Rage Syndrome also known as Sudden Onset Aggression or (SOA) is a serious but rare behavioural problem that has been reported most commonly in the English Cocker Spaniel but also in a variety of other dog breeds. It is often misdiagnosed as it can be confused with other forms of aggression. It is thought to be genetic in origin and is inheritable. A variety of treatments are available, but will need to be tailored to the individual needs of the specific dog. The term rage syndrome is attributed to Dr. Roger A. Mugford, an English animal behaviour consultant.
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The dog will suddenly act aggressively to anyone nearby, but minutes later will be calm and normal. It will not remember or realise what has taken place and can act immediately submissive to the person(s) that it previously attacked. Attacks such as these cannot be stopped with training because it is a problem that the dog cannot consciously control.[1] The attack will happen without due cause, and can seem schizophrenic in nature.[2]
Shortly prior to an attack, their eyes can glaze over and go hard, followed by the dog snapping into alert mode before finally attacking. It appears to an outsider like an exaggerated form of dominance aggression. Often a specific dog can have a certain trigger, such as the unexpected approach of people whilst it is sleeping.[3]
Dr. Roger A. Mugford, to whom the term is attributed,[4] identified that the problem starts on average at around seven and a half months old in English Springer Spaniels. However some of his research subjects showed signs at as early as three months and as late as two years. He did find however that many dogs displayed their first symptoms on or around one of the five critical learning periods identified in dogs. These occur at six weeks old, 12 weeks old, 24 weeks or six months, one year old and two years old.[4]
It has been reported that rage syndrome was found to be more common in red, golden/blonde or black cockers than in any other color and specific lines tend to have a higher occurrence.[5] All solid colored cockers tend to be at higher risk than their multi-colored counterparts, with darker colors being most affected. It is most often associated with the show lines of the breed although cases have been found in the working lines as well.[6] The color of the dog may not actually be genetically related, but is more likely to reflect certain bloodlines. Cocker spaniel breeders do not commonly breed solid colors to parti-colors and so the two color phases tend to be mostly distinct. Previous research in foxes in the 1970s linked particular coat colors with certain extreme behaviours and aggression.[7]
Although rage syndrome is sometimes called "Springer rage", it is predominantly only the show lines that suffer from this disorder. There have been no reported cases in the pure-bred field lines of this breed.[8]
Although the scientific evidence is limited, rage syndrome has been described as a epileptic disorder affecting the emotion-related parts of the dog's brain.[9] There is also some evidence that in at least some cases it is an inheritable genetic disorder. In English Springer Spaniels, the appearance of rage syndrome has been traced back to a winner at the Westminster Kennel Club show who went on to become a top stud.[8] (see Popular sire effect)
Often it can take a veterinarian who specializes in neurology to successfully diagnose rage syndrome and owners can often not realise the condition's existence, simply believing it to be a training issue,[10] or can confuse it with other forms of aggression.[11] However it can only be thoroughly diagnosed by EEG or genetic testing and these tests can sometimes be inconclusive.[6]
Ultimately, selective breeding should remove the issue from affected breeds.[8] However for a specifically affected dog, then a variety of treatments including antiepileptics[12] have been reported to be effective, but not every treatment works for every dog and in some cases no treatments work, leaving the only solution of putting the dog down.[8][1]
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