Urgent cocker rage suspected, please help

[Top Barks]

I would whole heartedly reccomend Vera to anyone!

[annG]

I agree with everyone . Its not rage. More like your mum is removeing the lime light of him. A crate will sort it out quickly. Hes only a pup and will from time to time try see what he could get away with.  good luck..

[cockers mum]

I  do not think this is rage. We had a rescue with rage and I am pretty sure your dog has not got it. A dog with rage goes blank, its eyes like a sharks (dead) It reacts to movement and noise and will just attack. The dog with rage we had had us pinned down behind a heater in our kitchen, the other dogs who  were in their crate  just dropped flat and kept quiet. When he came out of it he was normal, but we had to have him put down. The vet that came out said he gave him enough tranquilizer to knock out an elephant but had gone rage again by the time he got back to the surgery(5min away). Please do not rush and have your dog pts I do not think any vet would do this without further investigation anyway.

[Mudmagnets]

Please do not rush and have your dog pts I do not think any vet would do this without further investigation anyway.

Good point, especially as the dog is so young.

Hopefully the vet would want to look into this more closely, I am pretty sure mine would if I took any of them to see him for the same reason.   Think he would want to carry out all the tests available to rule anything else out firstly.

[Victoria Plumb]

I dont have any advice really but I just hope things improve for you, your mum and your doggy so that you can enjoy a nice family life together in harmony  hang in there, there is some great advice given and I really hope you manage to get your puppy sorted :-)

[LisaB]

Defo not rage.  Don't pts.  A rescue would take him, rather than this and work with him.

Walkes Colne Boarding kennels in Colchester is where I took Buffy who had similar issues.  She went for 2 months residential - he worked miracles with her.

[LisaB]

Incidentally, I think this is a dominance issue, he is taking on the role of pack leader in the house.  He is protecting you from mum as he thinks you can't protect yourself.  I believe that his is a cyclical pattern that needs breaking immediately, possibley by removal from the home for a good few weeks in residential, with you then visiting for lessons with the trainer, while your dog is still resident.

(IMHO)

[PennyB]

Incidentally, I think this is a dominance issue, he is taking on the role of pack leader in the house.  He is protecting you from mum as he thinks you can't protect yourself.  I believe that his is a cyclical pattern that needs breaking immediately, possibley by removal from the home for a good few weeks in residential, with you then visiting for lessons with the trainer, while your dog is still resident.

(IMHO)

unfortunately a lot of dog problems can be intrinsically linked to owners (not saying they are the ones causing problems but they are part of the equation) so you won't necessarily get to the bottom of what is happening and most good trainers/behaviourists would rather work with the owner in their home when issues are quite great. Plus I would not trust a lot of the people who offer these types of training

[debz]

Woah......please dont make any rash decisions...it really doesnt sound like rage as there seems to be a trigger to his behaviour...your mum and her re-entering the room...does sound like it could be a severe case of guarding   please find a good behaviourist to come out to see the dog and family before you take him to the vets   has you vet implied that he might have rage  

i totally agree please don't have him pts yet !

[BETTIEBEBE]

thanks so much for everyones brilliant advice, I am not putting him to sleep, I cried all night and couldnt go through with it, I really need to see an expert in cocker behavour, does anyone know of one on the essex london border ( i am in wanstead/manor park) in the meantime I am going to insist the vet checks for thyroid problems (which 2 have previously refused to do) will keep updated and thanks again. Beth

[LisaB]

Yoiu sound like you have read/ heard a lot about rage syndrome.  However, rs does not have a trigger and the dog will attack without prediction.  Your dog has a discernable trigger - that means it is not rs, but a dominance and possible temperament which makes him a protector/guarder

[Top Barks]

So pleased for you, you have had a mixture of very good and in my oppinion very bad outdated advice from the members of this great forum,  so please do see someone who is qualified to help you.
You CANNOT accurately diagnose anything for certain over the internet where aggression is concerned, and a professional will help you get to the bottom of this.
Again pleased about you decision, you could do a lot worse than to get in touch with Lurcher Girl (Vera) who is qualified to help you and a cocker owner.
I have seen her work and studied Canine behaviour with her and she is Fab.

[LurcherGirl]

Hi,

It might be useful to take the following articles to your vet. Most vets are reluctant testing young dogs without typical symptoms, but you are the customer, so they have to do it if you ask. (Insurance should pay for it).

http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/bizarre_behavior.htm

http://www.itsfortheanimals.com/DODDS-ARONSON.HTM

http://www.itsfortheanimals.com/DODDS-BEHV-THYROID.HTM

It might have nothing to do with thyroid, but it is worth checking nonetheless.

Vera

[Joules]

So glad you have changed your mind about putting your pup to sleep.    Please get some professional help to sort this problem out - you may need to travel to find someone who truly understands cockers but I am sure you will find it worthwhile if it means your can keep your precious pup.    As has been said true rage syndrome is extremely rare.    You have had a lot of good advice on here and if Mark (Topbarks) or Vera (Lurchergirl) can offer any help, I would jump at the chance!  

[stuffster]

Oh thank doG you have changed your mind!! Well done you for persevering! I know it can be very scary when it seems like your dog is out of control, but with the right help, Im sure you can work through this.

You have had loads of good advice on here about finding a good behaviourist, and you also have us. So please stay in touch on here and give us more details if you can, of individual attacks, his age, how long he has been like this, if you have had him since a puppy, what roles you and your mum have with regards to his training etc, and we will be able to give you far more advice. (well, not me, but the more experienced cocker owners!)

There is a whole big family of people on here who will give you any amount of advice you can take, and so please make use of us!

Big hugs and lots of luck x