Dogs with Jobs

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. 

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 team@shineradio.uk.

© & ℗ Kate Fairw...

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 partnership collaboration between the assistance dog charities, Dogs for Autism and Medical Detection Dogs. 

Felicity and her family trained and graduated Phil through the owner-trainer programme at Pawsable Assistance Dogs CI, and...

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 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...

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. He explains how Duke helps him when he’s at risk of an PTSD episode and the practical and emotional support he provides. 

Dogs with Jobs...

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, in March 2025. 

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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 warmth of the Canicross community and the significant physical and mental health benefits of this burgeoning sport.  

A joyful and powerful advocate for the sport, she...

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 your dog with a bungee line."

Canicross' origins lie in Scandinavia and Northern Europe, developed as a means of keeping "mushing" dogs fit during the summer - in...

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 working dogs (tracking, obedience, protection)or working trials for protective breeds - notably German Shepherds but also the other main protection dog breeds.  Schutzhund was given Intangible Cultural Heritage status by UNESCO in 2025. 

Bern...

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 National Police Dog Trials 2025, which took place in May at the Tally Ho training grounds, outside Birmingham. 

Bringing together police dogs and their handlers - from Scotland to Cornwall, this is a remarkable display of...

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 2023, the charity was just starting to consider whether its work could extend into Parkinsons - which is hard to diagnose currently. The classic sympoms of Parkinsons, such as tremors, become obvious only l...

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 drive remained low. 

Then, Martina and her partner had the chance to take on the tenancy of a busy farm which meant that Tay had to step up.

Mar...

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 alongside Viper on the job. 

It's a varied life, and Dave and his dogs are deployed in a wide range of situations.  As Viper heads towards ret...

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 work. 

Natalie is a great interviewee - highly knowledgable on allergens, and wonderfully articulate on the dangers around food and social ritual for those people who, like her daughter, have a lif...

Reporting from Crufts, the best known dog show in the world. 

On International Women's Day, we hear from Police Constable Sue Cheek, who was the first woman instructor in the West Midlands Police's Dog Unit.

Police Dog Chase has already shown his superb recall and restraint in the ring earlier in the day. He'll be taking a starring role in the main arena later as part of the Dog Unit's traditional display...In a show that is half drama, half panto, the dogs thrill the packed audience with their abilities to quel disorder, apprehend burglars a...

Herbie, a jet black labrador retriever works as a golf ball detection dog at several golf courses around Petersfield.

Owner Roger Hetherington explains how Herbie came to be a golf ball detection dog, the astonishing personal contribution he has made to the cancer charity Macmillan through a golf ball recycling initiative, and the unexpectedly grave danger that lurks on the golf course in high summer. 

Dogs with Jobs

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 s...

Father of two, Nathan Foy, has worked with a guide dog since he was 18 years old.

Nathan explains the profound loss the accompanies the end of a partnership, as well as the gratitude he feels every time he steps outside his house with his guide dog partner.

It is also a fascinating insight into the human guide dog partnership and its evolution over time. Nathan explains the efficiencies that mark out a veteran dog and how non-verbal communication takes over from verbal commands over time.

Each of his (very different) dogs have accompanied...

Dogs with jobs pays an early morning visit to the Hursley Hambledon pack of English Foxhounds in their lodges.

Amid the early morning excitement of the pack, Kennel huntsman Keiran gives an insight into pack life. He explains that there's no a particular "top dog" among the boys. The social hierarchy is more complex and changeable among the girls. Surprisingly, the individual canine most "in charge" is not a foxhound at all - but a pint-sized terrier called Poppy.

With at least one, occasionally two litters a year, scenting talent and knowhow is passed down...

In this Christmas AND 4th birthday show, creators Kate Fairweather and John Welsman discuss how Dogs with Jobs has evolved and play snippets from some of their favourite episodes. They celebrate four years of fun making working dog podcasts together and discovering more jobs being done by dogs than they had ever thought possible back in 2021.

What started as an amusing lockdown project created by two community radio volunteers during the pandemic quickly showed it had legs.

Dogs with Jobs took Podcast of the Year at the National Community Radio Awards 2022 and has been a...

A throwback to summer... this episode of Dogs with Jobs was recorded at the Hampshire Gun Dog Show in August, which featured around 30 gun dog breeds, from golden retrievers and springer spaniels to rare European gun dog breeds. 

Joy Venturi Rose of the Hampshire Gun Dog Society describes the various events put on by the society, which include open shows, working tests, field trials and training classes.

Joy touches on working breed standards in this succinct, but excellent overview of gun dog breeds, and shares some ideas for keeping your working breed pet happy and s...

We first heard about the work of Reid the biosecurity dog five months back. 

Conservationist and handler Rachel Cripps talks to presenter Kate Fairweather about Reid's work, visiting Scotland's islands during the course of the year, in all weathers, searching for evidence of rat incursions. 

Rachel explains the plans for winter, when weather stops all island visits, and how she keeps Reid ticking over and his skills developing. 

What is biosecurity?

Biosecurity is the practice of protecting places from the threats to wildlife posed by the introduction of new diseases or typ...

With long waiting lists for autism assistance dogs and medical alert dogs, and little prospect of getting one, teenager Ella Walker decided to train her own.

Meet Ralph, a multi-tasking medical alert and assistance dog, who’s just perfect for Ella.

They've been together since golden retriever Ralph was less than a year old. Since then, Ella has focused on training him for a range of specialist tasks and functions, with the help and support form her family and others.

Ella explains why she always has her eye on the next milestone for Ra...

Dogs pretty much outnumbered people at the Country Sports Day at Bereleigh, East Meon, both inside and outside the arena.

A particular delight was the arena demonstration from seasoned gun dog trainer, Graham Watkins, whose five spaniels, including a talented two year old and a 12 year grande dame, showed the range of jobs these dogs do on shoots during the season.

Dogs with Jobs presenter Kate Fairweather, caught up with veteran trainer Graham Watkins, who has five decades of experience training gun dogs. Semi retired now, he trains just a couple of dogs at a...

Black Labrador, Echo and her daughters, Delta and Polar pick up on shoots in the shooting season, and excel at scurries, trials and other activities during the summer.

The trio are much loved pets, but their owner, Kevin Warburton, is also a seasoned gun dog handler and part of the Hamble and Hound Gun dog Club.

The club puts on scurries at the South Downs Show, which takes place just outside Petersfield every summer.  

Kevin tells Dogs with Jobs presenter Kate Fairweather how he keeps them fit and well for the season, and ho...

Daisie is a black Labrador retriever, who works as an "ambassadog" for the assistance dog charity, Canine Partners. 

Daisie and her handler, Ellie Chadwick, demonstrate to the general public the various tasks that an assistance may do to support its disabled human handler. They do this on a voluntary basis at weekends at country shows and other events all over the country, as part of the charity's fundraising efforts. 

Ellie's day job is also within Canine Partners, and she has spent her career to date working with and training support dogs.

This is li...

Darcey, the golden Labrador retriever has been partnered with illustrator and teaching assistant, Wren Rawlings for over six years. 

Wren explains to presenter Kate Fairweather what Darcey does for him and how the partnership has seen him through a roller coaster seven years. Having had pretty normal health through his childhood and teenage years, Wren was struck with life-altering illness when he was a university student, which left him disabled.

The partnership is one of Canine Partners' many successes: Wren starts a teaching job in September and is getting married in a month after that...

Mika is one of two wellbeing and trauma support dogs working in London's Metropolitan Police supporting officers' wellbeing, often in the face of trauma and emotionally challenging work.

As a working chocolate Labrador, she's a distinctive presence and something of a one off, recruited specifically for healing work. 

One reason that Mika and her canine colleague, Dexter and their handlers are interesting is that they and their handlers are on the payroll. The therapy dog model is well established in the UK, but these dogs are part of the mental health support structure, and perform a...

A window into the world of forensic police dogs within the Metropolitan Police, the UK's largest urban police force.  

Police Constable Clyde Charlesworth has worked forensic dogs for over 15 years, having worked on many significant UK disasters, such as the collapse of Grenfell tower in London, the Croydon tram crash, searches for missing persons Sarah Everard, April Jones, Alice Gross.

Clyde talks to Dogs with Jobs presenter, Kate Fairweather in between displays in the arena at Goodwoof 2024, and explains the scope of work within this scent detection discipline.  Forensic dogs' work is vital in finding evi...

Meet Skye, an English springer spaniel who is one of a ten strong stoat detection dog team working on the Orkney Native Wildlife Project.

That may sound like a lot of dogs, but since 2010, when the first stoat was spotted on Orkney, this INCREDIBLY successful predator has bred in its thousands, posing a huge problem to the island’s wildlife:  

The display from the Odyssey Flyball Club proved one of the delights of the Goodwoof arena at the Goodwood Estate in Sussex a few weeks back.

Flyballer handler Hilary Larkham explains to Dogs with Jobs presenter Kate Fairweather what flyball is all about, how it came to the UK, and why precision timing is just as important as speed in this high octane, four dog relay race.

Although you can see flyball at Crufts every year, this emerging, wildly exciting relay race over obstacles is not as well known as it deserves to be in...

Six year Ninja is probably the best known proponent of "barkour" (parkour for dogs) in the world. Owner and handler Dominik Arend used to teach parkour to children in his native Germany, but Ninja and he now work professionally together.

Parkour, also known as free-running or l'art du déplacement (art of movement) originated in France and is a discipline, which demands both athleticism and artistic expression. The urban environment is viewed as an obstacle course to be engaged with in one’s own individual, often gymnastic style.

Dominik is eloquent and fascinating on the act...

Meet talented youngster, Police Dog Meika, of the London Metropolitan Police's Dog Section. 

A week shy of her second birthday, Springer spaniel Meika is already trained in detection work across several disciplines, including drugs, firearms and cash detection. 

Police Constable Emma Robling explains some of the training and demands on Meika, as well as what a working day looks like. She also gives some context - the Met has its own breeding scheme and lays claim to the UK's biggest urban police dog section, with a dizzying variety of specialist search disciplines. Meika and Emma ar...

Hear about the vital contribution to seabird conservation made by Reid, an English springer spaniel who works as a rodent detection dog in the Scottish islands.

Conservationist and handler Rachel Cripps talks to presenter Kate Fairweather about Reid's work, visiting Scotland's islands during the course of the year, in all weathers, searching for evidence of rat incursions. 

Biosecurity is the practice of protecting places from the threats to wildlife posed by the introduction of new diseases or types of plants or animals that do not naturally occur there.

The work of Biosecurity for S...

We hear a lot about breeding in working dogs. Yet we know little about their brains: 

Kate Fairweather asks these questions and more of Sophie Barton of the Canine Brains Project, based in the Hecht Lab at Harvard University in Boston.

Sophie oversees the Working Breed Study at the Canine Brains Project. This is a non-invasive brain imaging study into selected working breeds. A major goal of this...

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.

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 en...

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 d...

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...

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 an...

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...

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 wolv...