Takahashi was reportedly inspired by a news article about hunting dogs that had been abandoned by their owners and had begun living as wild animals.

This led to the removal of several plot-critical scenes, including all footage from the episodes preceding the series finale as well as the deaths of certain characters.

The TV series was produced by TV Asahi and Toei Animation, with Tomoharu Katsumata serving as series director, Mitsuru Majima and Kenji Terada writing the scripts, Jōji Yanase designing the characters, and Gorō Oumi composing the music.

It was broadcast every Monday from 19:30 to 20:00 (Japan Standard Time) on TV Asahi affiliate stations from April 7 to September 22, 1986, for a total of 21 episodes.

In addition, the development of the last half of the story is simplified, with some dogs lacking any lines and their appearances reduced compared to the original manga.