Picking the right puppy for service work is a good step to help ensure better success. Not all puppies are built the same, and even after evaluation, a puppy who may have scored high for service work may not succeed by the time they mature. But testing early for personality and genetic traits still will give you a better chance than picking a random puppy. We suggest using the Volhard puppy aptitude test as  baseline standard for labeling puppy personalities and traits.

PDF PUPPY VOLHARD TEST 

Our opinion on results are (based on what we have seen succeed):

• We suggest testing at 6-7 weeks for most accurate results, but can be done at any age up to 6 months.

• 2s and 3s, a working dog should have some independence, that may be shown with a more dominance leaning score. We find these dogs to work better at problem solving, seeking behavior, and natural ability to partake in team work.

• 4s are shown to be more on the quite side, a dog for someone whose needs and lifestyle are more slow pace.

Note: Some things I may add is I typically bring two extra things with me. a cotton pad with (dog safe) essential oils, in a pill bottle with holes drilled on the top. I will tie a string to this and drag it along the ground before putting a puppy in the pin, and see if they notice the trail, the bottle, both and how they investigate it.