i have a 9 week cocker who is fine with us but she plays with our other 10 month boy schnauzer.they love playing and she really loves him and vice versa but when things go a bit too far in their playing she is really horrible to him and very snappy to the point where he legs it!is this normal for her age, is she just getting over excited?not sure whether i need to worry or not.would love some advice please.

Stop the game BEFORE she gets snappy - if you don't she will learn to use force to get the upper hand, and he will not want to play with her :(

They are both pups so neither has the maturity to manage the games sensibly without adult supervision, so that is you :D 

It is a bit like playgroup with kids things can get out of hand, where a game between you and a child woudl not. 

You must step in.  I seem to be stepping in all day long with my 8month JRT and 4 month Rottie x GSD.  They do not get aggresive with each other but play far to roughly and just don't know when to stop.  So I split them up for a rest and step in when things are too manic even if to halt for a few seconds.  its hard work with 2 youngsters but hopefully one day they will calm down and see mum is right.

bev

Play should never be allowed to continue to this point. 

No adult dog should have to suffer puppies all day without being able to get away.

Several SHORT playtimes are much better than one long all day one, because short playtimes minimise the chance of rough play developing.

You must be very,very firm with Cockers as they can be aggressive especially the Golds,blacks and black and tans.This aggression if not mastered may be turned on the family later,so best to get it under control now.Have you thought about buying a crate? This would be the best option and  when the pup gets too much you can crate the young offender until things cool down.

>they can be aggressive especially the Golds,blacks and black and tans

Bunkum!  I have known many Cockers over the past 25 years and never met an aggressive one yet, willfull and disobedient yes and for that they do need very consistant handling, but aggressive no, so clearly although it may happen occasionally (I would imagine as a result of poor breeding as in all breeds) it is definately not common. 

Isabel,"THERE ARE NONE SO BLIND AS THOSE THAT CANNOT SEE"

I've personally found that blue roans can be very dodgy - but that could be because they seem to be the current popular colour, so again you get band-wagon breeders.

Nonsense :rolleyes: met plenty of them in huge numbers at shows and lesser numbers at various types of training class plus known many intimately over years.  One of the nicest breeds around IMO - not for everyone who's not up for their active, busy, happy natures - but then that could be said of any breed not suited to the owners' lifestyles.

Please think twice before posting completely inaccurate information and sweeping generalisations that have no basis in fact about any breed.

Teri

Teri,there is plenty of basis for my posting what I did. There is a whole website devoted to Rage Syndrome in solid coloured Cocker Spaniels,and this is the ONLY breed that has a WHOLE website devoted to poor temperment.

There are WHOLE websites dedicated to just about anything if you want to use that old chestnut.  Cocker breeders are aware of "rage syndrome" - and it's certainly not an epidemic - I haven't ever met or even heard of one affected personally.  Equally it has been found (try the www) to affect other breeds too :rolleyes:

Personally I think if anyone wants to be so slating or offensive about an entire breed - or any subject for that matter - they should be able to come up with something a bit better than "a whole website devoted to it".  Maybe actually experienced and lived with a dog thus afflicted and have substantial evidence as to the breeding line or lines from which it originated?

Teri

Rage Syndrome is not exculsive to Cockers .

You have clearly never actually looked at the Cocker Rage site or you would have a better understanding of it and how rare it actually is.  It never was a temperament issue in fact one of the defining features of the condition is the dog will not have a general temperament problem but the rages will come "out of the blue".  Which brings me rather neatly to JG's point  I think :)  As I say I have met many, many cockers and to-date have never met a nasty one but you are right the Blue Roan is beloved of the Puppy Farmer and although we do not seem to have a problem in my area perhaps there is a poor quality producer in your area.  As with all breeds it is always wise to seek a puppy from a reputable breeder that breeds typical examples of the breed and abides by the code of ethics of the Cocker Spaniel Club
PS I don't think shouting gives any gravitas to your arguement, if you have a valid point you should not need to do it :)

Hi, My first cocker was a golden and i had him 7 year and put up with him going off his head for no resson his eyes would glow and he would bite any one . the last time that he bit he took a lump out of my sons leg who had done nothing to the dog at the time, so i had him put down this was the hardest thing ive ever had to do, i think he was badly bread but i did not no who had bread him as i brought him with out seeing his mum and dad, silly i know but we all loved him very dearly . I have 5 cockers now and i dont have any problem with any of them,not even from my new liver pup, but they do need to be keep in hand as youngsters ,and need to know that you are the boss and them. Bye the way i will never have a red golden one ever again but thats down to me, i no there not all like he was but it broke hearts putting him to sleep,he had nipped 4 people and had bit me and as i said took a lump out of my son leg so i no i did the right thing in putting him down, but it still makes me sad to think about it. regards debbie.

=

I have two male cockers.  One is gold in colour and he is the sweetest little dog.  Never been agressive to any of us.  If anything my Orange Roan boy picks on him.  lol.  If play time does get too rough, then I will usually split them up, give them a time out and they're fine again.  So many people are under the impression that gold cockers are so nasty, when i've never met a bad one.  The only one i've seen that seemed a bit dodgy has been a blue roan, and he wasn't extremely terrible. As long as you keep things under control, and put them in their place when needed, you will be fine.  Good Luck!

Hi there. iam pleased you dont have ant probs with your cockers, i dont think that all the the reds and goldens are bad tems , but i would not have anover as every time ied look at it i would think of him,and it would make me sad. I have a orange and white - blue roan - orange roan -chocolate  roan - liver and they are all good temps on them, thank god, would not like to go thought what we thought with scoobie doo again , and i would not wish it on any one. regards debbie.

Please feel free to bite my head off but there IS a syndrome called "Cocker Rage" although I believe - from my reading on the subject and experience of owning a blue roan cocker spaniel, hence the research! - that this condition was at its worst in the USA, mainly affected Red or Golden cockers and, as is usual with these things, resulted from dodgy breeding.

What I do know, for an absolute fact, is that cockers can be exceedingly wilful and as stubborn as mules. If invited to stop whatever you don't want them doing their first response can often be a growl but they are just as quick to remember that this isn't acceptable and apologise profusely! Their "selective hearing" skills are second to none but for all that they are delightful dogs and wonderfully loyal companions.

Nobody is denying that Cocker Rage exists just that it is rare.  I would agree Cockers are willfull and can be disobedient but this generally manifests itself it with them stopping what they are doing untill you turn your back and then picking up where they left off.  I have never in 25 years had one growl at me and would regard that as a real temperament issue and any one that did would not be a "delightfull companion" in my book, although this should not be confused with Rage Syndrome.

There are 'nice' dogs and 'nasty' dogs of every breed under the sun.

Just because a cocker is aggressive does not mean it suffers from 'cocker rage syndrome', otherwise we could easily have 'chihuahua rage syndrome' and 'husky rage syndrome' and it would just be another word for aggression!!

What causes aggression in dogs is caused, in my opinion, by:

1.  Bad socialisation (bad experiences at impressionable times of the dog's life)
2.  Under socialisation (lack of different experiences)
3. Genetics (breeding from dogs with aggression problems)

These 3 things together make up about 99% of aggression problems.  The first 2 are entirely the owner's fault and the 3rd one is entirely the breeder's.  This thread reads like it's attributing blame to dogs themselves....

i do split them up and have time out when it gets over the top so im glad to see i was doing something right.i have read about the "rage" and i think its unfair to say that cockers are more than likely prone to it.my cocker is red and shes a sweetheart.i met her mum,dad,gran and great gran(all red)and if id have asked one of them to bite me they would have laughed in my face!:o

>I have never in 25 years had one growl at me and would regard that as a real temperament issue and any one that did would not be a "delightfull companion" in my book.

Herein lies the classic problem of the internet - we don't know about whom we speak!!!

Only my very, very occasionally growly cocker was indeed a delightful and much loved companion who, given the disruption in his life - the death of two elderly owners, a move of 400 miles and rehoming - coped remarkably well. He died last year from an undetected and horribly invasive cancer and was a very poorly dog in the last hours of his life. Despite his illness he returned nothing but friendship and tried his hardest to be a merry fellow so I'm sorry, but I'm not prepared to accept that he had a "real temperament issue" of any description whatsoever. But then, with respect, you couldn't know or judge my dog's temperament any more than I could do the same for yours because we simply don't know of who we speak!

Just to put the record straight we have owned many Cocker Spaniels and are well acquainted with the breed.We have had one gold dog with full blown Rage Syndrome and we have had 2 other solid golds with severe aggression problems that would deem them not suitable for any family with children, we have also had 5 parti coloureds with 100% good temperments.None of ours were bred by Puppy farmers,most had a good start with reasonably good pedigrees, 2 of the golds were exceedingly well bred.
My cousin who has a Veterinary practice in Surrey (he also studies behaviour problems/and helps owners with problem dogs) has told me time and time again (when I have despaired) how many solid coloured Cocker Spaniels they get through his practice that have severe aggression related problems.He isn't making these facts up,neither are his colleagues,although,as has been correctly pointed out in this thread,severe aggression can happen in many breeds.

"We have had one gold dog with full blown Rage Syndrome and we have had 2 other solid golds with severe aggression problems that would deem them not suitable for any family with children................................2 of the golds were exceedingly well bred"

That's a bit of a mystery then!  If what you say is true - you had 3 gold cockers (one with rage and two with aggression problems) then either they were not in fact "exceedingly well bred" or you did not make and exceedingly good job of socialising them :-)

I have a 3 1/2 year old gold cocker and a 2 year old blue roan.  I totally agree with what some others have said - they are stubborn and they are willful but neither of them have ever snapped or behaved aggressively towards anyone.  They have on ocassion given a warning growl - i.e. if they are in pain - which in my opinion is a good thing. 

My blue roan will steal food from my gold dogs bowl (and mouth sometimes :D)without a problem but I don't think it would be tolerated if it was the other way round.  While dog sitting a friend's puppy in the summer my gold dog spent the week with a 10 week old lab hanging off his ears, but my blue dog refused to put up with it!  My 3 year old nephew always says he loves my gold dog best :-) as he will quite happily let children hug and kiss him.

I know numerous well-bred gold dogs as well as roans and they have all had very different personalities, but none have been aggressive - maybe I've just been extrordinarily lucky ;)

Shirl :)

P.S.  For the record, I am not denying the 'Rage Syndrome' exists in a number of different breeds and agree that the rare cases should be taken very seriously!