We’ve all heard of it, but how many really understand what’s euphemistically known as Cocker Rage? The term “anger syndrome” was originally used to describe a set of behaviors that occurred in a disproportionate number of golden cocker spaniels. It seemed to manifest itself in cockers of one color and mainly males.
However, these assumptions were disproved when it became apparent that other races also suffered from this type of affliction. It certainly didn’t help when the likes of Dr Roger Mugford published a statement in the Manchester Guardian and I quote: “Cocker Spaniels are all given to anger and no family with children should have one.”
American and English Cocker Spaniels, Bernese Mountain Dogs, Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, Dobermans, English Bull Terriers, English Springer Spaniels, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Pyrenean Mountain Dogs, and Saint Bernards have all been diagnosed with this problem. , but exactly what is this phenomenon and is it actually a syndrome?
This type of aggression presents itself as an unprovoked attack, usually on family members. Anger Syndrome looks like an exaggerated form of status or dominance aggression, often triggered by people unexpectedly approaching while the dog is dozing. The dog becomes alert and then attacks, biting and attacking savagely. This can go on for some time, then just as suddenly as it started, it stops.
Often the dog looks confused and may approach the person it attacked in a normal greeting mode, appearing submissive and pitying itself. Often the eyes change color and harden before the attack, and there is usually no warning or threatening posture before the dog lunges at the person.
There is much discussion about whether this anger really exists as a syndrome, or whether it is an inherited condition, a form of brain disorder, or even reduced serotonin levels (associated with violence in people). Others have suggested that it may be related to a mild form of epilepsy.
Several experts have theorized that “anger syndrome” is a seizure disorder, not a temperament disorder (like dominant aggression). The recent successful treatment of some cases of apparent “rabies” with phenobarbital (an anticonvulsant) may add credibility to this evidence.
What I recently discovered is that aggression in our English Springer Spaniel is on the rise. I tend to find this unprovoked aggression to be found mostly in small Working Springers which are about the same size as large Cockers; certainly in the US they have had an increase in assault cases in Springer.
* Dr. Ilana Reisner, a professor of behavioral sciences, has probably done more research on this condition than anyone else. She believes that this is a condition that runs in family lines and is associated with reduced serotonin levels and that the condition can be difficult to treat. Distinguish aggression from dominance.
Dr. Ilana believes that there is a group of dogs that display extreme and uncontrolled aggression that goes well beyond the “typical” aggressive responses of dominant or territorial dogs. She believes that these rages probably occur in many breeds, but that the Springer and Cocker are overrepresented among these breeds. Although as you can see in the photo with three of my Springers, they can be very loving and affectionate.
The term “anger syndrome” is almost certainly being used inappropriately to describe aggression that does not conform to the reported standard, making the problem seem much more widespread than it really is.
*Dogs that appear to have rage syndrome may become aggressive in certain repetitive situations, such as when an owner leans over the dog or attempts to move it off the couch or some other repeatable behavioral trigger. If this is the case, then it is less likely to be a seizure disorder, which would tend to suggest that the condition may be resource, territory, and status related, although other tests conducted primarily by Dr. Reisner showed abnormally low amounts of serotonin metabolites in urine and cerebrospinal fluid.
This suggests that the aggression was associated with abnormally low levels of serotonin in the brain. This was consistent with findings in violent mental patients and inmates. Serotonin is one of the neurotransmitters, brain chemicals that have a calming effect. In most mammals the amount of aggression associated with dominance appears to decrease.
While it does not necessarily change an animal’s social status, higher serotonin levels decrease the likelihood that aggressive displays will be used to maintain social standing. Based on these findings, drugs that increase serotonin levels were used to treat dominance aggression in dogs. Apparently about 50% of dominant aggressive dogs respond to these drugs, with a decrease in aggressive manifestations.
Drugs do not solve the problem, but it has been suggested that they may make it safer and easier for owners to use behavior modification techniques to change the dog’s social status in the home. This indicates that dominance aggression may, at least in some individuals, result from a brain abnormality at the chemical level.
When dealing with human-directed assault cases, you must consider a number of factors.
There is another form of aggression, called mental lapse aggression, which has been previously described as “anger syndrome.” Dr. Bonnie Beaver of Texas A&M first described this type of aggression. The cause is unknown, but the EEG brain wave pattern resembles that of a wild animal. It is probably not a seizure disorder, as these dogs do not respond to anticonvulsants. These dogs display sudden and violent aggression. It can start at any age, but it usually occurs in young adults and gets progressively worse. A careful behavioral history shows absolutely no pattern of predictability. There is no known treatment except euthanasia. It is probably very rare, but it can be very difficult to distinguish from a severe case of dominance aggression. In the long run, it’s probably not so critical to make the distinction, since euthanasia is the safest path in any case.
Seizures can also cause unprovoked aggressive episodes, but the EEG usually shows seizure spikes, a different pattern than mental lapse aggression. When seizures are suspected to be the cause of the aggression, the vet should do the typical medical evaluation for any other type of seizure. These dogs often do very well on anticonvulsants. Owners must be prepared to deal with the necessary monitoring, as well as the risks involved in having a dog display aggression during a seizure. Otherwise, they are handled like any other bulldog.
Depending on how you break it down, there are probably 20 different forms of dog aggression. Multiple forms within the same individual can interact together to produce a single bite episode. Without understanding all of these factors, it is extremely difficult to successfully treat an aggressive dog. The “rage syndrome” has been applied to many types of aggression, primarily dominance aggression, mental lapse aggression, and seizure-related aggression. This term should be removed from our vocabulary when discussing the causes, prognosis, and treatment of aggressive dogs.
o Age of onset of aggressive behavior: the younger the dog is at the time of the initial aggression, the worse the prognosis. If a female dog shows early signs of aggression to her owners, she probably shouldn’t spay her, as reduced progesterone can exacerbate the behavior.
o Severity of Aggression – Dogs that display lower levels of aggressive behavior such as growling, lip curling, and inhibited smacking will be much easier to deal with than dogs that explode with violent attacks. The depth and ferocity of the bite also has a profound and powerful impact on the prognosis, so the chances of treatment success are slim.
o Predicting aggression – If owners can predict what situations are most likely to result in aggression, such as protecting objects or a favorite place, then steps can be taken to prevent those situations.
o Duration of the aggression – Since there is a learned component to any form of aggressive behavior, it makes sense that the longer the aggression has lasted, the more difficult it is to convince the dog that the rules of the household have changed. Like any habit, owner behavior that leads to aggression is also more difficult to change.
I have actually only seen two cases where the “Rage Syndrome” seemed to be present; both cases were working lines of English Springer Spaniels. Almost all other cases called anger syndrome were control complex behaviors, ie dominance, frustration, resource protection, etc.
It may be that these are showing up in our working Cockers and Springers due to a dwindling gene pool. Pure breeding inevitably increases genetic problems, because it reduces the gene pool. Some have almost no genetic variation left, therefore it is already almost impossible to select for bad behavioral traits.
I certainly see many Cockers guarding resources and displaying dominant/control complex behaviour; also a number of Springers that bite without warning deep and hard, but I personally think this does not constitute us classifying it as “anger syndrome”
I think there’s more at stake here than just labeling it a “syndrome.” strong medical reasons that are intractable.
I thought I should mention that there is currently a big change in the way we view dominant behavior, social status, and aggression. Dominance is certainly a relative term, not a description of a dog’s psyche. Some experts recommend abandoning the dominant/submissive paradigm entirely. I disagree, as that negates the fact that social status is evident in our dogs.
To some extent, I sympathize with those who claim that the word dominance should no longer be used, that it is outdated, obsolete, and irrelevant, but sympathizing does not mean that I agree with their arguments or their logic.
Advances in scientific studies have shown that our previous knowledge base did not give us a complete picture and was based on studies that were at best incomplete and at worst totally wrong in their findings. The new wave of positive reinforcement and behavior modification style training is proving to be much more effective and gentler than previously used methods.
The advent of clicker training has proven to be a revelation for many of today’s behavior and obedience trainers. Fortunately, the training style that insisted that the dog must be subservient and that training based on rewards or treats is bribery is dying, although there are still places and organizations that believe that it is the only way to train. Current dog training techniques focus on building a relationship of mutual respect and trust.
Please, let’s not allow political correctness and semantics to infiltrate the behavior or training of dogs. Let’s be realistic and look at what we have in front of us; sometimes a joy, other times insistent and I dare to say from time to time “Domineering”.
Regardless, we love them all, even with their weird, complex, and irritating idiosyncrasies.