Rage Syndrome
Bulldogs World Forum Archives
These archives contain a copy of the contents of the old Bulldogs World Forum for reference purposes.Posting is disabled in the archives.
Click here to visit the active Bulldog Forum
Rage Syndrome
Submitted by admin on April 20, 2010 - 5:48pmWe have a 6 year old male that we adopted about 8 months ago. The original owners had to get rid of him due to a newly premature baby in the house with alergies. They said that he was always loving and the only obsessive trait he had was to go after balls and wheels. Up until recently he has demonstated this demeanor. About 6 weeks ago we had him neutered and he came out of it, what we thought, acting like a puppy. The "energy" has escalated to aggression. Not to make this long, but incidents that we thought were isolated/cute before the neuter are now becoming all too common place. To the point where, on Thanksgivng day from coming home from a walk, getting his usual finish treat, without provication lunged at a good friend (that he has been always friendly with) biting him on the upper leg leaving a gash and 3 puncture wounds. The vet has said that in middle age some bulldogs develop RAGE SYNDROME and is currently trying Clomipramine but has stated that there is little hope that the behavior will not escalate even with it and he will have to be put down. He has been on it for 5 days and although there have been no incidents like the one last week he has not "mellowed out" either. Any insights would be welcome.
Rabies vac.?
Do you think the rabies shot has something to do with the aggression? I just lost a bully to this terrible problem. It is heartbreaking. I read the article on Rage Syndrome and found it to be very interesting.
question for michael & wyatt's mom
michael,
was your dog vaccinated for rabies prior to the surgery? or when was his last rabies vaccination? if you are open to it, try to find a good holistic vet in your area for a 2nd opinion on your guy in addition to the trainer/behaviorist.
wyatt's mom,
of the 3 dogs you lost, when were their last rabies vaccines? when did you first notice the behavior & when did it start to get worse? were the 3 dogs related?
my email is above if you don't want to post (just remove nospam).
just curious,
liz
Re: Rabies Shot Question
i'm sure not many will agree, but i do think there is a link between vaccination and behavior problems in dogs, esp. the rabies shot & aggression.
here are a couple articles i've come across that may interest you:
http://www.angelfire.com/biz/froghollerfilas/VaccBlanco.html
http://www.bestfrisbeedogs.com/vaccinequestion.html
http://www.canineworld.com/drdym/rabiesalert.htm
here is the ahvma website to look up the dr your neighbor suggested (or others in the area):
http://www.ahvma.org/referral/index.html
good luck w/ your boy.
liz
Lost 3 Wow......
Did you try any of the medications mentioned in the article? If not, what did your vet suggest? Did you try a behavioralist or a holistic vet? Thanks!
Holistic Vet Suggestion
Funny that you should bring this up as a neighbor suggested the same thing and we have one nearby.
Rabies Shot Question
Yes, he had the shot about 6 months ago.
We have lost 3
This is absolutely the best article regarding this problem. Thank you!!
We have lost 3 bulldogs to this. Its a heart breaker.
Cindy
Trainer
Again, I strongly suggest you consult a trainer/behaviorist
Try
Paulina de Velasco
DogsDogsDogs
305-458-7787
Let me know how you make out.
Lynn K
Thanks for the Article and an Interesting Note
To answer your question on medical history, as a matter of fact, when we had him neutered he had a tumor that benign. He has also been checked out by 2 vets in the last 8 months and other than the new tumor none of the other items you brought up were issues.
BTW, we live in Miami Beach, Florida.
Aggression
"Rage Syndrome" has become widely used to describe aggression of unknown origin or at least unknown to the owner. Read this article, I found it to be quite educational
http://www.essfta.org/aggression.htm
If all medical possibilities, tumors, injury, thyroid, sugar levels etc have been eliminated, I strongly suggest you see a trainer/behaviorist ASAP. Let me know where you live and I will try to find one for you.
Good luck
Get this book!
Please get the book "The Dog Who Loved too Much" by Dodman & read the first chapter on the aggressive dog. There may be some behavior changes on your part that would stop his aggression.