[7] Ralph Wolf has virtually the same character design as another Chuck Jones character, Wile E. Coyote—brown fur, wiry body, and huge ears, but with a red nose in place of the Coyote's black one; (usually) white eyes instead of the Coyote's yellow ones; and, occasionally, a fang protruding from his mouth.

Another crucial difference is that of personality: Ralph does not have the fanatical drive of the Coyote in pursuing his prey; instead catching the sheep is only his weekday job as indicated by the time clock both he and Sam the Sheepdog punch at the start and end of the workday.

Sam Sheepdog, by contrast, is a large, burly Berger de Brie (Briard) with white or tan fur and a mop of red hair that usually covers his eyes.

The next cartoon "Sheep Ahoy" (1954, with a 1953 copyright line) ended with a changing shift for both the sheepdog and wolf character clocking out with their replacement clocking in, the violence continuing wherever the predecessors had left off, setting in motion the fully realized version of the joke of both predator and protector just doing their jobs over the course of a day.

According to the text, a white classmate of Rock's who racially harassed him in high school not only resurfaced years later as his chauffeur, but also attempted to be amicable and suggested that they get together for coffee.

Rock employs the "time clock" concept to racial tensions in schools by asserting that his tormentor was simply playing the role that he was dealt.

A deleted scene for the Family Guy episode "Tales of a Third Grade Nothing" featured Peter Griffin as Sam Sheepdog at the time clock with Ralph Wolf.

In the episode "Blood in the Water" of the USA Network legal drama Suits, Louis Litt compares his relationship with Harvey Specter to "Sam and Ralph" in a conversation with Mike Ross.

He explains that for years, Harvey and he would butt heads during office hours, but at the end of the day they would still be on friendly terms.