Super Dogs with Extraordinary Jobs review by Christopher Stevens

Super Dogs with Extraordinary Jobs (Channel 5) 

Rating:

A pint?! That’s very nearly a tail-full . . . as Tony Hancock might have said, if his dog had been the blood donor instead of him.

Bear the Great Dane regularly donates blood for transfusion to other dogs undergoing surgery. In fact, even an animal as big as Bear can’t give more than a tenth of a pint at a time, but that’s enough to help four other pets.

He’s one of the Super Dogs With Extraordinary Jobs, and he makes an ideal donor because of his soppy temperament. 

Laidback and gentle, he loves a tummy tickle, and is happy to lie on the vet’s table with an extraction needle in one vein (without any sedative) as long as he’s getting plenty of fuss.

Bear’s blood helped save a poorly miniature dachshund named Otto from a bout of jaundice. Once the little sausage dog was on the mend, their owners brought the two pets together, hoping they’d be instant pals.

It didn’t quite work out that way. Otto wouldn’t stop barking at Bear, who is ten times his size. That’s to be expected of course — Germans and Danes never did get on. It’s something to do with the Schleswig-Holstein Question.

Equally predictable was how this straightforward show managed to be informative and lovable at the same time. 

Narrator Mel Giedroyc introduced us to a collection of clever mutts — rescue dogs, medical dogs, detector dogs, all of them with natural superpowers.

Bumper the golden retriever has been trained since puppydom to sniff out the faint but distinctive odour of Parkinson’s disease long before the first symptoms show. This enables patients to begin treatment far earlier.

And, of course, this method has the advantage that it’s far easier to summon a dog than it is to get an appointment with a GP. If only doctors could be trained to come bounding up when you whistle.

Jac the springer spaniel sniffs out leaks in underground power lines. His pinpoint accuracy avoids the need to dig up whole roads in search of broken cables.

Exactly what Jac can smell wasn’t properly explained. Electricity is odourless, but apparently there’s some kind of fluid in the cable.

This show was light on that kind of detail — we also weren’t told whether dogs have different blood types, like humans, or whether a manmade scanner might also pick up the tell- tale whiff of Parkinson’s and other conditions.

None of that mattered when we met Toby and Amos, a 14-year-old Border terrier and his blind friend, a Staffie. Amos came from a litter at a rescue centre and was helpless at first, unable even to find his way to the water bowl.

But Toby took charge, guiding the pup with nudges and bumps. Now when they go out for a walk, Toby leads the way and steers Amos around obstacles. The total understanding between the pair is extraordinary to see.

The little terrier is a self-taught guide dog. This is a show to reassure every owner: our pets really are marvellous.