Santa’s Little Helper (The Simpsons)
What good would one of the longest running shows be without a dog? The executives for the Simpsons didn’t hesitate to bring one in. In the very first (full length) episode, “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire,” Homer did not receive a Christmas bonus to buy presents so he got a job at a mall working as a Santa Clause.
What little money he made he brought to the dog track to try to win more money. Homer was reluctant at first to spend his money on the “sure thing” and then the dogs’ names were announced, Santa’s Little Helper was the last one. Taking this as a sign Homer waged all his money on the (very) long shot. Sadly, Santa’s Little Helper came in last place and a depressed Homer slowly walked out of the dog track wondering how he could salvage his family’s Christmas. Continue reading
Buck and Lucky- Married With Children
For 11 seasons the Bundy family has their loyal companion, Buck the dog. For many seasons Buck was a mutt (briard mix until the character’s death untimely death (the dog “Buck” was retired when he reached 12 1/2 years of age in 1995 – the dog died 9 months later) but (un)luckily he was reincarnated as a cocker spaniel named Lucky and (re)adopted by the Bundy family and stayed with them until the end of the series.
The briard mix Buck (real name Michael) was voiced by Kevin Curran and, on occasion, by Cheech Marin. During and after season 8 he was voiced by Kim Weiskopf. He was trained by Steven Ritt. Michael also had an uncredited cameo in the 1988 movie “Scrooged”.
The cocker spaniel “Lucky” was voiced by Kim Weiskopf also.
Buck is a lot like the rest of the family – lazy, miserable, and extremely sarcastic towards the other characters in the show except no one else understands him so he, quite often, is able to get in the last word.
Punky Brewster
The mid-1980s TV show, “Punky Brewster” featured a golden retriever named “Brandon” (a.k.a. “Brandon the Wonder Dog” – his real name was also Brandon). Brandon was Punky’s trusty sidekick throughout the series – appearing in every episode but he wasn’t in the credits until the third season.
Brandon was a puppy when the show first aired and loyal viewers watched Brandon grow up along with Punky though the entire life of the series (88 episodes from 1984 to 1988) and he was named after the head of NBC (the network that aired Punky Brewster), Brandon Tartikoff. Brandon lived up to his alias learning many tricks during his show career including how to ride a skateboard in just a couple of days. Glen Garner is credited for being the on-set dog trainer.
Stargate SG-1: Singularity
In the middle of the first season of Stargate SG-1 the team comes across a young girl who ends up carrying a massive bomb in her that is set to destroy the SGC. Luckily, the bomb does not go off and the girl ends up bring adopted by Dr. Fraiser.
Towards the end of the episode Col. Jack O’Neill tells her that there is a rule on Earth, “Every kid gets a dog” and then hands her a Shiba Inu. Shiba Inus are a spitz breed (very similar to Finnish Spitz) and are smaller in size. They probably used a dog this size so the little girl could carry it (not too well, though).
Cops (and other police video shows)
For close to 20 years Fox has shown the weekly show, “Cops” and since then there have been many spin-offs (best police chases, best police videos, etc..) and quite often you see the K9 officer being involved (nothing beats a video of a K9 taking down a criminal). 
From what I’ve seen, the vast majority of these K9s are either German shepherds or Belgian malinois. In all the years of watching Cops, I think I can count on one hand the number of non-malinois and non-GSD K9 units in the show (once I did see a Dobie and it was interesting to watch).
Why GSDs and malinois? These two breeds are easily trained (both being very intelligent), have stamina to be able to work a long day, are herding dogs (so they are very attentive and protective to their “pack” (meaning the K9 handler)), have a relatively long working life span (roughly 7-10 years for a GSD, 10-15 years for a malinois), can be very powerful (their size, the momentum they can build up while running, and powerful bites), plus the sight of a good example of these breeds can be extremely intimidating.
Don’t think these two breeds are killers – they make great pets (GSDs are far easier than malinois, though) and raised correctly they can be a very loyal companion to any family.