Spaniel rage syndrome, does it exist?

Fools Motto

Fools Motto

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Or is it just bad management?

I have my in-laws small springer bitch staying for 2 weeks. She's now 5. I know she can be a bit 'moody' with other ''small white dogs - particularly westies'' (says they), but on day one of having her, she's launched herself at a black lab who was several feet away doing nothing, and then a whippet. I suspect she is currently suffering from whiplash. The lab got away, and she was on lead for the whippet, so almost strangled herself. I realize now, she is NOT to be trusted with any other dog, white/fluffy or not. Other dogs we've met since, she couldn't even look at.

I'm not sure if, over the next 2 weeks I can do anything to help her, or just avoid other dogs? My two own dogs are social and enjoy meeting up with others.

I've heard about this rage thing, but apparently it's more common in cockers rather then springers? I'm not convinced it is what it is, but she isn't the nicest dog in town!

What would you do/how would you manage her? Discipline/training ideas? Is it worth it for 2 weeks?

Ideas most welcome!
 
Doesn't sound like rage which is actually very rare. Rage will normally manifest if the dog is woken, the eyes will glaze over and the dog won't be "there" at all, after they can appear to be a bit dozy before becoming completely normal, rage tends to be seen in solid coloured showing line cockers...

She sounds more like she is reactive towards other dogs, maybe it's fear related or anxiety. Do you know her history such as has she been attacked by another dog? For 2 weeks I would just keep her away from other dogs and advise the in-laws to seek help from a behaviourist when they get home.
 
maisie06 said:
Doesn't sound like rage which is actually very rare. Rage will normally manifest if the dog is woken, the eyes will glaze over and the dog won't be "there" at all, after they can appear to be a bit dozy before becoming completely normal, rage tends to be seen in solid coloured showing line cockers...

She sounds more like she is reactive towards other dogs, maybe it's fear related or anxiety. Do you know her history such as has she been attacked by another dog? For 2 weeks I would just keep her away from other dogs and advise the in-laws to seek help from a behaviourist when they get home.
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This sounds like an excellent assessment to me
 
My only thing I'm thinking, is if she was reactive to dogs in general, why did she not go for them all - she avoided 5 dogs after the whippet? She doesn't bark at them, she just fixes her stare and goes for them, with, I think, wants to bite them.
Silly question - I though reactive dogs were barky -bitey/snarly?

Her owners panic like mad when they see any other dog, so as far as I know, they sort of 'expect' her to do this? (they need training!!?)
 
Fools Motto said:
My only thing I'm thinking, is if she was reactive to dogs in general, why did she not go for them all - she avoided 5 dogs after the whippet? She doesn't bark at them, she just fixes her stare and goes for them, with, I think, wants to bite them.
Silly question - I though reactive dogs were barky -bitey/snarly?

Her owners panic like mad when they see any other dog, so as far as I know, they sort of 'expect' her to do this? (they need training!!?)
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Not at all - the worst sort of reactive dogs don't bark/bite/snarl - they go for the jugular without any hesitation! The owners are clearly not helping the situation AT ALL and need significant and prompt re-training if there is going to be any good outcome to this
 
Lévrier;13566929 said:
Not at all - the worst sort of reactive dogs don't bark/bite/snarl - they go for the jugular without any hesitation!


The owners are clearly not helping the situation AT ALL and need significant and prompt re-training if there is going to be any good outcome to this
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Arh.. Not good then.

Here lays the problem.

Is there anything I can do in 2 weeks that might help the dog?
 
I would say that you should consistently, calmly reinforce the required behaviours whilst removing ANY opportunity for the 'bad' behaviour to manifest itself. For me, the key to getting good behaviour as an owner is to remove/restrict any chance for the dog to display the behaviour you dont want? In 2 weeks, to be realistic, I am not sure how much you will be able to do - I might focus my efforts on training the owners :)
 
Doesn't sound like rage, just anti social behaviour.

Dogs are like ourselves, they all give out different signals. Maybe the pop on the neck encouraged her to mind her manners. Or the dogs she went for displayed certain body language. Dogs are non verbal and react to things we can barely perceive, never mind overt signals.

You're not going to fix in two weeks what has been allowed for five years.
 
agree with others that his is a reactive anti-social dog, not rage
my last rescue was a 2yo GSD who had only known a few dogs in his first 2 years and they bullied him. So he had very poor social skills and was frightened.
However- this would manifest in different ways.
sometimes we would wine and want to pull towards another dog to see them. But then when up close could snap.
other times he would stay well away.
a few dogs he got on well with
certain breeds look different and i assume he perceived as more threatening. Distance plays a part as well.
 
Reactive, defo. One of my fil's springers was a bit, he'd try to attack anyone bending down to look at him in the car, would bite if ever you yanked a tat too hard, was generally very grumpy. Zak hates being loomed over and growls.

Nail on head re owners making it worse, i did for ages. I found a gun dog trainer and did proper training with Zak. He will never be 100% with other dogs, he will still attack if they get in his face, but has been taught to focus on the ball/dummy and taught a strong leave it command, best thing ever. He stays in a sit unless another dog is on top of him. The owner needs training, yes! My worry transferred to him, I made him worse. It's hard to relax with a very reactive dog.
 
Fools Motto said:
Arh.. Not good then.

Here lays the problem.

Is there anything I can do in 2 weeks that might help the dog?
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In two weeks I'd be hoping to train a swift "down" to interrupt the behaviour before it started. Longer term desensitisation would be the way to go, with reinforcement training to "leave" or ignore
 
I'm Tired! lol

Never knew it would be a little challenging just keeping an eagle eye out for potential 'meets'.
But, we've had a really good time of late. Met a few dogs, managed to get her on lead and with only one or two very brief 'tries' at having a little go, she's been happy to be in company. Some of the owners didn't see what all the fuss is about!! Not going to trust her though, but so far, so good.
 
Fools Motto said:
I'm Tired! lol

Never knew it would be a little challenging just keeping an eagle eye out for potential 'meets'.
But, we've had a really good time of late. Met a few dogs, managed to get her on lead and with only one or two very brief 'tries' at having a little go, she's been happy to be in company. Some of the owners didn't see what all the fuss is about!! Not going to trust her though, but so far, so good.
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It is probably the owners then. My mother could make the two most placid dogs in the world fight, she really could!
 
Fools Motto said:
I'm Tired! lol

Never knew it would be a little challenging just keeping an eagle eye out for potential 'meets'.
But, we've had a really good time of late. Met a few dogs, managed to get her on lead and with only one or two very brief 'tries' at having a little go, she's been happy to be in company. Some of the owners didn't see what all the fuss is about!! Not going to trust her though, but so far, so good.
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Sounds positive - fingers crossed her owners will carry on your good work. I sympathise as the owner of a reactive cocker - it can be quite stressful meeting new dogs and people. Consistency helps a lot but you can't always account for moronic strangers who put their face near a clearly nervous dog's mouth! He doesn't bite luckily but sometimes I wouldn't blame him.
 
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