My first bit of advice is to send a full thyroid panel to HemoPet. It is expensive, but "rage syndrome" is more often "low threshold aggression" present from birth (Field dog lady here, I've seen lots of Cockers, Springers and a couple of Brittanies that would give a single, split second "hard look" as their only warning before launching an assault. There's a warning, it's just damned hard to see and react to before the dog's over threshold and latched on to your pants.)
Thyroiditis is an auto-immune issue that can lead to unprovoked aggression when the dog is stimulated (also has the disorientation and confusion after the hormone surge, at least for Star- he'd try to go lick the wounds he caused.) Again with the tiny, quick to pass over to aggression warning signals. Star will be playing like normal, then... his eyes just kind of get wider, his ears change position- not even pinned, just different, sometimes up, sometimes down- and while he just looks a little bit more wired, he's actually deeply uncomfortable and about to try to take a chunk out of someone. That's it. That's his only warning signal- his face is *slightly* tense. And then if he's pushed he unleashes all his fury (thankfully he's a 50 pound English Setter, his fury is rather... unfocused.)
Twice daily chewables have greatly increased his flexibility and tolerance, but the baseline problem is still there. Training could help but not fix the problem because while part of it was how we dealt with him, most of it has to do with internal chemistry. Mom loves him, so he'll live out his life with her (he's had this issue since he was 2 or 3, he's 9 now- but he's lived in an adults only household. Honestly, if Mom died in a car crash tomorrow, Star's ass would be in at the vet for the final time the next day. He's BETTER, and it's manageable but he's not WELL.)
Guinness is the right age- 2- to start seeing thyroiditis. Does he curl up like he's cold? Wake up grumpy? Those were Star's main signs other than biting. His TSH and T3 were normal, his T4 was low-normal, but his antibodies to his own thyroid hormones were off the charts. He never lost hair, never gained weight, just... the biting issues. If Guinness has a milder version of Thyroiditis, he might be able to get back to happy-go-lucky-land. Star's not exactly a posterpup for the disease.
Even if Guinness has Thyroiditis, and responds beautifully to treatment, I wouldn't trust him around children. I admire his bite inhibition (I, and all the other dogs in the house, have scars to prove Star has none), but I'd be calling Doberman rescue once I have a diagnosis and explaining he's not safe around children, needs daily medication, but you'd like to give him a chance with another home where he might live a long, happy life.
If it's low threshold aggression, not mediated by seizure medication or caused by Thyroiditis, I think you've already come to that unwelcome conclusion.
Wishing the best for all of you. I'm sorry there's no better answer than "run tests and see what they say."
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Date: 2010-09-28 08:12 pm (UTC)Thyroiditis is an auto-immune issue that can lead to unprovoked aggression when the dog is stimulated (also has the disorientation and confusion after the hormone surge, at least for Star- he'd try to go lick the wounds he caused.) Again with the tiny, quick to pass over to aggression warning signals. Star will be playing like normal, then... his eyes just kind of get wider, his ears change position- not even pinned, just different, sometimes up, sometimes down- and while he just looks a little bit more wired, he's actually deeply uncomfortable and about to try to take a chunk out of someone. That's it. That's his only warning signal- his face is *slightly* tense. And then if he's pushed he unleashes all his fury (thankfully he's a 50 pound English Setter, his fury is rather... unfocused.)
Twice daily chewables have greatly increased his flexibility and tolerance, but the baseline problem is still there. Training could help but not fix the problem because while part of it was how we dealt with him, most of it has to do with internal chemistry. Mom loves him, so he'll live out his life with her (he's had this issue since he was 2 or 3, he's 9 now- but he's lived in an adults only household. Honestly, if Mom died in a car crash tomorrow, Star's ass would be in at the vet for the final time the next day. He's BETTER, and it's manageable but he's not WELL.)
Guinness is the right age- 2- to start seeing thyroiditis. Does he curl up like he's cold? Wake up grumpy? Those were Star's main signs other than biting. His TSH and T3 were normal, his T4 was low-normal, but his antibodies to his own thyroid hormones were off the charts. He never lost hair, never gained weight, just... the biting issues. If Guinness has a milder version of Thyroiditis, he might be able to get back to happy-go-lucky-land. Star's not exactly a posterpup for the disease.
Even if Guinness has Thyroiditis, and responds beautifully to treatment, I wouldn't trust him around children. I admire his bite inhibition (I, and all the other dogs in the house, have scars to prove Star has none), but I'd be calling Doberman rescue once I have a diagnosis and explaining he's not safe around children, needs daily medication, but you'd like to give him a chance with another home where he might live a long, happy life.
If it's low threshold aggression, not mediated by seizure medication or caused by Thyroiditis, I think you've already come to that unwelcome conclusion.
Wishing the best for all of you. I'm sorry there's no better answer than "run tests and see what they say."