How Much Is That Gene-Edited Dog in the Window?

For thousands of years, we have been trying to craft our ideal canine companions. We have honed their abilities to perform an array of specific tasks, from fetching waterfowl to staring down wayward sheep. We have reshaped and refined their bodies, producing sausage-shaped dachshunds, polka-dotted Dalmatians, bushy-browed schnauzers and deeply wrinkled Shar-Peis.

And we have done it using nothing more sophisticated than good old-fashioned selective breeding.

Now our canine engineering efforts are entering a new era. Earlier this month, Kindred Companion Sciences, a biotech start-up based in New York, revealed that it had used the technique known as CRISPR to create the first gene-edited, hypoallergenic dogs. Thanks to a single genetic tweak, the dogs — two undeniably adorable beagles — appear unable to produce a protein that can leave some people red-eyed and wheezing.

Still, it’s a long way from the lab to the laps of pet owners across America. (It’s been two and a half years since scientists announced a gene-edited, hypoallergenic cat, but such felines are not yet available to the public.) More time and data...