There is hardly anything cuter than a guide puppy in training. But certainly not every dog is cut out for the job. In fact, according to this study, aptitude tests can be given to puppies to see if they have the traits required of a guide dog. If they pass a test, training begins very early on.

What kind of traits do you look for in a guide dog? Science has found the answer to that too. The ideal traits in dogs being trained for guiding are nerve, stability, and cooperativeness. These are also traits ideal in finding protection and police dogs, allowing this personality test to be extremely useful for law enforcement dogs which are crucial in today’s society. Plus the tests have been successfully done on hundreds of dogs, offering some validity to their findings.

The number one trait that law enforcement and guide dogs alike should not have is fearfulness. An article talks about the genetics of fearfulness in dogs between 4 breeds and many litters. Overall, Labradors showed the least fear, but fear was also attributed to different genes within the breed as well as environment. Being able to isolate this unwanted trait allows breeders to do selective breeding, eventually breeding out the trait almost entirely. That way, German Shepherds can be bred until they’re the perfect police dogs and Labradors until they’re perfect guide dogs.

Even though these dogs show aptitude for their individual jobs, is there an ethical problem with breeding them to be better at their jobs? Usually with think of ethics in reference to humans, but what about man’s best friend? Is it really worth risking an animal’s health and longevity just to make training easier? Maybe these breakthroughs in science do not mean the best for us or our four legged friends.