Silver Fang (1986), a 21-episode anime series, is based on a manga of the same name in 1984 created by Yoshihiro Takahaski. He was reportedly inspired by a news article which told of hunting dogs that had been abandoned by their masters and had begun living as wild animals…

This Japanese anime tells the story of an Akita Inu pup called Gin (Japanese for ’silver’) who leaves his master, a young boy named Daisuke, to join a pack of wild dogs. The pack is gathering strong dogs from all over Japan to fight a deranged bear named Akakabuto and his minions.

The story begins from the point of view of the humans, but swings to the dogs with episode 7 of the anime. It is in that episode that the audience hears the dogs communicating with each other through speech, though it continues to be barks and whines to human ears.

This anime has become extremely popular in the Nordic countries (Finland, Denmark and Sweden) and has been dubbed in multiple other countries.

Other dogs from the film include: a German Shepherd, a Great Dane, A Weinmaraner, a Cocker Spaniel, a Japanese Kai Ken dog, a Rough Collie, a Siberian Husky, a Dachshund, a Japanese Tosa Inu fighting dog and a Japanese Kishu Inu dog.