WAE - Working Aptitude Evaluation

Red took the WAE today! For those that don't know what the WAE is, it's a temperament test given by the DPCA (Doberman Pinscher Club of America), for Dobermans only. The evaluation determines whether the dog has the temperament that Doberman's were meant to have - that of a loyal companion and resolute protector. It tests the dog on neutral, friendly, and aggressive strangers, as well as reactions to audible and visual stimuli (i.e. gunshots), willingness to inspect strange noises/objects, and willingness to cross unevening footing. You ar not supposed to train your dog for this test - you are supposed to just take your dog and see how he/she naturally reacts in these situations.

I have been sooo looking forward to today! I really wanted to see how Red reacted to everything. The only stations I was worried about were the gunshots (he has been shy of fireworks), and the aggressive stranger (which is the part that most dogs fail).

It was the shittiest day ever. We haven't had rain in over a month, and the day that I have something important gong on outdoors, it POURS rain ALL DAY LONG. I'm not even exaggerating when I say POURING rain - not a drizzle or light rain at all. It was cold and miserable. Sometimes I really hate this state...

Anyway, the walkthrough was supposed to start at 8:30am. My mom and I wanted to get there at 8:00am to give us enough time to settle in and then do the walkthrough. The evaluator/judge was flying in from North Carolina this morning to do this test - and he flight was delayed due to weather. He didn't get there until about 10:30am. And there's no postponing - its rain or shine since the judge comes from out of state.

My mom and I sat in the back of her Saturn Outlook with the hatch open, playing tic-tac-toe on my iPhone to kill time. Poor Red was in the back seat of my car the whole time. Everything was SOAKED. There was no where to set up a crate or anything. There was a pavillion, but that's where all the helpers, food, and raffle prizes where, so everyone kept their dogs in their cars.

I did get to meet someone from the Doberman forum, though, so that was cool. He lives about 20 minutes away from the park, so he comes every year to watch. He said in all the years he's been going, its NEVER rained like this. Figures...

We didn't do a real walkthrough. The evaluator talked through station-by-station with us under the pavillion and out of the torrential rain. Then it was time to start. I just wanted to get this over with so I could get the hell home and into some dry clothes, so we were 4th in line. I had my own flat leather collar and 6 ft leather leash, but they put a different leather collar on him anyway, since mine had tags. Not sure why it mattered, but no biggie. Thank god I wore jeans and brought a hooded sweatshirt with me. Though by this time I was already freezing. I didn't have a raincoat and all the slickers were taken by the poor helpers that had to stand out in the rain for the test.

The evaluator was a really nice guy and made sure I understood each station before we started. First was the neutral stranger - I walk up to the stranger and they ignore the dog and we talk without shaking hands. The dog must have all 6 feet of the leash. Red completely ignored this person.

Onto the friendly stranger. He pretty much ignored her too - obviously wondering what the hell we were doing on a casual stroll out in the rain...

Next was the audible stimuli - rattling can behind the van. As we walked along side the van, the can started to rattle and the dog was supposed to go around and investigate the noise and can within 12 inches. No problem - as soon as it started, I said, "What's that?" and Red went right up and around and touched the can.

Then along to the gunshots. We were to walk in front of the person with the starter pistol and once we were about 10 feet past, they fire 3 shots. The dog can react, but shouldn't show avoidance and needs to recover within 10 seconds. I was a bit worried about this station, but he was completely fine. He startled a bit, but recovered very quickly.

Next was the visual stimuli - someone opening an umbrella in the dog's face. We walked up to the umbrella, it popped open and he actually went around behind it to see the person sitting there. But once I encouraged him to investigate the middle of the umbrella like the exercise calls for, he did it and we moved on.

Uneven footing was next. You can bunch up the leash at first, but then have to give the dog slack in case they try to avoid walking on it. We had a slip and slide (great for rainy weather!!) and a folded down x-pen. At first he didn't walk over the slip and slide, but probably because I didn't approach it well. The judge had us do it again and he was fine. He didn't go completely the whole way over the x-pen, but did enough of it for a pass on that station.

Lastly... the part that most dogs fail... the aggressive stranger. There are 3 parts - first the guy shuffles out from behind the truck, then slowly approaches, then charges. At first Red wasn't sure about this dude, and I kept encouraging "Who's there? Watch 'em!" and then he stood out in front of me tall like he should, but once the stranger charged, Red's fight or flight kicked in and he was like HELL NO, and took off the other way, clotheslining himself when he reached the end of the leash. FAIL.

oh well... this was the part I was really curious about and wondered if he would pass. He's never been in this type of situation before and doesn't know how to act. The evaluator says that most dogs fail this because they are taught not to act defensively. Out of the 11 dogs tested, only 4 passed. I would like to try it again next year - hopefully we'll have better weather. It can't be any worse!!!

Anyway, here's the video:



Afterwards, I could swear he was sad or maybe just tired. He just sort of stood there, then finally laid down on the concrete under the pavillion. I don't think he was nervous after the aggressive stranger part, but maybe just still a bit stressed and tired from the crappy day. He's zonked out on the floor right now after chowing down a 12" bully stick...