Before watching this movie, I didn’t know much about how the process of training and matching people with service dogs worked, except that it probably took a long time to teach dogs all of the skills they use. Watching this documentary was eye-opening. I enjoyed watching the group of guide-puppies and their journey through training to be paired with the people they would assist. It’s so impressive how much dogs are capable of learning and how many people are passionate about training them for such a good cause. I didn’t realize how rigorous the program was to train guide dogs was and how only a very select few would make the cut to be matched with a person. The dogs knew how to navigate through traffic, recognize several dangerous situations and help their owners go to a safe place, and even notice how far along to stand on a train platform. The time and effort put into training dogs for Guiding Eyes for the Blind were very inspiring. It was also very heartwarming to see how these dogs have impacted their people’s lives and how excited the trainers, foster families, and everyone involved in the process were to see the dogs succeed in assisting others.

I cried! This movie tore at my heartstrings. Seeing Patriot, Phil, Poppet, Potomac, and Primrose grow up and begin their journey as potential guide dogs were beautiful. In the end, only Poppet and Phil became guide dogs. Despite wanting all these puppies to be successful, I was happy with how their lives turned out. They all significantly made an impact in people’s lives, whether it be as a pet, or a breeder.

Although I loved all of their stories, I grew a strong connection to Patriot. He was a great dog in training. He may have struggled with his interactions with other dogs, as well as his stubbornness at times, but he became of such value to Adam, an Iraq veteran, and trainer. When Adam mentioned that Patriot was meant for him, I teared up. Adam found his forever friend, and having them together was beautiful.

In this documentary we learned more about the process of how puppies eventually become guide dogs. I really enjoyed this film because it allowed me to realize how complex it is for dogs to be chosen as guide dogs. I had the misconception that any lab can become a guide dog, but I’ve now realized how wrong I was. The guide dogs that we see in the media and on the street have been carefully vetted, trained, and socialized for their job. I think it’s amazing how we’ve learned to teach dogs in this way. Moreover, I find it so fascinating that each breed can have their own characteristics that determine which jobs they’re most suited for. For example, huskies would definitely make bad guide dogs since they are so independent. It makes me wonder which breeds will evolve as our needs in society change. Perhaps more puppies who are able to work with technology or open doors will be selected for this purpose. I think it’s interesting to see how breed dynamics will change in the future.

This Friday, I watched Pick of the Litter with GRF Maggie.  This documentary was all about how the dogs in the Guide Dogs for the Blind program are selected and trained to become official guide dogs for individuals who require visual assistance.  The process is a lot more rigorous than I was expecting, but it makes sense; after all, these people will be putting their full trust and even their lives in these dogs’ hands (or paws, to be more literal).  Cuts — or as the program likes to call them, career changes — occur at almost every step to ensure that only those dogs that have the mental fortitude for this job are kept.  For example, Potomac, a dog that seemed to have a calm demeanor, had a lunging problem; that is, he would go for anything on the sidewalk that distracted him.  This resulted in him getting cut from the program quite early, as that kind of behavior is a red flag since individuals who need visual assistance could not handle that kind of jerky action.  All in all, the film was awesome (even though it was sad at many parts) and gave a glimpse into a very impressive service program.

(Originally posted 4/19/21 on the Fall 2020 blog)

I thought it was neat to see the process in how Guide Dogs are selected and trained, and I was surprised at how rigorous and strictly ordered their curriculum is. My friends and I thought it was funny how dramatic the dogs’ eliminations from the program were, but it just shows how much investment goes into training an animal for people with disabilities and the huge losses the program suffers as a result. Actually, my Animal Genetics Class recently had a lecture on the raising of guide dogs, specifically focusing on traits they selected for, and it was cool to not only see the points from the documentary reiterated but actually elaborated on. Even before training, the dogs need to be in top physical condition, not prone to later-life hereditary diseases, and must also have a docile and easy temperament. In the end, it was amazing to see how real peoples’ lives were affected by getting their guide dogs; the end result was definitely worth the effort to get there.

This blog post is slightly… late but please understand that it’s been a hectic month. I thought the way the documentary went into the logistics of how guide dogs are trained was super interesting. I didn’t expect them to kind of let the dogs live with people outside of the training center for a good chunk of time. I’m not sure why I had the idea that they’d be raised from birth in some sort of controlled environment but it makes sense that the dogs need to be familiar with all parts of the environment outside the testing area as well. Speaking of which, it was interesting to get a glimpse into what kinds of things the workers keep an eye out for, although it was kind of sad when some of the dogs had to graduate. The doucumentary really made me appreciate how much work went into making sure the dogs are trained up to a really high standard so that they could finally become guide dogs.

The movie, Pick of the Litter was heartwarming and followed a litter of puppies on their journey to train to become guide dogs. I never considered the training it must take to have dogs ready to be guide dogs and this film really opened my eyes. The training is very intensive and can be harsh at times. It was sad to see dogs get cut from the program or be taken from their owners. However, it warms my heart knowing that these dogs are helping people. The film was so adorable, aside from the occasional sad parts, and I learned a lot about the process and how dogs are able to assist blind people. Overall, it was a very nice movie!

I am so glad I was able to catch the screening of this documentary. It was very emotional and moving as viewers went along for the ride with 5 pups who were born to be guide dogs for blind people. The predicted outcome of each pup was to be guide dogs, but this was not the case. Out of the 5 pups, only 2 became a guide dog, one a pet dog, another a PTSD dog, and the last a breeder dog. With these outcomes, it raised a question for me on the topic of nature versus nurture. All 5 pups were born on a campus and started off as a guide dog. However, not all dogs followed through on it. In the case of Potomac, his short attention span eliminated him as a guide dog and he went on to be a pet dog. On the other hand, Poppet failed 2 of her tests, but when retested she passed with flying colors. Each journey was different, and it was very heartfelt seeing each pup’s life unfold.

With that, I believe these outcomes are primarily because of the nature of these dogs. Although all may be nurtured and taught to become a guide dog, their innate behavior will ultimately prevail and influence their future.

The film “Pick of the Litter” opened my eyes to how extensive the guiding dog training program is. Before watching this movie, I assumed that it took a few weeks of simple to training for a dog to be qualified to be a guide dog for the blind. I did not realize so much work was put into it. I learned a lot about the process as I watched the dogs move through phases of the training program. It was heartbreaking each time a dog got “career changed”, but considering the important job they have to eventually do, it made a lot of sense. The dogs need to know when to avoid certain obstacles such as cars, but not stop when it is unnecessary. Although the training may appear harsh, it is necessary for their job and very inspiring to see.

I attended the viewing of the documentary Pick of the Litter. I was astounded by the amount of work that went into training the future guide dogs, especially by the intelligent disobedience displayed. The idea that a dog could learn when to disobey the human in a potentially dangerous situation was beyond any level of learning I believed could be attained by a canine. Furthermore, I was surprised by the number of dogs that failed the process. With only 3/8s of the puppies fulfilling the role of a guide dog there is a lot of effort expended that never pays off. The amount of volunteer work put into the program was inspiring and to see that sometimes dogs that are “career changed” can go back to the volunteers that trained them was very heartwarming. I know it would be very difficult to part with one of my dogs so to go into the process knowing that I would have to give the dog up would be very difficult.

I was surprised by how ‘picky’ the guide dog training program is. I understand that from the perspective of blind people, guide dog are essential for blind people so that they are able to relied on them. However, the picking of certain guide dog traits felt a little too much for me. I feel like the dogs are being treated as slavery, and they have to have the desirable traits. But in all in all, this film is very cute and heartwarming.

I was surprised to see how intense the process for becoming a guide dog is. In a lot of ways, it makes sense considering that blind people who are paired with these dogs have to be able to rely on them, so traits that might be considered endearing in a pet dog are unacceptable in a guide dog. Still, it was interesting to see which dogs were eliminated early on and which ones were able to progress further before being cut from the program. For example, to me, someone with no experience with this, it seemed like Patriot and Potomac had similar problems with distractions, but Patriot stayed in the program much longer before eventually being cut.

While Pick of the Litter was a cute and heartwarming film, I felt that the guide dog training program was a bit like a dog factory. When one of the dogs was evaluated for the breeding colony, the program staff measured her hip width, among other measurements. This felt cold to me, as if the dogs were just breeding machines. Even the training process felt cold, in that dogs who failed guiding tests were called “career changed,” and that they were in some ways treated like guiding machines who were given a certain amount of time to learn commands and failed otherwise. Of course, overall I do agree that this program is beneficial for the blind (and the dogs aren’t mistreated in any way of course). I was just surprised at the calculated nature and “factory efficiency” of the program. It was very different from what I had expected.

After watching the Friday film of “Pick of the Litter” on Netflix, I have never really known how strict it was for a dog to become a guide dog for the blind. First, the dogs have to pass through different phases of a test to see if they are capable of becoming one, so they would have to graduate from a previous stage in order to move on in the process. It was quite heartbreaking to witness the guide dog candidates leave the sides of the people who have been raising them for many years, but it was eventually overlooked by the fact that they will be moving on to a greater cause. Much sympathy was given when I was hearing the stories of blind people and how they manage to get around, but by the end of the film I was almost left in tears by how cheerful one of the blind people within the program was to receive a guide dog. Overall it was a very engaging and heartwarming experience and I would highly recommend adding this documentary to your list of films to watch.