Dog Community

Spaniel rage

Posted : 6/4/2006 9:13:51 PM

After years of searching and denying and blaming myself for my dogs actions I have finally come to a conclusion. I spent most of the time since I got Allie blaming myself for being a bad handler, not setting realistic expectations properly or just not dealing with her properly. She terrorized my life and I rearranged it entirely to keep her and other dogs/people safe. I beat myself up over and over again thinking I was the problem. I work in animal behaviour and I thought to myself everyday "if I can't handle my own dog, how are people supposed to trust me to help with theirs?" I exhausted myself using every training method imaginable over the years and trying everything I could to stop her aggressive outburts with some days being good and others a nightmare. After researching so many neurological disorders I was ready to give up. Spaniel rage was never an option for me as it was just something I didn't want to accept. Allie has bit me on several occasions although she never seems to know what she is doing at the time. It tore me apart to see her do this to me and my other dog. When it came to her aggressive outburts my other dog sensed it and I could never figure out why. Her unpatterned sleeping outburts of aggression without warning made no sense to me. Finally she was diagnosed with spaniel rage and the burden both increased because of the days to come and decreased because we finally knew.

The reason I am writing this is because I know there are others out there that have dealt with this or who just know how hard it is. I am asking for anyone who has any information to please post it. I am trying to gather as much as I can and I already have quite a bit. We are going to try medication and dietary changes for Allie to help her but I want to find as much as I can. If I can find something that works that will enable her to have a good quality of life I will do it. She is a loving, kind and obedient dog but she cannot help herself when she has her outburts.

Please...if you have anything kicking around let me know, I would appreciate anything that will assist in helping her.

cavowner

Posted : 6/4/2006 9:49:50 PM

I'm so sorry this has happened to you.
Please, please, Take Care.
A friend had a Eng Springer with Rage. Like you she kept trying, she ended up badly hurt in hospital and nothing at all could be done for the dog so it was sadly PTS. She still owns Springers and has never had another one with Rage.

The dog has NO idea what it has done, the brain just seems to short circuit for a few minutes. Unfortunately the dog can make a mess of anyone who gets in the way during those few minutes and will never be safe. Yes they are beautiful, often extremely well trained, loving dogs 90% of the time but they could kill a child without warning.

Hugs for you and your dog. I wish there was a fix.....

PS I researched this problem previously as I used to breed English Springers.

Katrina Flanagan

Posted : 6/4/2006 10:13:25 PM

Thank you so much for your concern. You must know how hard this journey is for me. I am not sorry it happened though, I think everything has a reason and if I hadn't taken Allie the day I got her she would be put to sleep right now. I only think now that maybe I didn't save her afterall. If I had never met Allie I would not be in the animal industry. The one thing that is different in my situation though is that I am a single female who has dedicated her life to animals. I am ok with taking the chance on myself being hurt IF she has a good quality of life. I do not have kids and I live alone with my dogs. I have the time to work with her and I have the patience to do it successfully if it can be fought. I know the times/places she is more likely to have an episode and I am aware of them. My other dog senses them and sends out signals to me before they happen which increases my ability to handle them immensely. I have already deemed her a dangerous dog and she is not permitted to be around other people/dogs/especially children without a muzzle. She is now crated at night and any other time she is sleeping as this seems to be 99% of the time she has an episode. I am setting perimeters to keep her safe and others safe until we determine weather she can live like this or if it is too hard on her. She still gets lots of exercise and lots of love but everything is in a controlled environment. Will she get the opportunity to bite me again? Probably, but I am willing to take that chance until we know for sure how serious it is. Can I keep her life within the perimeters? Maybe not but I will die trying. If I find that there is no help with methods to treat this disorder then we will be looking at other options but I owe it to her to try everything imaginable without causing her harm in the process. I will not look at euthanization until all other efforts have been exhausted. Can you send me some of your research to help? I would appreciate anything.

For those of you who are reading and are not completey aware of what we are talking about here is a brief clip of the symptoms:

Sudden attacks for no apparent reason; the dog will often be sleeping and then attack without warning. The eyes become dilated and sometimes change colour during and after an attack, the dog is totally confused when attacking and will not respond to any attempts to stop it. The attacks are very unpredictable and the dog will often appear disorientated afterward and unaware of it's actions, then return to it's normal self shortly after. Victims are usually members of the family and due to the lack of warning from the dog, suffer from a flesh wound that will need medical attention.

spiritdogs

Posted : 6/5/2006 6:34:52 AM

sierra, I know how hard you are trying for Allie. You might want to contact Tufts, Purdue, and Cornell vet schools to see if they have any recent research findings on rage syndrome. Also, I think you might find someone with info if you get on the ESS msg boards.

spiritdogs

Posted : 6/5/2006 6:58:19 AM

Ilana Reisner, DVM, formerly of Cornell, did extensive research on rage in spaniels. I think you may find reference to it on the ESS Field Trial Assn. website.
[linkhttp://www.cockerspanielrage.org.uk]www.cockerspanielrage.org.uk[/link] might have info as well.
malamutehealth.org has a page by Dr. Jean Dodds explaining the tests that should be taken to assess if a dog has autoimmune thyroiditis, an imbalance that has been implicated in cases of ideopathic aggression. Dr. Dodman, at Tufts, has experience with this as well - I heard him talk about it a few years ago at an aggression symposium when discussing pharmacological interventions.

loveukaykay

Posted : 6/5/2006 11:26:02 AM

I think its wonderful that you are trying to do everything you can here, and I hope you can find some answers. I just wanted to say that if you cant control this, its okay to make the decision to euthanize... you will not have failed, you would have done everything you can which is lot more than many others would have done. Good luck.

Katrina Flanagan

Posted : 6/5/2006 7:49:46 PM

Thank you so much for all of the support and kind words. Allie has had a good day so far...only one outburst as of yet. I have read from some of those of those websites and will check out the rest. I am waiting for information tomorrow on some local contacts that have worked specifically with this issue before. Thanks again!

spiritdogs

Posted : 6/6/2006 6:49:02 AM

I spent some time yesterday reading up on this syndrome. A few things came up that I found interesting. A lot of the Spaniel people - ESS, WSS and Cockers - say that they believe a few lines are responsible for this characteristic and that it is really a form of dominance aggression that worsens over time. Others say that it is related to the thyroid. And, still others treat it as a neurological disorder. The latter seems like it might be akin to humans who have explosive anger. That makes me think that we should be investigating the environmental precursors, and what effect they might have on neurotransmission. Also, in humans, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, which can cause anger outbursts, are known to have a genetic component. And, we also know that certain medications, like lithium are very effective. So, you may find that a consultation with Dr. Dodman, or another veterinary behaviorist, will help. He's an authority on psychopharmacology in dogs.

Katrina Flanagan

Posted : 6/6/2006 9:04:10 PM

Your information peaked my interest more in this disorder. I have heard a lot about Dr. Dodman...in fact we studied one of his books in school on animal behaviour. I found they way he perceived things very interesting and would like to pursue contacting him further. Do you have any contact information for him?
Interestingly enough I tried something different today with Allie. A high increase in attention and love. Only calm situations surrounding her and feeding her in a different area away from her sister. She only had 2 episodes today but her behaviour was much better. She had 2 hours of exercise instead of one daily and was crated in all other situations. It made a difference although we still had some outburts. This morning at 7 am she woke up and lunged across the room in a vicious attack at her sister. It took about 5 minutes for her to calm down and when she did she just looked at me, sighed and grumbled (the way she does when she is not feeling well). I am charting all of her episodes going forward and hoping this will provide more insight into the patterns of it. She is not a mean dog and all she does is play with my other dog in her spare time. She greets people friendly and is well trained but then nwe have the "episodes" when she is sleeping. I hope no one thinks I am keeping a vicious dog around but I know we can get through this.

Thanks again for all of the support. This is an extremely difficult and emotional thing to deal with when your sweet baby starts attacking for no reason at any given time. I only hope I will be able to find a solution (chemical or natural) to aid her while she struggles with this.

If anyone finds anything else, the more information the better!

cavowner

Posted : 6/12/2006 4:18:31 PM

Found this today ~ hope it helps
Main site
http://www.vetsci.usyd.edu.au/lida/

Inherited problems in Springers,
http://www.vetsci.usyd.edu.au/lida/index.php?Pg=7&BID=57&Name=English+springer+spaniel+[Springer%20Spaniel]&Op=1

Phenobarbital-responsive episodic dyscontrol (rage) in dogs.

Dodman NH, Miczek KA, Knowles K, Thalhammer JG, Shuster L.

Department of Surgery, Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, North Grafton, MA 01536.

Episodic dyscontrol (rage) was diagnosed from the clinical history, electroencephalographic findings, and response to oral treatment with phenobarbital in 3 dogs. Clinical features included a mood change heralding aggressive incidents, explosive aggression directed at people or objects, and a postaggressive phase characterized by lethargy and lack of responsiveness. Abnormal electroencephalographic findings included spike activity in the temporal recordings. All 3 dogs responded well to anticonvulsant medication with phenobarbital.

All the Best.

Katrina Flanagan

Posted : 6/30/2006 4:16:16 PM

UPDATE

I wanted to take the time to thank everyone for all the support and advice when I originally posted this. It has been a few weeks and a consultation with Dr. Dodman and my vet. Allie has a confirmed diagnosis and has started phenobarbitol. It has only been 2 days so it is still early but we have not had any episodes since starteing the medication. Although I understand the ultimate outcomes of this medication and that she might not be with me for as long as hoped it seems that a significant difference has been made in her quality of life and despite what everyone else told me, Allie will not have to be put down afterall. Together we will battle this and hopefully in the future I can in turn help those that are struggling with this.

Thank you again from Allie, Sierra (who usually got the brunt of the attacks) and myself.

cakana

Posted : 6/30/2006 5:18:11 PM

I hadn't read your posts previously, so I thought this was all current. I was so happy to read the last post and see that you've gotten some answers and hopefully some relief for Allie (and you and Sierra). Good for you for pursuing this and I hope the medication continues to help.