Cocker Rage

[ChickensHaveNoEyebrows]

A oh-so-helpful fb friend has sent me a link to an article about cocker rage. It makes it sound like Jasper (3/4 cocker, 1/4 springer) is, at some point, going to randomly savage one of us for no apparent reason. This is unexpected. Can someone please tell me how common this actually is? And would there be clues in his temperament?

Less common in a cross than a purebred cocker I should imagine. I would think that the issue is one caused by bad breeding of pedigree cockers.

As you know folk often buy a cross between two dogs expecting to get the best of both and end up surprised that their supposedly non shedding, intelligent Labradoodle is a fur-dispensing machine that is a bit dim and who eats anything he can find! Far more likely that your dog will take the nutty energetic Springer traits than to become a killing machine... I WOULD THINK!

(As you guessed, I am only working on logic here, not fact, am interested in the opinions of breeders, vets and experts).

Rage is no more in cockers than in other pedigrees. If your friend has sent you the wiki link please ignore it. Join Cockers Online Forum and read the posts on there. Its an amazing forum on all things cocker and you will find some great advice.

NB, the breed club here is a little more sensible than your friend appears to be on this issue, saying that the condition is seen rarely and was over-hyped. Apparently this rage is seen in my favourite breed too, the GSD.

I have yet to see it in a Shep myself, despite knowing and dealing with lots (or any other breed, come to that). But, that's only my anecdotal comment and as I said I am NO expert on dogs in general and certainly not on this sort of thing.

i have a pure cocker, never had any problems with her, she is 4

I have had this mentioned to me several times, I read up on it (insert googled) before getting eric (golden cocker) and decided it might be something that happens to random dogs but it is quite unlikely and something which appears to be media hyped, they dont do that with dog related stuff do they , there is a lot of hear say but very little fact based info on the net.

Ah, thank you all. I, er suffer a bit from anxiety, so tend to lose perspective. Jasper is currently laying on his back on the eldest's lap and trying to chew his own ears. He doesn't look like he'd try and rip your face off on the way to breakfast. Said fb friend seems convinced that I have put my children at risk, hence my (probably bonkers) panic. That said, I know that any dog can potentially bite for any number of reasons, and that the best way to prevent such incidences is to treat the dog with respect and kindness, and to watch for signs of illness/distress. I think it was the 'sudden, mindless attack on close family member' bit that had me gulping for air. But then if it is a neurological disorder, akin to a fit, then there's bugger all we can do about it.

I'm over thinking this, aren't I?

I think you have an issue with Wanker Friend Syndrome, love.

Ah, LeBOF, I think I love you . Yes, it's a possibility This particular friend has two labradoodles and seems to think that they are the only child friendly dogs you should have. BTW, there are now pics of Jasper on my profile

I was talking about this with a friend who is a Senior Vet Nurse at a very busy vet hospital recently...god knows why as neither of us have Cockers.

Anyway, she says that this defintely used to occur in a small number of Cockers, almost always the solid coloured ones. She also said that she hadn't seen a case in years and the vast majority of Cockers she encounters in her work are happy, friendly, cheery types...just as a Cocker should be.

A colleague of mine says that he had to have their Cocker PTS several years ago due to rage syndrome. Mind you, he's a miserable fucker and I'm farily sure I'd also want to inflict physical injury on him if forced to live with him.

Should add...you have nothing to worry about. Jasper is adorable

I'm newly pregnant and just know that as soon as I announce it, at least half a dozen people will ask me when I'm rehoming my dogs. One of which is a Rottweiler X....so you can imagine the sorts of comments I'm likely to get. I'm practising my best 'fuck off and die' look in preparation.

Oh I'm waiting for the "when are you getting rid of the dogs" comments as soon as we go public (assuming it's still all ok in there!)

chickens you absolutly must look at my profile, jasper looks like eric's twin. so gorgeous.

grr cant find a pic that shows it, but he has exactly the same markings.

Dita, Eric is gorgeous! I keep thinking that Jasper won't get the long cocker coat (he's 17 weeks now) because he's a cross, but looking at your pup it seems I might be wrong. Jasper is currently destroying a pringles tube and depositing bits of it all over the floor. I've never hoovered so much in my life

My childhood cocker didn't have a long coat. Dill, however, is a fecking fluffball.

He will try to lick your face off... Is that cocker rage?

Chickens, I think you should do whatever FB people do to their unhelpful friends (delete them? Un-friend them?!? Sting 'em up on their own wall?!?!? Not a FB fan ).

I heard about it years ago, but also have heard (cocker owning neighbour, said cocker being Mouse's New Best Friend Bella, who is gorgeously soppy) that it was very rare, and is now hardly ever seen. And I've never heard of a cross-breed case, though I"m no expert.

OK, I have to do a major deviation from topic - apologies, Chickens - Deja!!!! If you are who I think you were, and that means you are still as you are, I am SO SO happy to hear this!! Didn't dare ask, but have been thinking of you heaps. And if you get that convoluted sentence, congratulations again!

omg sorry only just read the subtext, deja see it was worth sticcking around just for that info