Jip Firefighting Pup Animals at Work

Hey, Animals At Work watchers. Welcome to another great episode.

All over the planet there are millions of animals that have jobs.

Aah!

This is the show that brings you the funniest, coolest

and most bizarre Animals At Work.

Coming up.

A trainee search and rescue dog faces his biggest fear...

..a turtle shows off his amazing tricks...

..and the Fanimals judge who is the better dancer - Dad or a dog.

But now, it's show time.

Hey, welcome to Animals At Work.

I'm usually a very brave guy, and I'm not afraid of things, but wooh!

There's a lot of creepy crawlies around here.

Urgh. Yeah, go ahead.

Ahhh!

That's awesome, really great.

You can have him back now.

Now, a story about another brave critter, Jip,

the firefighting puppy.

Where's your bathroom?

Our first talented animal lives in Liverpool in the UK.

Meet Jip, a young friendly pup who's training

to be a search and rescue dog for the Fire Brigade.

MUSIC: "Fire" by Kasabian

He lives with his trainer, Jo.

This is Jip, he's an Australian kelpie,

he's one and he started search and rescue training a month ago.

We've six months of intensive training to go

and hopefully he'll then pass an assessment

and work for Merseyside Fire and Rescue.

But first, he must pass his most important assessment.

Five weeks from today...

..will determine if training should continue.

So Jip's got to focus.

The Fire Brigade uses dogs to help find people

in burning and collapsed buildings.

Search and rescue dogs are very important.

If someone is trapped under rubble, we don't know where to dig.

They could be anywhere and it would take days to find them, if at all.

Dogs can find people much quicker using their super sniffing powers.

They can locate odours at concentrations

nearly 100 million times

lower than a human can.

But search and rescue dogs need to have more than just a good nose.

They need to be fearless and confident

and unfortunately, Jip is a pooch who's easily spooked.

At first, Jip was very nervous.

He wouldn't walk with a lead or go upstairs.

He was scared of his own shadow.

Jip's become a bit braver during training,

but still suffers from nerves when the pressure is on.

You can tell that he's not confident from his body language.

His tail will be tucked under,

his ears go back and he may cower.

Jip is an Australian kelpie.

They were bred in Australia for herding sheep,

and have lots of qualities the fire service look for.

Kelpies are excellent working dogs,

they love to work all day and have lots and lots of energy.

But if this nervous pup can't overcome his fears,

he'll never achieve his dream

-of joining the fire brigade.

-SIRENS BLARE

He needs to discover the fearless hero inside him.

And Jip has some big heroes to look up to.

He lives and trains with two of the top dogs in the country -

his work buddies, Jake and Zak.

Jake is...

and Zak is...

They're Border collies and trained search and rescue dogs.

Jip wants to be like them,

follow in their footsteps and be a good search dog.

Jake is due to retire at the end of the year.

It's Jo's hope that Jip can step into his firedog boots.

But that's a long way off yet, and Jip has a lot of work to do.

His first assessment is just around the corner

and it's time to knuckle down.

Today, Jip is learning the very basics of searching for someone.

Officers use Jip's favourite toy, a tennis ball,

and encourage him to chase it and hunt.

When he barks, they reward him with the ball.

Once Jip's got the hang of this, things go to the next level.

We're now going to perform a run away.

Lee will show Jip the ball, run into the bushes,

and we'll send Jip off with the find command.

He'll find him, bark and get rewarded with the tennis ball.

-Jip!

-OK, go, go, go.

-Here he goes.

Remember, Jip has to find the officer and call for the ball.

Find!

JIP BARKS

Good work, Jip! But that's only the beginning.

This is the first step. The next stage for Jip

will be for somebody to run away without a ball.

Jip may have passed but he's still not quite the model student.

This is his favourite game. He won't give the ball back.

As soon as they get close, he'll get up and run off again. Like that!

Jip, you cheeky pup, stop clowning around,

things are about to get serious.

Call 3-2, go to Broadgreen Hospital, collapsed building.

The fire station is running a major training exercise,

the dogs don't know it's a drill and Jip is coming along for the ride.

The building behind us has suffered a significant structural collapse,

we're going to go in with Jake on a canine search.

Jake's been sent in to find four firefighters

pretending to be casualties.

Jip, wait.

Jip has to wait outside to observe how the pros do it.

Jake uses his nose to locate casualties,

-and barks when he finds someone.

-JAKE BARKS

The officers mark it on the map,

so the firemen can come in and rescue them.

JAKE BARKS

Jake completed his search, and found all four people.

And Jip's behaviour was encouraging too.

He was barking when Jake went in.

It's a very good sign that he was barking, he's keen to get in.

But will Jip ever be as good as this professional pooch?

I've got high hopes for Jip to become a good search dog.

Later, Jip's training escalates,

and his fears are put to the ultimate test.

We've been searching the Internet for more amazing animals

with incredible skills.

Check out this Senegal parrot, showing he's no square.

Yes, he's really doing a puzzle.

This bird's in amazing shape, get it?'

HE LAUGHS

It's not just today that animals have had jobs.

In fact, history reveals that in the past,

they've had even more amazing jobs than today.

And here are those history's heroes.

At last, Pi!

Hello, I'm Professor John Bumbleman,

the smartest and most famous animal historian in the world.

My brilliant brain rivals even the cleverest of creatures,

and there's been a few of those over the years, let me tell you.

Our first brainbox is a chimpanzee.

During World War I, a German professor, called Wolfgang Kohler,

employed chimpanzees as his research assistants,

and made some ground-breaking discoveries.

His star employee was a smart chimp called Sultan.

The professor would put bananas in hard-to-reach places to see

if Sultan and his co-workers could work out how to get them.

Sultan worked out that he could pile boxes on top of each other

and use a stick to get the bananas he was so bananas about.

To make the next lesson harder, the professor hid the boxes and sticks.

This stumped Sultan for a second,

until he pulled the professor to the centre of the room

and used him to get at the bananas. What a clever monkey!

Second on our list of animal heroes is Hans,

an exceptionally bright horse, who could do sums.

Hans and his boss, toured Germany in the early 1900s,

showing everyone Hans' maths skills.

His boss would read out a sum,

and Hans would tap out the answer with his hoof.

He could do addition, subtraction, multiplication and even division.

No-one could work out how he did it.

Until Oskar Pfungst, a scientist,

set out to investigate.

He discovered Hans couldn't do sums when blindfolded.

Turns out clever Hans wasn't actually doing the sums,

but watching people's reactions

and stopped tapping when he got to the right answer.

So while Hans wasn't very good at sums,

he was still a very clever horse.

Next, allow me to reveal some real "smarty pants".

Here they are.

Just a little joke. Now, where was I? Oh, yes.

Here's a story of a very clever doggy detective. Woof-woof!

The Greyhound of Montargis witnessed his master's murder

in 15th-century France.

But this mastermind mutt wasn't about to let his murderer

get away with it. He had a plan.

He ran to his master's friend's house

and led him to the master's body.

Then found the murderer and proceeded to attack him.

King Charles V of France, heard about the incident,

and ordered a trial by combat, dog versus murderer.

The dog won. The murderer confessed and was sent to the gallows.

For his genius detective brain, the Greyhound of Montargis

is our cleverest history's hero.

And so concludes this week's history's heroes.

Ow! That wasn't too clever, was it?

Ow! First Aid, please!

And now, let's head back to Liverpool in the UK.

One year old Australian Kelpie, Jip, is training for his dream job,

to become a search and rescue dog for the fire brigade.

When I first got Jip,

he didn't tick any of the boxes that you would expect

from a search and rescue dog, but there was just something about him.

Jip's been training hard to prove himself to Jo, but he needs

to toughen up a little bit if he wants any chance of success.

He is very strong-minded, strong-willed

and does tend to do his own thing a lot.

As an Australian Kelpie,

Jip's got a natural leg-up in the agility department,

but that's not enough to succeed.

They need to be fearless and confident, which Jip isn't yet.

High pressure situations make him nervous.

He'll have to get over his fears

if he has any hope of taking over from rescue dog hero, Jake,

who is retiring soon.

Today's a big day for Jip. It's the beginning of his advanced training.

In five weeks, he'll be meeting...

..who'll decide if Jip has what it takes to continue training,

by watching how he performs

on this rubble pile.

This is the terrain dogs normally work on.

Jake and Zak are used to collapsed buildings

and the hazards that go with that.

This rubble pile here simulates that.

Jip will have to find someone posing as a casualty,

hidden in the rubble, so he has to get familiar with the terrain

if he is to pass his upcoming test.

Today, Jip needs to observe and express interest in the task,

by watching old pros Jake and Zak navigate the rubble.

They're handling it like true experts.

It's quite an arduous terrain for them.

Jake needs to watch the older boys manoeuvre,

so he can do it next time.

Jip's doing well. He's really excited about the rubble pile.

Next time he's here, he'll get his chance.

His next test isn't going to be easy. He has to face...

the crane!

He's going to go up in the crane,

and we'll raise him 10 or 12 foot. If he's OK we'll take him higher.

It's crucial Jip can handle heights like this

if he's going to join the Fire Brigade.

He's never done it before. He'll wear a special harness.

It's the first time he's put it on, so this is new to him as well.

He'll be attached to the cage so it's absolutely safe for him.

The crane is safe, but just to reassure Jip,

old pro Jake will go first.

He's going up the full height, about 100 foot.

And Jip's going to watch on, and hopefully he will do the same.

MUSIC: Superman Theme

Now would you look at that!

All the way up to 33m and Jake is cool, calm and collected.

With Jake safely back down to Earth, it's Jip's turn.

But will he be able to handle it?

Jip seems to be having a spot of trouble getting on board the lift.

Come on, Jip, be brave!

Come on. Oh, good boy!

This will be very strange for Jip.

He hasn't done it before and he's not used to any heights whatsoever.

So we'll start off gradually,

maybe 10 to 15 foot.

And see how he goes.

If he's OK with that,

perhaps take him a bit higher.

That's it, Jippy, good work!

-Try it a bit higher?

-A little bit higher?

OK, we're going to take it a little bit higher.

He's shaking a bit now.

Oh, no, Jip's nerves are getting the better of him.

Yeah, take him down now.

This is as high as we'll take Jip for his first time.

He started to get shaky when we started to go higher,

so we'll leave it for today.

Jip's done OK by trying the crane, but he failed to manage his nerves,

and started to fall apart just 3m above the ground.

He's got to make it 11 times higher to the full height of 33m

if he is to pass his training and officially join the Fire Brigade.

Later on, Jip goes head to head with...

..and the rubble pile and reattempts the dreaded crane.

SCREAMING

Hi, I'm John Barrowman... Oh, hello. I'm just practising my lines,

because all world-class presenters need to practise their lines.

Watch this. Hi, I'm Bohn Bubbleman.

Who writes this rubbish anyway?

I'm not worried about that.

I'm worried about that furry thing playing tricks on me.

You know who I'm talking about? The cheeky monkey!

There's no way I'm going to let him play pranks on me,

I'm smarter than he is, I'm bigger than he is

and I'm better-looking than he is.

-More orange juice, Mr Barrowman?

-Oh, yeah, right. Ha-ha.(!)

He's probably put some camel pee in here

or gorilla sweat or orang-utan poo.

Actually, it smells a lot like orange juice.

Yeah, top me up, go ahead, real awesome!

Wardrobe!

And now we're off to Plantation, Florida, in the USA.

33 year old Florida, is a three toed box turtle.

He's a good listener and a real sweetheart,

which is what makes him such a great child psychologist.

A child psychologist helps kids deal with their troubles,

and for the last 20 years,

Florida has been working alongside licensed psychologist Dr Mitch.

They help children get over worries or emotional problems.

Florida likes to help them come out of their shells,

and overcome fears and anxiety.

You can do anything, right?

And if a turtle can do anything, so can any child. Right?

Florida has got some unusual techniques to help children relax.

He does tricks, he does...

He can even high-five!

I met Florida in a pet shop and we established eye contact.

He watched me, I watched him, and he came home that day.

It's very unusual for turtles

to hold eye contact with someone.

His brain is the size of a pea

and yet he communicates better than a lot of people.

This talented turtle helps kids build their confidence,

he helps them to focus their attention,

he can also help them to overcome nightmares

and even face a fear of swimming.

# Splish splash I was taking a bath. #

Today, Florida is working with a special client,

so he needs to get ready to look his very best.

First, he takes a quick shower

but this beauty regime doesn't stop here.

His shell and his skin gets moisturised.

Leaving him looking lovely and ready for work.

We're going to have a good day today and help children.

PHRRT! Good boy.

Florida just let loose on my hand. I need a towel.

Mmm, perhaps he's not so ready after all.

Sometimes he'll hide in his shell.

But then he'll come back out. There he is.

CHILDREN: Hi, Florida!

Florida's meeting with nine-year-old Ariana,

who's having nightmares.

-Hi, guys.

-She's here with her sisters.

Florida is one of my best animal friends.

Ariana's hit a wall in dealing with her troubles.

She can't seem to break through.

Remember how shy you were when you started here?

Florida's going to show her how to break through walls. Literally.

The message being, if he can do it, she can do it.

MUSIC: "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus

Has Florida's message made an impact on Ariana?

Do you think I learned a lot from you? Yes!

Well, Florida, it's true what they say,

good things do come in small packages.

High-five, baby.

And now,

those kids who love animals,

-it's the...

-Fanimals. Yes!

Meet the Fanimals, our animal detectives.

Today, they'll be judging who's the greatest dancer.

So Fanimals, what do you think?

I think the dog will be pretty good.

I don't know, I haven't ever seen a dog dance,

if you can understand his moves or know what he's doing.

Dancing for the dogs is Gwen, a golden retriever

and a professional dancer.

Dancing for the dads are three fathers

with very different credentials.

In the first round, the dads will dance off against each other.

Whoever gets the highest score

wins the round.

The best dad will face off against Gwen,

in a dad/dog dance-off.

No problem, right, dads?

What the dads don't know is that Gwen does this for a living.

She regularly dances in competitions with her trainer.

First, the dads warm up. Their old bones can get pretty stiff!

TEARING

Ready, steady, dance!

MUSIC: "Stayin' Alive" by The Bee Gees

Gwen doesn't look too threatened by the competition.

MUSIC STOPS

What do you think, Fanimals?

DRUMROLL, BUZZER

Ouch! Dad two's score isn't great.

DRUMROLL, BUZZER

Oh dear, dad three did even worse!

What a blow!

DRUMROLL, FANFARE AND APPLAUSE

Dad number one, Ben, has the best score.

Number one was smiling and he wasn't sloppy.

He was really dancing with purpose.

So now it's time to find out who's the better dancer.

Dad number one, Ben, versus Gwen, the golden retriever.

Dancing dad, you'll go first.

DANCE MUSIC PLAYS

He seems to have won the judges' favour.

He was pretty good, he had his lines.

I can't wait to see the dog!

Gwen, it's up to you.

Can you win this for dog dancers everywhere?

Gwen approaches the dance floor with her trainer.

MUSIC: "Footloose" by Kenny Loggins

Holy cow! Gwen isn't having any trouble with her dance moves.

It's time to declare a winner.

-BELL DINGS

-Congratulations, Gwen.

You've proven that dogs don't have two left feet, but four right ones.

BUZZER

Too bad we can't say that much for dads.

And finally, let's go back to Liverpool in England.

Jip, the Australian Kelpie,

faces the most important day of his career.

Today, THE ASSESSOR is coming to see if Jip has what it takes

to become a search and rescue dog for the Fire Brigade.

Hopefully you'll see a difference from five weeks ago.

To succeed, Jip has to face his fear of heights.

Take him down, he's shaking a bit now.

But first,

he has to pass the rubble pile test.

The game is hide and seek.

That's basically the game the dog's been taught.

It's vital Jip shows he can find someone buried in rubble.

He's got to use his nose only to locate the casualty.

If Jip does not perform well today, his dream of being a hero is over.

Jip's led away while the test is set up.

Jo's going to pretend to be the missing casualty.

She is hidden under the rubble, just like a real search and rescue.

Right, Adrian, get Jip, please.

Find!

There he goes. Good luck, Jip!

Uh-oh, Jip's gone the wrong way!

Woo! He's back on track. Careful with your footing.

-What's this?

-JIP BARKS

And he's done it, yes! Congratulations, Jip!

He is very agile on his feet. The speed he's working at is ideal.

He's getting more confident. Very pleased with him.

Jip's success on the rubble

means he's still got a shot at being a hero.

But he has one last test he must face today.

It's THE CRANE!

Remember, he failed this last time.

He's made it into the cage. It's going well so far.

Smooth as silk, this pup is standing steadfast and true!

At 33 metres!

We're at full height now, which is 33m.

Jip is on top of the world.

Jip seems fine, he's just looking at everything down below.

He seems to be dealing with it very well.

MUSIC: "Heroes" by David Bowie

And, he's cool as a cucumber as he comes down.

It's the end of a great day.

With his success on the rubble pile and the crane,

Jip is well on his way to getting certified

as an official search and rescue dog for the Fire Brigade.

Congratulations, Jip!

You've searched and found your true calling. You're a future hero.

You know, I was kind of worried about our relationship.

I thought you were going to be like all female spiders,

and you were going to eat me, urgh, if you were hungry.

But you were really nice and I think I've made a new friend.

So here's a big hand to you.

See you later, sweetie.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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