Clifford's Puppy Days is an animated children's television series that originally aired on PBS Kids from September 1, 2003 to February 25, 2006. The prequel to the 2000–2003 series Clifford the Big Red Dog, it features the adventures of Clifford during his puppy days before he became a big red dog and before moving to Birdwell Island. The series ended in February 2006 after two seasons and 39 episodes. Since then, occasional reruns continued to air, typically on holidays until April 2022. In the United Kingdom, the series aired on CBeebies until early 2011 and like the original series, the prequel was dubbed with British voice actors, replacing the original American soundtrack. The show featured Henry Winkler as the voice of Norville. For his role as Norville, Winkler was nominated for 2 Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for his work on the series, one of which he won in 2005.

Premise

Set two years before the events of Clifford the Big Red Dog, the series focuses on when Clifford was a tiny red puppy. Clifford was the runt in a litter of puppies born to the pet dog of Emily Elizabeth's neighbor, Mr. Bradley (who appeared in an episode of the previous cartoon series, "Little Clifford"). He was adopted by Emily Elizabeth before he grew up into a giant red adult dog, forcing the Howard family to move out of their small apartment so Clifford would be able to live comfortably. The series shows Clifford and Emily Elizabeth's life and friends before they moved from the city to Birdwell Island.

Format

The series followed the same format as its predecessor, Clifford the Big Red Dog. Like the original series, on UK airings, only one story is shown, with either the Storytime with Speckle or the Clifford's Idea to Grow On segments at the end, shortening the show to about 15 minutes.

Characters

Humans

Animals

Episodes

Each half-hour episode was divided into 2 stories.

Season 1 (2003–2005)

Specials (2004–2005)

Season 2 (2005–2006)

Opening theme

The opening theme, "Love Makes Little Things Grow", was composed by Jared Faber and Emily Kapnek (creator of Nickelodeon's As Told by Ginger) and performed by Freedom Bremner.