Our 2024 WAE Event was held in Kingsport Tennessee at the site of the Doberman Nationals. After a delayed start due to extreme weather we finally got the event started at about 1:00 PM. We had a total of 36 entries processed with successful completion by 15 entrants. Due to the heavy wind and rain our event had to be relocated from the original location at a nearby field to the covered parking building at the Marriot Resort facility.
The Working Aptitude Exam tests the temperament of Doberman Pinschers through a series of stages. The first stage requires the dog and handler to greet a neutral stranger, followed by meeting a friendly stranger. From there the team passes by a hidden volunteer who rattles a can, requiring the team to investigate the noise. Stage four passes a person who fires three shots from a starter pistol after the team has passed to judge the dog’s startle reaction. The team then approaches a person sitting, who then raises a closed umbrella which snaps open in the face of the dog. The dog is expected to examine the umbrella and then move on. Stations six and seven involve walking on unnatural surfaces, first a sheet of plastic followed by walking across an X-pen layed on the ground. To this point most of the dogs successfully completed the stations, but the final stage test proved to be the downfall of a successfully completed exam. The team had to approach a stopping point, and react to a very angry and beligerant person who approached while yelling and acting irrational. The dog was expected to be protective of the handler. Only 15 of the 36 entries showed this attribute.