Photo: Robert Voets/Nickelodeon.
Mutt & Stuff is an adorable new series premieres Friday, July 10 and is about a unique school for talented real-life pooches and hilarious puppets. The series is the brain-child of legendary producers Sid and Marty Krofft (H. R. Pufnstuf, Land Of The Lost) and producer Bradley Zweig. Calvin Millan, son of famed animal trainer Cesar Millan (who is also a producer), is the series’ human star and plays the doggie academy’s teen teacher.
The prospects of a wriggling pile of pups sounds like heaven to many preschoolers; and not only are they cute, the dogs on Mutt & Stuff are talented too! Millan excitedly shares, “We not only have puppies, we’ve got about 15 other dogs, and they’re incredible! Some of our dogs can do everything but fly an airplane — but he’s working on it.” Millan is excited to introduce his young fans to Zippy (played by Jumpy), one of the dogs featured on the show. “He’s a celebrity dog. He’s been in a lot of movies and TV shows. He’s just a well-rounded dog. He can even do back flips — it’s crazy!”
One of the most charming characters on the show is Stuff, the giant, huggable dog who Calvin describes as “a genuine-hearted puppy who means no harm but sometimes gets caught in a little trouble.” He’s also Millan’s pet, best friend, and helps him out whenever there’s a problem that needs solving. Krufft says the duo remind him of “Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. One is a responder, and the other one is the joke guy.”
In addition to adorable puppies and unbelievable dog tricks, the series balances moments of heart and comedy with a social-emotional curriculum that helps preschoolers with identifying and managing emotions, building interpersonal awareness and developing social skills.
Millan described on recently-shot episode in which a new classmate — a pig — comes to school and isn’t like everyone else. “The whole moral of the episode is that being different is okay and you should embrace begin different. Different makes you special.” Adds Krofft, “We’re helping kids be better kids.” The show also carries a message of pet adoption and responsible pet care based on Cesar Millan’s philosophies.
Marty told me that he was enjoying his retirement, but when he met Cesar Millan, he felt compelled to create another kids’ show. And when he met Cesar’s son Calvin, who was 13 at the time, he knew he had met his show’s new lead. “I knew Calvin was going to be a star,” he declared. “I gotta tell you I know the winners from the losers, and this kid is a major winner.”
Photo Credit: Robert Voets/Nickelodeon.
The high praise isn’t lost on Millan, who humbly gushes, “There’s nothing I can say in response to those kind words; because every time I think about it I just start getting like ‘whoo!’ [emotional]. I just start getting goosebumps. It leaves me speechless. I feel like, ‘Wow! How did this happen? How did this come up?’”
Mutt & Stuff > Nickelodeon > Fridays at 10am ET/PT, beginning July 10
All images © 2015 Viacom International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Our son loves the show and we are wondering if it is only on TV or is there a place where you are doing it live in LA -perhaps a special event?
Thanks so much, Melissa
Not only does my daughter love the show, I also enjoy it. We are big dog lovers.
I can’t seem to figure out what breed of dog Zippy is. Does anyone know?
Looks like one of my dogs cousin’s Austrlian Kettle Dog but the Red Heeler Kind – I have a blue heeler
I just want to say that my eighteen month old grand baby is so happy when Mutt n Stuff comes on! Laughing, dancing, saying pup pup. That is the one show she can watch and just be happy. I love the bright colors, dog tricks, and Calvin does a great job!
My husband and I watched this show the other day without our 5yr old son. It’s very cute and funny. Really it’s amazing how they can train all these dogs to do the crazy stuff they do. I love it, but I’m looking for information on the different breeds of dogs that are on this show. If anyone can point me into the right direction to find this or tell me that would be great! Thank you
I have never made any responses on a subject before, but some of the statements made are for lack of a better term, ridiculous.
I am a stay at home dad, I have a degree in English, and two minors, history and women’s studies. I graduated summa cum laude, and I completed the degree in 3 years with no summer classes, I then received my masters in management and graduated with a 4.0 GPA. My wife also has her undergraduate work complete, and she has 2 masters degrees PLUS she is a major in the U.S. Army as a pilot. Both of us grew up watching tv, and we still do a bit.
I am a stay at home dad, I have a 4 and a 7 year old. I started reading to them while still in the womb, and every day since (until they can read on their own). I also have taught them basic math, shapes, and colors. Towards the last quarter of their 3rd year, I amp things up a bit and I increase the difficulty, I have them start reading on their own, I teach them complex shapes, and basic math to include multiplication and division. I also teach them how to tell time, on a real clock, the kind with numbers and hands.
My 7 year old finished the first grade, but during that year for reading and language arts she went to the second grade class. My 4 year old hasn’t even started school, but can read, and not one word picture books, but books.
My family is also very active, my wife and I run, she has done half and full marathons. I have done from 5k to ultra marathons, trail runs and OCR races, I am 46, I smoke, my doctor has labelled me obese, yet I maintain an 11:00 per mile pace and always finish. My point? We ALL watch tv. Both my kids have their favorites and they watch in moderation. They are also active, eat very well, and highly nutritious meals and get plenty of sleep.
What has gone wrong in America is we lead boring, unassuming lives. We blame TV for the fact that parents don’t play an active role in their children’s lives. We accept because some article says something is bad for us, we blindly accept it. And what I believe to be the downfall of intelligence is not TV, but the Internet and social media.
Some children just don’t integrate into education quickly as others, that’s a fact. But to place blame on television is perhaps not the entire picture. Diet, exercise, the family dynamic, everything surrounding a child in the first 3-4 years is key to their development, if a parent indulges their child in a few hours of TV, why do people have to complain? My children excel at all they do, but, they are prepared for failure. If they fail I’m not going to place blame solely on TV, I’m going to ask myself “what clues did you miss?” And “where could I have helped?” TV is not a parent or baby sitter, but it isn’t the demon some of you are making it out to be. Look inside yourself and ask how you are so perfect and have no vices and/or faults where you can make a parent feel bad because they let their child watch tv? Plus, I’ll bet if I walked in your houses, I’d see at least one TV where you watch mind numbing football or HGTV. But you see nothing wrong with that, and that’s where adults are teaching their kids one thing, hypocrisy.
Loved the show and all the cute smart dogs. The colors are great and make anyone happy. Kids need these examples of how to treat and care for dog.
My little sister loved the show so did I it’s a great show for kids to teach them how to care for their dogs. I wake up in the morning to watch the show I’m not really a morning person. A few months ago my older brothers golden retriever died we really miss him. I have one question, how do people star in the episodes of “Mutt and Stuff” because I would love to be on the show to see how it’s like to run a school for dogs the show reminds me of when my brother cared for his dog. Hope to see more episodes. Thanks!
Hey Paula, news flash. How about getting your little poopy diaper child away from the tv and try reading books to educate his mind. Only LAZY parents stick their kid in front of a tv and expect their IQ to develop. You are raising a child Paula, not a parrot.
I love nick jr for my little boy & I am very picky on what he watches on tv. With that being said I just saw the premier of Mutt & Stuff and will not be watching it again. Hokey and lame I swear my toddlers IQ dropped as watching it. Seriously fresh beat band was a million times better than this dribble. We will be sticking to the other shows and skipping this entirely.
Paula,
You apparently do not have a dog or are aware of the fact that children need to be taught how to interact and properly care for their animal.. I believe that it is going to help many kids learn how to relate to their animals as animals. This may have not been the show for you, but did your boy seem to like it? That is really the important question. Not every show a child watches is going to increase a child’s IQ, but if you are so consumed with that maybe you need to enroll him in some program that will get him ready for Mensa.
My daughter loves it. She’s crazy about dogs so when this show came on it was a blessing. Dancing, identifying, and learning to be nice to animals is great. Talking down isn’t very nice… Didn’t your parents teach you that? Maybe you needed a little mutt and stuff when you were younger 😀