CockersOnline Forum
Cocker Specific Discussion => General Cocker Spaniel Discussion => Topic started by: ziggy on March 08, 2004, 03:35:26 PM
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hi,, can i first please say this is a wonderful site for cocker lovers everyone is very helpful,it,s my day off today so i can write all day ha ha ,,
does anyone know if this syndrome is still as common as it used to be in solids,i have a solid black but apparently it,s the golds that are worse,any tips on what you have to look for would be gratefully recieved,,thanx,ziggy :wink:
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the reason iask is because jasper can get very aggressive for no reason he will display such frightening behaviour and i,m really worried,he chased some one out of the shop the other day,that,s when i took him to the vets and they recommended the diffuser,,i would be heartbroken if i ever had a major problem with him he is lovely most of the time
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Have a look at this site - it should give you all the information you need
http://www.cockerspanielrage.org.uk/ (http://www.cockerspanielrage.org.uk/)
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This subject has come up many times before Ziggy - here is a recent thread: http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/forum/viewt...opic.php?t=4006 (http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4006) If you are worried about your dog's aggression, then you need to consult an experienced, reputable behaviorist (ask your vet for a referral).
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thanx for the web address gill much appreciated ,,thanx jane
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Sorry to read about Jasper, Ziggy. Has he seen a behaviourist? Has he been neuteured? I was reading recently about a condition called hypothyroidism that can cause aggression, has your vet suggested testing for this or any other physical problems that could be contributing to it?
I don't think rage is "worse" in golden cockers, I think it's just a bit more common in goldens than it is in blacks. Which part of Birmingham do you live in? Just wondering as I live in Birmingham too and I know of a really good behaviourist who used to work with my sister-in-law (she's a vet nurse).
Kelly x
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I was reading recently about a condition called hypothyroidism that can cause aggression, has your vet suggested testing for this or any other physical problems that could be contributing to it?
Kelly x
Hypothyroidism would be quite unlikely in a young Cocker - it's fairly common in middle-aged Cockers and is quite easily treated but there are usually physical symptoms too such as weight gain, lethargy, skin trouble and/or hair loss. Our old Daisy (who died last year) was hypothyroid but her symptoms were controlled with daily medication (not that she was ever aggressive thankfully :)
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I didn't realise it was associated with older dogs. Are there any other physical problems that can lead to aggressive behaviour? Just wondering as that was the first condition I'd read about that can cause temperament changes, but I presume there must be other causes?
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I have heard of brain tumours causing aggressive behaviour in dogs - I'm sure there are other physical causes too but that's the one that immediately springs to my mind.
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thanx for the info,i have been to the vets with him and he suggested the diffuser for the time being,he has improved,the vet said he has probably inherited it from his mother,,hopefully i won,t have to worry too much,although he also said that jasper had a dis located back leg,he does limp from time to time,and sometimes yelps for no reason,so maybe he gets more aggressive when he,s in pain,will have to check it out further,thanx again for all yor info,,by the way kelly,i live in kings heath m8,,
ziggy xx
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he also said that jasper had a dis located back leg,he does limp from time to time,and sometimes yelps for no reason,so maybe he gets more aggressive when he,s in pain,
I would think that's a distinct possibility Ziggy - pain can cause a dog to behave aggressively. Has your vet not suggested any treatment for the leg problem? It sounds like Jasper has a slipping patella unless you mean he has Hip Dysplasia - both can be very painful conditions.
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thanx jane,,to be honest he said to just keep an eye on him,as he may have to have surgery in the future,but to be honest i don,t know how long you can keep an eye on something you know nothing about so maybe i should change my vet,he didnt suggest any tests etc,,what do you think??
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p.s. jane,no he didn,t say it was hip d. just that his leg pops out it,s socket he moved his back leg around and noticed it,he said it was very common in spaniels,is this true :(
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thanx jane,,to be honest he said to just keep an eye on him,as he may have to have surgery in the future,but to be honest i don,t know how long you can keep an eye on something you know nothing about so maybe i should change my vet,he didnt suggest any tests etc,,what do you think??
Surgery is sometimes needed for slipping kneecaps and for Hip Dysplasia so I wouldn't really like to say. Sounds like you need to ask your vet to explain things a bit more fully or find a vet who will do this if yours won't :wink:
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will do jane thanx for the advice,will keep you posted ,ziggy x
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i feel really ashamed,,i thought jasper was displaying aggressive behaviour for no reason,,turns out that when i took him to the vets,he said jasper had a dislocated back leg,so that was why he possibly had a bit of anger,i,m really embarrassed,because of what i have heard about solids,,i assumed he had the problem,,glad i took him to the doctors,and educated myself on the problem,,,eeek,i know this will make me look bad,,but at least i have tried to sort it,,i feel really stupid and ignorant,, :oops:
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You weren't to know, you were just concerned about your dog. Don't feel bad about it.
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hi ziggy, i hope everything works out with your cocker,. my solid black cocker max who is 10mths old has these aggresive attacks he seems fine one minute and the next he goes off on one!. to give you an example he barked at the postman and when i grabbed his collar to put him into his crate speaking to him in a firm voice he turned somehow and nipped me in the hand! [little sod] i'm not going to stand for any of his bad behaviour so he gets sent to his crate if he dosent do as he is told! with a smack. val
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Hi Valerie
I'm not sure that smacking Max is a good way to solve the problems you are having with him. The danger with dogs is they will only respond to "violence" by being worse. For example he will recall what happenened last time the postman called and just associate it with being grabbed by the collar, smacked and put in his crate.... it's not going to make him behave any better at all. It could even lead to a breakdown in trust and just make him fearful of you and possibly even more aggressive as a result.
Do you take him to training classes ? If not ,I'd try and book him into one. It is probably a good idea to maybe seek out a good behaviourist too to give you some guidance as to how to deal with his "moments" in a more posistive manner that he might respond to.
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I think grabbing a dog and putting them in a crate just makes a problem worse. A crate should never be used as punishment which your dog may associate this with as his collar was grabbed and then he was smacked. Dogs can then go on to be aggressive every time someone goes near their collar/head. Training in the main should be positive for the dog..
Is barking at the postman aggressive? My two do this and I find it annoying more than anything else.
I've found a 1-2-1 trainer here who helps me out with all sorts of problems and general training. Much better than training using a book.
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Billy barks at the postman, newspapers anything that he sees as coming onto his territory without permission, but if I open the door to the postman (dog lover) Billy rushes out to have his belly tickled :D no aggression just doggy behaviour.
Michelle
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Buttons barks at anything and everything that walks past my house :roll: and if anyone comes to the door she goes mental....but as soon as I open the door she just wants petted, it's all excitement :wink:
I don't really try to curb her barking behaviour as I've got used to it :)
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thanks all of you for responding i will try some of you solutions too see if they work, thanks. val
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I've never come across a dog that doesn't bark at a postie!
I saw a programme on the telly which attempted to explain this behaviour. The postie comes to the door, puts things through the letterbox, the dog barks to warn the pack of danger and the postie goes away. Therefore, the dog is rewarded everytime for the bark and warning of 'danger', because the postie always goes away and does not enter the house.
My old dog Jamie, who didn't bark at anyone else, would bark at the postie if we met him in the street, well away from my house.
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:D Think I saw that programme too. Was that the one where they were trying to discover if man had domesticated the dog through his/her choice, or if dogs are actually much cleverer than to be trapped into something like and they are actually 'using' us for their own gain? It was very interesting. Think it's probably a bit of both! :lol:
Morgan barks at the postie, and in the absence of the postie he attacks the mail!!! :lol:
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Hi Shirley
It sounds like the same programme. Most of it was done through the dog's eyes? There was a cat one as well.
The dog/postie bit was so true. Most posties have a terrible time with dogs unless they meet the dog properly.
Hel
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This postie problem. When I get my new puppy, how to you advise me to deal with it. My old springer was a terror with the postman and had to be kept in untill he had called.
I am going to try and not repeat any of my past mistakes when I train this pup. Is there any book in particular you would advise?
The best thing I ever did with Tango was to teach him to love the hoover! Then I could use the nozzle on his coat to remove any dirt and loose hairs.
I would appreciate any advice on early puupy training.
Chris
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Bella barks at the postie like shes going to kill him , once i came home to find blood on the post :shock: thought shed bitten him , then my sis said she was in the garden with me :lol: :D i take it he got biten by someone elses dog , we opend the door to the postie the other day she was barking like mad then licked the fella to death :P good guard dog :lol:
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Toby does bark at the doorbell but not at the postman. Millie, on the other hand, barks like mad if the doorbell goes, the door knocks, the postman turns up, yet she never barks at anything else. She has a low and loud bark so she probably sounds quite scary...little do they know that if I opened the door she would lick them to death.
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hi all,very interesting comments,jasper was great after the diffuser buying thing,,alas he has started again,,he went charging for a woman today for no reason,she just poked her head round the door and he went beserki didn,t shout at him,he just resumed his normal position on the chair,but i have to be honest i just don,t trust him,,i run my own business and he is with me all day,customers come in ll day too,most of the time he is great and then,all of a sudden he just goes for them,i know the vet said he has a slipping patella,but i am getting very worried now,we have limited the excercise as not to hurt his leg,but now i am at aloss,,what should i do,i love him dearly,,but i think we all know when there is a problem and i am so scared that there is something wrong :(
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You say he comes to work with you, is this a recent thing or has he always been there?
If he has always come to work with you, has this unpredictable behaviour around strangers only begun recently, or has it always been a problem?
Is it ANY customer or does he take a dislike to certain types of people,eg men etc?
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I would seek professional help if I were you (either through your vet to get a good behaviourist or a very good dog trainer who also does behavioural work), as anything you do now you won't be able to trust your own ability as you don't trust your dog, and you do need someone else to assess the situation to basically says he's OK when you do sort things out.
Ruby had bad pyoderma when she was younger and because I had to treat it and it was painful she developed an aversion to me touching her mouth at all. It got to the stage where during a training class that she snapped at me quite nastily. I thought the worst and thankfully about 3 months later took I her to 1-2-1 with another very good trainer. He helped me work on it and reassured me that it was probably only me she did this with (as she never bothered about the vet who was also doing the same, or the dog groomer). Like you for a while I didn't trust her but now I do. It needed someone else to help me out and reassure me that what I was doing was OK.
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hi ziggy you do have a problem! max isn't too bad now i took the advice that someone gave me here so that seemed to work he no longer goes into the crate i try and be on the ball and when i see anyone coming i shut him in the room next door. val xx
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thankyou all for the replies,i think i will take the advice of a trainer,he did it again today,yes,he has always been in the shop since he was 3months old,so he is used to people,they all love him,but he does all of a sudden go mad,somebody suggested that because he is so protective of me,he may get jealous from time to time with all the attention i give others,i give him as much love as poss all day,i even tell customers to say hello to him,so as not to offend him(spoilt cocker big style )will let you all know what happens,thanx again :wink:
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the update on jasper is,,,,,i,m taking him to the vets again and will ask him to investigate jaspers slipping patella further,,he could hardly walk yesterday without limping :cry: i would like x-rays done on his legs and will ask for a detailed account on what exactly will happen with him,,and how i can fix it,,(hopefully)wish me luck,,i,m dreading it :cry: :cry: :(
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Ziggy, I hope the vet is able to help Jasper when you see him poor little chap. :(
Michelle
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Hi Ziggy
Good luck at the Vets with Jasper, Slipping Pats can be very painfull but at least its repairable :)
My vet and I think that Jessica may have partcially ruptured her cruciate ligament yesterday at the beach so she is on strict cage rest and rimadyl for two weeks to see if this helps if not then very expensive op :(
It might be an idea to cage Jasper when his leg is bad so or restrict his excersise in some way to help him.
My late Maddie would be perfect 99% of the time but she could be a little whatsit when she was on our laps and anyother dog tried to get up, she even riped Sasha' ear once so we just used to never let up when other were around or put her down if they wanted up as well
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thanks all,the vet did suggest a cage for jasper,,he said the same thing as before,,keep an eye onhim :? and restrict his excercise,,i am changing my vets as that is not enough for me,,it,s as though he is not listening to me and not seeing the problem,,i am so upset about it,,every time i look at jasper i feel bad for him,,i am so worried i keep putting it to the back of my mind,,will let you know the update as soon as poss,,thanx all again
ziggy and jasper :)