It takes a certain kind of dog to make it into a program like Puppies Behind Bars. They must be loyal, strong and highly intelligent. For this reason, Labradors and Golden Retrievers are used. They embody all of these traits and also have a high “prey instinct,” which makes them very trainable.

The puppies trained in the program have to assist their disabled owners in all facets of their lives. Because of this, the puppies must master over 100 service tasks. These duties range from removing shoes and socks, to retrieving a soda from the refrigerator, to dialing 9-1-1 in the event of an emergency.