I found this web site after making a search on google for Nutshaw Kennels.  We have recently sold our two year old golden cocker spaniel to another family, due to the arrival of our 3rd child.  Scooby has always been our family dog and has always had the run of the home, he has been the perfect pet.  About 3weeks ago we very carefully chose another family for Scooby, however they have just contacted us and advised us that Scooby has turned savage and that they've been told that he is suffering from "Cocker Rage".  Thier local vet has commented that Scooby has a smaller glazed left eye and that this is an obvious defect and a tell tale sign that this would happen, they have suggested that he should never have been sold as a pedigree dog.

Does anybody have any advice? 
Is this a regular occurance with puppies from Nutshaw Kennels?

Thanks in advance - lancs.dave@ntlworld

The name rang a bell, and my father years and years ago purchsed a jack russell off them (funnily we called it scooby) he was fine, he purchased another after he died another JT(apparently)extra tall (really long legs) and it wasn't safe to be around anyone.
My father often said he was brain damaged at birth because he was nuts but i had left home by then so he was never around kids.
They advertise in our local paper with a total of 12 different breeds so no i wouldn't buy one from there.

(edit) Are the new owners happy to keep him on? If not i'd get him back and phone a breed rescue as they would really ensure a good home.

first of all how old is scooby ? my cocker only had glazed eyes before it attacked , first of all if you get in touch with wendy and linda at cocker rage .they will help you and tell you if he has it , they have alot of exsp with rage cockers.

http://www.cockerspanielrage.org.uk/

I do not believe that any reputable breed rescue would ever knowlingly be prepared to rehome a dog diagnosed by a vet with rage syndrome. 

I think there are many dog owners with a dog particulary a breed that is known to have in its breed history of rage syndrome will refer to it as having rage syndrome when in fact it may have fits of aggression where the reason for the aggrssion can be traced. This is not rage syndrome, having owned a dog with rage syndrome and having to have him put to sleep because of unpredictable attacks of aggression on one family member, which is the case in rage syndrome the dog attacks the weekest member of the pack, usually attacking the highest part of that person that it can reach. There is never any warning such as growling prior to an attack, making it impossible to predict when an attack will take place.

This is why I find it hard to understand why this particular dog (owned by the person who wrote the first message) lived in a household with a family including children and was a perfect pet, (yet the owner decided to rehome it as arrival of new baby) and had not shown any signs of rage syndrome prior to this?  Yet the dog placed in a new home soon after is diagnosed by a vet as having rage syndrome? Something does not sound exactly right here.   

I read it as the new owners had said  that the dog has rage? and the vet commented on the glazed eyes.
I too had a dog with rage , but there are signs to show the dogs about to attack most of the time , its just figuring it out and knowing to get out the way , all dogs act differently with mine she went for the closest person then we found out the signs and put her in the garden before any damage was done ,
if you look on the website given it shows that there are things that can be done some people even say that there dogs dont have any attacks after but it depends on the dog ,
A breed rescue may rehome to exsp person whos delt with rage before ,
but mabe somthing happened to this dog while away , mabe hes been hurt by one of the new owners? or is scared of all the new surroundings? normaly rage dogs start getting agressive very young often a few months old , this is why i cant understand why its only just happened? having said that we dont know the dogs age .
id try and get a second vet to check him over again . and se if he settles down on his own , then decide what to do

Sorry but Cocker Rescue will not take in aggessive dogs whether they have been diagnosed with Rage or not - most breed rescues have to have a similar policy these days.

will the dangerous dog rescue not take them in ? i know a rescue in ireland that takes dogs in , see's if they can train them or monitors the reasons why the dogs agressive and then if the kindest thing is to pts then they do .

Hi

I agree that  a second opinion is needed before anything is done one way or the other about this dog.  I think it is to easy for people to jump on the band wagon - and label it Cocker Rage - if you read Linda's site she herself writes that other medical conditions can cause temper loss, so get the dog re-assessed by a qualified vet or behavourist.

Are you sure that the new owners were telling the truth, having been involved with rescue for 17 years you get to hear all manner of stories, and usually it is always the dogs fault - or so they would have you believe...

Coleen

Or 'allergy', Coleen. :rolleyes: In many rescues this has come to mean "We couldn't be bothered to train it".

I have heard complaints about Nutshaw Kennels before - sadly this is not a reputable breeder & I would never recommend buying any puppy from here. However, the fact that a dog bought from this place has a health or temperament problem does not mean that it is not a pedigree - many puppies bought from puppy farms & commercial breeders like Nutshaw may have such problems but it does not mean they are not pedigree just that they have been badly bred and/or badly reared. If you would like more info on Cocker Rage, please contact Linda Ward who runs a Helpline specifically for owners of affected dogs - you can find more info here. Are you sure there weren't problems before you sold your dog - it seems a little odd to rehome a "perfect" family pet because of the arrival of a new baby, specially when you already have children so presumably Scooby was fine with them? I'm not sure about the vet's diagnosis that a small eye is a classic sign of Rage - a glazed expression can be but a small eye is a completely different defect. Hopefully Linda will be able to advise you further on this.

Jane

im glad you put that link ive not masterd it yet :D

Linda Ward at the Rage Syndrome Information Centre (www.cockerspanielrage.co.uk) was incredibly helpful and supportive when we recently sought her advice about 'springer rage'. She advised a change of diet from IAMS to Burns (more natural/less protein/fewer additives etc) which, in combination with behaviour training, seems to have worked wonders on my springer. Did Scooby have a change of diet at his new home?

I think that Linda is trying to gather information about breeders and 'rage' dogs.