Freddie has been labelled by a vet as having Cocker Rage. Was Freddie going to end his short life by a vet putting him to sleep?
The vet had never actually witnessed one of Freddie’s episodes. ‘Out of the blue’ is how the episodes were described to the vet and may be enough to seal Freddie’s possible fate.
Out of the blue. Really?
To quote: “Once a myth is out there, it’s hard to get rid of it. There are still vets out there that will diagnose a behavioural issue as cocker rage, as well as outdated information about ‘cocker rage’ that remains online, to be found by dog owners searching for answers about their dog’s behaviour.”
My own understanding is that Cocker Rage, where it may still exist but very rarely and not only in Cockers, erupts ‘out of the blue’. Coming from nowhere – like something flicks with no trigger at all.
My questions soon determined that the episodes weren’t actually ‘out of the blue’. There is a predictable sequence.
Add to this possible pain or discomfort. From a young puppy Freddie had autoimmune disease. I don’t know the full medical details but he was in pain for much of his early months. There is likely to be a link.
Taken in context
Freddie lives with a lady and a couple of lady friends. They are not excitable people so life is calm on the whole.
He sometimes guards resources, mostly only from their other dog, an 11-year-old Border Collie. Unless it’s a remote control! The lady, exactly as I would advise seeing as he doesn’t damage it, now simply ignores it until he loses interest.
He has a good raw diet due to his history of autoimmune disease and associated stomach problems.
He has a walk daily. Possibly a long line with more freedom to mooch may add give some added enrichment to his life. He could also work for his food.
We need to cover all angles.
What might trigger one of Freddie’s so-called ‘rage’ episodes?
We dissected several incidents and there are common denominators.
Freddie is lying down asleep. This is usually shallow sleep when he hasn’t been sleeping for long.
Freddie is lying down beside the lady or her friend – often on her bed. He may have jumped into her sleeping spot when she gets out of bed in the night.
She wants to get back in. Freddie now is disturbed and the low grumble begins. No warning? Unpredictable? I don’t think so.
What does he do?
He gives a low grumble and his eyes become hard and vacant. They may see his eyes first and the grumble follows. His neck goes ‘high and stiff’. The lady describes it like a fit.
A typical episode was when the two ladies were watching TV with Freddie between them. Suddenly ‘out of the blue’ the sequence started. His eyes changed, he jumped off, his neck went high and stiff. He growled. This lasted a long time with neither lady daring to stand up and walk past him.
I am pretty certain that, though they don’t remember this, one lady will have spoken to the other or maybe laughed at TV. She may have moved a leg or arm that was touching Freddie.
He wakes up in another world.
What can we do about it?
The first thing is a thorough vet check for pain.
The second, whilst realising he may have neurological problem, is to work on what we’ve got. We try to condition him to bein
g woken suddenly but gently. So it doesn’t send him into some absent or even nightmare world, but is good.
I suggest, when he’s dozed off, to throw some food he loves in front of his nose or even let it land on him to wake him up. Saying his name at the same time to help him wake and to warn him.
They will do this from a distance. This is experimental.
The third thing is to teach a bomb-proof ‘off’ and ‘up’. The lady can then call ‘off’ from her bedroom doorway whilst throwing a bit of food to him. He can jump off the bed and come to her and she can feed him again. She can then invite him ‘up’ when she gets back in.
How to react
She currently deals with this by throwing food around on the floor. Scattering treats gets Freddie out of it. It works. She talks to him gently and kindly.
It’s good to snap him out of as fast as possible. They will need food to hand all the time as they won’t be able to go and get it.
I also taught the lady how to use a clicker to teach him ‘touch’ – touching her open palm. This may be a good way to call him away from somewhere he’s comfortable, having already woken him.
This is largely experimental and I hope these tactics change things for the better. The less Freddie does it now – the less it will become embedded in the future. Whatever label we give the episodes, we do our very best to find a way forward.
