Constabulary's Dog Unit (as it was then) invested in its first ever pair of bloodhounds, with a view to training them for missing persons cases, owing to their superior scent-tracking capabilities.

Jim recalls Lottie's first ever deployment and how she solved her first missing persons case in 2003. The sound's a bit crackly, as this was a telephone interview conducted during lockdown, but the story is gripping and his pride in a superb work partner comes across loud and clear. It was the first of dozens of searches that Lottie completed as a specialist search dog.

Do you work your dog? Get in touch with Kate at [email protected]. Caring dogs, service dogs, sporting dogs – the more varied the better! She’s interested in them all and would love to hear from you.

© Kate Fairweather, 2021

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A Belgian Malinois with a bright future.

Police Dog (P.D.) Didi is part of the Thames Valley, Hampshire & IOW Dog Section. 

Smaller and lighter than many of her police colleagues, P.D. Didi combines an easygoing nature with just a touch of swagger and supreme athleticism. 

Her handler, P.C. Beale, talks to Kate Fairweather about her abilities, their relationship and what it takes to make it in the police dog world.

Dogs with Jobs is a unique audio series from Petersfield's Shine Radio, in which Kate Fairweather meets and celebrates the front line workers of the canine world. 

Produced by volunteers at Petersfield's Shine Radio.

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2021

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Patricia Bland, Pets as Therapy regional coordinator for the Petersfield area, explains what they seek in a therapy dog. 

More information at petsastherpy.org

Other therapy dog interviews

• Meet Phantom, the secondary school reading assistant at Bohunt School
• Meet Millie the hospital visitor at Petersfield Hospital
• Meet Sprout the care home visitor and university emotional support worker

Do you work your dog or dogs?

Get in touch with Kate at [email protected]. 

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2022

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Acorn works at Petersfield Infants School as a Pets as Therapy (PAT) reading dog.

Does he enjoy his job?  Kate Fairweather hears about his working life from owner Judy Bridgland.

More information on volunteering with your dog at petsastherapy.org.

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Meet the front line workers of the canine world in a new Shine Radio series.

This is where we celebrate the key workers of the canine world, and admire the intelligence and skill of working dogs.

Join Kate Fairweather to meet some of the most talented working dogs you could wish to meet: trained and ready to handle everything their jobs throw at them.

What the characters we meet have in common is the focus and determination to harness their intelligence, instinct and often courage in their work.

Do you know a hard working dog?  Let us know at [email protected]. Maybe they’ll be on here too!

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