No.1 Article of Aggressive Behavior In Dogs

One case in point was a 200 pound Newfoundland that was brought to us for training ten years ago.

Aggressive Behavior In Dogs

"Samson" had been purchased as a cute and cuddly puppy by a member of the crew of a ship that specialized in taking out church groups and college kids for weekend cruises in a local harbor. The breed had been prime for their credit as perfect water rescue dogs. all was going along as planned on the weekend excursions until Samson turned one year of age. The owner noticed that on one weekend trip a cheerleader had begun to start a cheer on the trip and the dog suddenly became highly aggressive toward her. Luckily the dog had been on a leash and restrained.

The owner had written the incident off as a misunderstanding on the dogs part toward the girls
body language and loud voice. He brought the dog to us after the next incident in which the dog
after a similar trip, had walked down the gang plank with two girls who were petting him and showing him affection. He explained that the girls boyfriends had shown up and when the girls went to leave the dog had lunged toward one of the girls legs with an open mouth and a growl. One of the boyfriends looking this had kicked the dog in the head. The dog then turned and grabbed the boyfriend by the leg dragging him to the ground. The owner explained this away saying "if I was kicked in the head I would bite him too."

Samson presented at the consultation with a wagging tail and had slobbery kisses for everyone.
He was compliant to command and correction and sought praise and attention. He was very comfortable in his own skin and showed no signs of shyness or aggression. He was checked in
for training and his first ten days went off without a hitch. Samson willingly learned all of his commands including the down command. The down command is ordinarily the one that will be difficult if dominance is a factor as dogs will see this is a challenge and a subordinate position. Samson was more than willing to submit himself to training and he relished the praise that came with a job well done.

On the tenth day the Kennel Techs were cleaning the kennels and enthralling the dogs as required to sanitize. When they got to Samson's kennel one of the girls entered his kennel with a hasty leash
and looped him to move him to another kennel. He went along happily wagging his tail. When she
got to the clean run where she was going to put him he balked. She had walked into the kennel and turned to him saying "come on boy. Lets go" in a high pitched praising tone. The next thing she knew he was on her. He knocked her to the ground and grabbed her by the leg dragging her to the back of the run while shaking her. The other Kennel Tech reported that it looked like a Grizzly Bear attack.

She was screaming and he was shaking her. The other girl had the proximity of mind and the bravery to enter the kennel and stick the hose she was washing with up the dogs nose to get him to release.

He was so fixated on his victim that when she was released, and ran for the door to escape, he ran right past the girl with the hose and caught her at the gate. He grabbed her by the other leg and pulled as she held on to the door. She was lifted prone into the air. The second girl then shoved the hose up his nose again which gave them both costly seconds to escape.

The Kennel Tech was taken to the urgency room where the physician reported that the injuries to her legs although severe were miraculously located in a location where there would not be any permanent damage. This is the worst scenario a educator can face. ordinarily you can judge a dog by the behavior it presents in a consultation as well as the facts you get from the client. In this case the client had explained away the aggression and in hind sight probably withheld some other information.

Unfortunately withholding facts is all to common when a client consults with a trainer. The usual excuse for this is that they don't want to prejudice the educator against the dog. The unfortunate consequent of this can be placing the staff in danger.

In yet another case, we witnessed a woman's eleven month old Doberman attack her in front of our eyes. He knocked her to the ground and began biting her down her rib cage area. When we came
to her rescue we were bitten several times in the process of rescue her. Unfortunately after the dog was safely put in a crate (after the three of us had been bitten nine times) she left saying that her husband would have to make the final estimation on what happened to the dog. Rather than taking the dog to a Neurologist as we had suggested, she left him with a Doberman rescue group. In this case the easing of their conscious by not putting the dog down, put other unsuspecting people at risk.

This is an example of what Not to do.

"Rage Syndrome" is in fact an epileptic seizure in the emotional lobe of the dogs brain. Like other forms of epilepsy (motor, or behavioral) the dog behaves ordinarily 98% of the time. It is the 2%
that is the problem. This can happen in any breed of dog. I have seen it to date in a Labrador Retriever.Golden Retriever, German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois, Mixed Breed,the aforementioned Doberman and Newfoundland, and about a half dozen Springer Spaniels. Yes, I said Springer Spaniels. This condition is common enough in the breed to be commonly referred to as "Springer Rage". Springers have more of a genetic predisposition toward this condition for some suspect than other breeds. Again, I must stress that this is highly rare and therefore just because you have a Springer Spaniel you should never assume that this condition will automatically be an issue.

Like other forms of epilepsy this condition can be treated with Phenobarbital which has the consequent of lessening the seizures in the brain. The obvious qoute in the case of "Rage Syndrome" is that even one occurrence is one too many, and therefore dogs diagnosed with this condition are commonly put down. Because the stakes are so high it is recommended that at least two opinions are sought before a determination is made. The best expert belief you can get is a Neurologist. Your Veterinarian can give you his or her opinion, as well as a referral. In the case of one client with a Springer Spaniel, the owner was honest with us and explained that her Veterinarian had suggested that the dog be put down. She stated that she would be more comfortable if we would be willing to evaluate the dog and give her a second opinion. In this case we took the dog in under observation. It took about a week to see the ordinarily sweet dog fly into a murderous rage for no apparent reason. The dog would then go back into a general state without apparent memory of his actions. Unfortunately we had to concur with the owners Veterinarian that the dog should be euthanized.

This condition is also being studied in humans. practically every condition that can be found in the brain of a dog can be found in a human being. These tests may some day explain some criminal behavior in humans. The symptoms of this condition are:

* Unexplainable aggression that comes out of nowhere.

* Aggression that seems unrelated to dominance.

* A marked turn in the dogs eyes, snarling and growling, lunging.

* The dog seems to abandon the behavior as suddenly as it came on.

* The dog seems not to recall the former aggressive behavior.

* Unpredictable timing of the aggression.

What to do if you think your dog has "Rage Syndrome"

*Do not try to diagnose it yourself. Owners many times are wrong about the causes of aggression.

*Do seek at least two expert opinions (Veterinarians and Trainers) At least one Veterinarian.

*Do give your expert advisors all of the facts that you can think of. Do not maintain information!

*Do not put others in danger. If you think your dog has "Rage Syndrome" do not leave him with

children. remove him from all situations where he can do harm to anyone.

* Do not make excuses for behavior that frightens you or others. Being afraid of your dog should be

the first indicator that expert help needs to be sought for determination and/or treatment.

For more facts on "Rage Syndrome" as well as other causes of aggression I would propose that you read Dog Training 101-The Book That Puts You In Control. You can locate this book on my website at: http://www.K-9Companions.com