Also called sudden onset aggression, rage syndrome is a neurological disorder, not a temperament defect or training/socialization problem. Affected dogs go into a kind of seizure that makes them attack anyone or anything that happens to be in the vicinity.
The behavior associated with Rage Syndrome includes outbursts of aggression that are intense and at times unpredictable. These episodes also tend to be large dramatic responses relative to a seemingly benign situation. Affected dogs often freeze, stare, and may rapidly escalate to biting.
Treatment may include medication, behaviour modification, and environmental changes. Responsible dog ownership, early socialisation, basic training, and regular veterinary care can help reduce the risk of aggression.
It is more common in certain breeds including Cocker Spaniels (where it's known as 'Cocker Rage'), English Springer Spaniels, Doberman Pinschers, German Shepherds, Bernese Mountain Dogs, St. Bernards, and Lhasa Apsos. This points to a possible genetic disorder or at least a genetic component as part of the cause.
Aussies may become frightened or aggressive when they encounter unexpected people or animals if they are not properly socialized. Australian Shepherds require training as well.
The trick is training your dog correctly so that they follow your direction even when faced with an uncertain situation. Plenty of socialization, ideally from a young age, exercise, and mental stimulation on a daily basis are also key to avoiding the possibility of aggressive behavior from your Aussie.
The most common causes include conflict aggression, fear-based, defensive aggression, status related aggression, possessive aggression, food guarding aggression and redirected aggression.
The short answer is that anger can run in families, and genetics can indeed play a role—which might help to explain your angry inclinations. However, there's another significant factor that can lead to kids adopting angry tendencies from their relatives: learned behavior.
However, there's no guarantee that an aggressive dog can be completely cured. In many cases, the only solution is to manage the problem by limiting a dog's exposure to the situations, people or things that trigger her aggression. There's always risk when dealing with an aggressive dog.
But although it may seem like your dog is biting you aggressively or showing other aggressive behaviors out of the blue, most dogs only exhibit aggressive behavior for one of five basic reasons: Your dog is ill, frightened, possessive, showing dominance, or frustrated.
Probably the most notorious breed on this list, the pit bull has a reputation for unpredictability and aggression, even against its owner or his family. State and local governments have been vigorous in restricting ownership of this dog with breed-specific legislation.
As a part of Potter-Efron's book he talks about the 6 stages of an emotional or anger event which is what I want to talk about in this blog entry. In order from 1 to 6 they are: activation, modulation, preparation, action, feedback and deactivation.
The anger arousal cycle
xi The arousal cycle of anger has five phases: trigger, escalation, crisis, recovery and depression. Understanding the cycle helps us to understand our own reactions and those of others.
Not all anger is linked to anxiety, but often if individuals take a step back and uncover what is triggering their anger, they may discover that they are showing signs of fear and panic, which may be the root of an anxiety disorder.
While anger is not commonly a symptom that is associated with anxiety, there is evidence to suggest that when a person has an anxiety disorder, the rate and intensity of their anger can increase [source].
Some mental health professionals refer to anger as a secondary emotion. According to Dr. Harry Mills, anger is the emotion we are most aware we are experiencing. However, anger usually just hides the presence of deeper and less comfortable emotions like sadness, guilt, embarrassment, hurt, fear, etc.
ANGER primes increased systolic blood pressure and the magnitude of this increase predicted reaction time prolongation. Within the brain, ANGER trials evoked an enhancement of activity within dorsal pons and an attenuation of activity within visual occipitotemporal and attentional parietal cortices.
Chronic anger is an ongoing and general sense of resentment of other people. It can feel like a sweeping sense of frustration with certain circumstances, or often anger towards oneself. The hallmark of chronic anger is a long term nagging and perpetual irritation.
The causes of rage syndrome are genetic in nature, and some dog breeds are far more likely to develop this problem than others. Springer Spaniels are particularly linked with the syndrome, but Cocker Spaniels, Golden Retrievers, Poodles, and Dobermans are also breeds that may be more likely to have rage syndrome.
Confrontation, punishment, threats or owner fear and anxiety are only likely to make the dog more defensive and anxious over further similar confrontations. In each of these examples, conflict, fear, possessiveness, or learning, rather than dominance, is the cause of the aggression.
Attention. If your dog jumps and bites you when he is excited, it's because he wants attention from you. One trick is to get down on his level instead of having him jump up to yours.