dog rage in single colour cocker spaniels Behaviour

Hi folks

I havent been on for a while so soory about that. hope you are all well...

I have encounted the saying Dog rage!

Has anybody ever heard of this as i was walking bella on the park the other day and got talking to a guy who started asking me all sorts of questions about bellas behavior. After about 1000 question he started going on about dog rage, and said that single colour cockers are very prone to it even more so in chockolate cockers.

Now i know bellas not quite a year old and has never even barked at some one the wrong so the thought of her becoming enraged and blinded by rage seem very very remote.

Does anybody know of this condition or is this fella just talking rubbish (As i think he is)

Thanks folks

Rage Syndrome is where a dog attacks, or more accurately becomes very aggressive, for no appaent reason. It was a problem in Cockers, actually it was more likely in red lines, but reputable breeders have done their best to breed it out and it's much les common, it can also occur in other breeds as well.
Becky

dog rage

hi folks

Has anybody heard or have any info on dog rage in single colour cocker spaniels

Cheers for the info.

Thanks for the responce.

You wouldnt happen to know if they are any signs to watch out for or is just something that may come on unanounced. even more so has this chap got me worried over nothing.

You are probably worried over nothing. The whole point about rage syndrome is the very sudden change. I think people report that their dogs have a slightly glazed look before they attack but it is very very sudden, usually no warning until the first incident.
Becky

Theonly sign as far as i'm aware is totally unprovoked aggression.
I knew someone that had her dog put to sleep because of it. They would be sitting watching tv, dog at their feet, tail wagging and it would suddenly jump up and attack them and I mean attack. She had 3 young kids and it also did it to them, they had to justget it out of the room as best they could. They tried everyhting as they loved the dog dearly, but ultimatly the vet advsied it should be pts as there was nothing else they could do.
It is rare though and it sounds like you have a lovely dog. Don't worry, just enjoy.

I have heard of this condition, but dont really know much about it accept that it occurs in red coloured cocker spaniels, but I am sure it is quite rare.

My sisters first cocker was a golden and, as we know now, came from a puppy farm and was a mother to son mating. If only we had known then what we know now she would have saved herself a lot of heartbreak.

Herbie showed signs at a very early age, from six months old and was so unpredictable, he could be sitting on your lap enjoying a cuddle and, without warning, his eyes would glaze over and he would be snarling in your face. You couldn't move him otherwise he would bite you, you had to try and look away and wait for it to subside. I was bitten by him so many times as I would try to move him out of the way if he went into a rage, I wasn't happy sitting there with his face so close to mine.

Lots of people said we should have him pts but it wasn't his fault, he was a happy little fella when he was normal and we aren't the type to give up on something just like that. We learnt to live our lives around him, he was castrated in the hope that would help but it didn't make a shred of difference. Also, we didn't have any young children at home, obviously we may have had to make a decision sooner had there been a risk to children.

He had to be pts at 8 years of age due to a heart problem. We were all so sad to see him go at such a young age but I suppose, had he lived elsewhere, he may not have had as many years as he did.

I'm no expert but I would have thought you would have seen some signs by now if Bella had rage syndrome and, as Mahooli said, responsible breeders have worked very hard to breed it out of their lines.

http://www.cockerspanielrage.org.uk/

Just found this web site have had a read through it thought i would post it in case any one else wanted information.

Don't know from personal experience but found this;-)

http://www.cockerspanielrage.org.uk/whatisrage.htm

I used to have a golden cocker spaniel that was diagnosed with " rage syndrome" at around 3 years of age. Most of the time he was the best behaved dog ever, but very occasionally he flipped, probably about once a year, always in hot weather and always at home. I learnt to predict when he was likely to go and took evasive action. If he did go then I dived in and split them up, yes I was bitten sometimes but never badly and he was never aware of what he was doing, he was dazed and glazed at the time. I was advised to have him pts but it happened so rarely and the only person injured was me, so that got very little consideration. He was always fine around other dogs and I had another dog of my own at the time who was usually the target for his aggression. I had a young child at the time and he was obviously never left alone with him, but he never would have been regardless of the "rage". He lived to around 11 when his kidneys gave out but his rage was not the most memorable thing about him, it was manageable and he was a great dog for the other 364 days of the year.

I don't know what happened here when I replied nobody else's post showed that's why I added the Link:?

Spooky

My sister's mother-in-law, Rose, actually had an orange cocker who suffered quite terribly with rage syndrome.
Wallace, a beautiful orange cocker boy. Obtained from a good local breeder in the early nineties. A typical rough n tumble cocker puppy, but..there was always something different when he was a tiny pup..something that you almost got a 'sense' of there really was something behind that snap. When he got to six months his behaviour worsened severely, and Rose & her hubby decided it very much was not just boisterous puppy behaviour [as they had put it down too before]. They watched carefully and called in a behaviourist, and then the vet..all whom pointed at it could be rage syndrome.
The dog would just 'flip', his eyes would haze over and he would go quite 'tense' in his body..as if a piece of elastic inside of him was being tightened to the point of breaking..then SNAP! I remember a few occasions of snapping but Rose could always control him.
It was a day that is one that sticks with you for a long time, one of her grandchildren [not my sisters babies, her hubbys sis' little uns] were at the house too..one of whom was Lorna, who if my memory serves me right could have only been about 14 months old at the time. Everybody was sat out in the garden, and Lorna was sat between her mothers legs on the lawn..Wallace was out mingling as you would expect a 'family dog' to do, and Rose still blames herself for not monitoring him..she missed that vital breaking point. And he lunged for little Lorna, catching her right leg and really was hell bent for leather on just destruction. It was a hysterical moment of a lot of screaming, but luckily someone managed to drag him off..they too received a nasty bite. He would have been about 11 months himself by this point, and was really starting to spiral.
He was put to sleep later that day, Rose & Paddy felt they were no longer in control of the situation and the vet could offer no further alternative treatments in hope of help.
Sad state of affairs, luckily little Lorna wasn't scarred..physically or mentally, infact she can't remember a thing to this day.

This, however, was a good 11/12 years ago now though. I have met plenty of orange and solid cockers in the past few years, from good lines, that have been absolute dream babies..and such defined big spaniel eyes against that colour, smashing! I think it isn't a problem one could say has been eradicated, but it is 'managed' a lot better..and aslong as pups are sought from suitable breeders nowdays, the chances of ending up with a Wallace type story are a lot slimmer.

I do agree with the others, you would have noticed a sign by now. Most owners notice from a young age 'something' that differentiates the behaviour of their puppy to another.

When I used to go to puppy class with Maddy there was a wee golden boy and his owners had actually done a lot of research on this and his lines as they were hell bent on a solid golden but had apparently known someone in the family with one who had this 'rage'.

Apparently it is a chemical imbalance and they did explain about genetics and how if the dog has the genes for more than one colour in it's coat, and something to do with having white fur too, then that made it lessen the chances dramatically of the dog developing rage.

I wish I could remember for you but i'm useless, i'm sure someone else will know and be able to explain better than I can.

Anyway this wee lad was perfect and I still see him from time to time (he is Maddy's age) and not a jot wrong with him at all and he will be coming up for 2 now.

Honestly don't worry.

iv heard of this in the golden cockers although i must admit,iv never saw it first hand,a lady i know of re-homed her golden years and years ago due to this,but as said the breeders do work hard to elivate these problems in lines xx

Yes. you are very likely to be worrying over nothing

Unfortunately it is all too easy for lazy owners, who cant be a*sed to put the time and effort into training/socialising, to say their dog has 'rage syndrome' - it lets them off the hook you see, excuses them (or so they think) from letting their dog down. Onlookers see an out of control thug of a dog, and are taken in by such nonsense.

Although 'Rage syndrome' is very real (although as Mahooli has already said, breeders have made significant in roads into reducing the incidence), it is also relatively rare.

Mind you 'bl**dy lazy owner syndrome' is alive and kicking, and widely spread!

please dont worry about your dog, and dont let peoples throwaway, half baked comments, spoil your enjoyment of her/him

thandi (who took on a golden cocker in the late 70s, whose behaviour was attrocious, and who ate its way through my front door, and was hellish snappy. Did it have CRS? No. it was a 20 month old spoiled brat, who had never been taught boundaries, or manners)

Thanks for all your comments.

I think at the end of the day the comments passed by this idiot on my local park was carless and throw away but as we all know these comments can do more harm than good.

Any way on a lighter note i think the only thing bella suffers with is an unhealthy obsession with my socks and bad habit of waking me up very early on my days off.

Still dogs dont have a day off do they

choc colours are more hypo than other colours i have found.
ATD

I personally think blue roans are more hyper, I have 2 blue, 4 orange roan, 2 black & white and my blues are definitely the loonies of the family.....love them all to bits though....lol.

Hi there

Yes, I agree that rage syndrome is often the excuse given by people who havent spent the time training their cockers. I even heard once from an old client of mine who had a red cocker that the vet said she had "rage" because she wouldnt stand still when she was being examined. And that's a vet!!!! LOL

Rage is very very rare and doesnt just affect cockers, although they seem to be the breed that is best known for it!!!!! It can affect labs too but you never ever hear anything about that and, to be honest, this whole syndrome is very very rare.

Good breeders will take great care to ensure their dogs have great temperaments. The problem comes from puppy farms. That's why its always imperative to go to a good breeder.

Incidentally, I have a working cocker and I have never heard of a working cocker having rage. I have heard of them being hyper though!!! LOL. Does anybody know if this is the case.

Please dont worry. The guy you spoke to was obviously trying to impress you with his "lack of" knowledge of cockers. Enjoy your girl. She looks lovely!!

Spettadog