Last Wedensday was the worst week I have ever had in my whole life and I had to put Cody to sleep for his rage aggression. He just exploded and started to go crazy. It happened a few times before when I wasn't home.

He was fine until my sister tried to grab his collar and get him to move. He flipped out and went after my sister's chest and then my mom saw him doing that to my sister. She stayed calm and walked in the between him and my sister to block him from going after my sister. She didn't touch or poke him, but he bit one of her arms.

He went after my mom until my dad came to get him off my mom. My dad gave a verbal correction and said go. Cody listened and went in the bathroom after a couple minutes later. He tried to go after them again. He stayed in there until I got home from working out. He was fine by then I didn't get a chance to witness the attacking. It upseted me A L O T.

I adopted him from humane society about one and half years ago. I was told by someone that the humane society in Tucson doesn't do temperament testing. They just take dogs in and then readopt. The only issue I was told about him was that he has seperation anexity and a bit dog to dog aggression.

When he came to me, I have noticed that his biggest isssue was TRUST. I read Ed's basic on how to be a pack leader and establishing a pack. A dvd was not aviable at that time and was not captioned. I ignored Cody the first few days and then keep him on the leash.

He grew to trust me more, but there is something I can't win his trust back. He has pain aggression and he hates when a clipper touches his nail or someone poke a finger in his butt.


He kept going in avoidance when I tried to work on him with desenstiving the clippers and butt. I worked so hard to get him to trust me 100% and it seems like he gives me like 90%.

I worked with desenstiving him around the clippers. It did help alot, but after he lets me clip one fo his nails. It goes back to square one. I cut it very small and it didn't bleed after two weeks of trying to desenstivite him.

I have worked so hard on those issues with a professional trainer who is experienced with aggression. Cody had never bit me, but he always goes in avoidance. I worked with his collar through clicker and motionval training. He does it very well with me. If I pull his collar really light just to guide him, he moves. I clicked and give a treat.

I felt so sick in my stomach that I taught him so many things. I taught him to sit for his leash before we go for a walk, retrieve a ball, heel, stay, down, sit, stop, slow, right, and left commands. After one thing I taught him, he remembered and learned so FAST like it was a piece of cake. I hardly give a correction. When I say sit, he does it. I don't have to tell him many times to do what I asked him to do. If I grab a collar, he sits for it immediately and wait.

He was like a perfect dog. He has a mellow personality and good with people. He is not aggressive or barky when strangers come in the house. He ignores the person and keeps his attention on me.

I wish I had a video to show you guys what I've taught him. I showed the trainer who worked with me on his rage aggression. He was impressed on things I've taught him. The trainer is experienced with schutzhund and mondioring.

He explained to me that I might not be able to fix him. He thinks that Cody didn't learn the critical moment in his puppyhood about using his teeth right. When Cody went out of his mind really crazy, he used his teeth to flash his rage. He gave too much damage than he really needed to. It is not like a dominant dog bares his teeth first and say grrrr before give a bite. He looked like he as having a panic attack and BIT so hard.

I had a hard time believe that something was wrong with his mind. I'm not doing enough to be a pack leader. I really don't know if I did everything right. One thing I knew I did everything that I could think of. I feel like it was my fault. I really don't know and I wish Cesear could help me.

I couldn't eat or drink for a few days after he was euthanized because I feel like I failed him a big time. I was so angry with myself. I blame myself almost everyday. It seems like everyone kept telling me that I did the right thing. I don't know I felt so wrong. I refused to give him away to other family because I know he will throw a rage and hurt someone badly. I chose to euthanasia him.

I am so angry that he had to do this. I knew he was the most intelligent dog I've ever met. He learned so fast and motivated to please me. It hurts a lot that humane society made me grew to love him so much that I break my heart into a thousand piece that I had to put him down. Wedendsy was the day I will never forget.

RIP CODY

I'm so sorry, Lindsay. Although you did the right thing, that doesn't change the guilt and feeling like you betrayed the dog. You didn't, of course, but it still feels that way. I've only had to euthanize a dog for dangerous aggression once, but I know all too well how it feels.

I suppose you could have hung Cody until he passed out to deal with the problem, but, as this website points out, even that will not guarantee a safe dog. If you had not euthanized Cody, he would most likely have severely injured or even killed someone, been taken away by animal control, and then euthanized by strangers. There is no happy ending for a dog like this.

Dogs, like people, can be violently mentally ill and genetically unstable. I think this, and not lack of trust, was the problem. Cody sounds like he was an extremely dominant, severely unstable dog who would not tolerate anything people did that he didn't like (such as nail clipping or grabbing his collar).

These dogs are often bright, charming, and affectionate when they aren't being violent, so the shelter probably had no clue that he had this problem. He probably would have passed a temperament test at the shelter.

Someone in this world had to be the one to deal with him, and it turned out to be you. In time, this will hurt a lot less and the guilt will be replaced by acceptance of the fact that you did the right thing for Cody.

So sorry, Lindsay. I agree w/Shody about not feeling guilty. I actually think this is a genetic problem and NOTHING, N-O-T-H-I-N-G you could have done would help this, let alone "fix" him. What you described is NOT an agressive dog; it's a dog with a genetic problem from BIRTH, or possibly some kind of neurological issue. Either way, you did not fail him in any way.

Be thankful that you gave him a happy life for the time he was here; think of how his life would've been with someone lesser.

I'm so sorry, Lindsay.

Your sadness and heartbreak comes through loud and clear. But if you're going to re-play the tape of Cody's life with you then you need to replay the WHOLE thing. You need to reread what you wrote in your post

 Quote: Lindsay Janes

I read Ed's basic on how to be a pack leader and establishing a pack.

I worked so hard to get him to trust me 100% and it seems like he gives me like 90%.

I have worked so hard on those issues with a professional trainer who is experienced with aggression.

I taught him so many things. I taught him to sit for his leash before we go for a walk, retrieve a ball, heel, stay, down, sit, stop, slow, right, and left commands. After one thing I taught him, he remembered and learned so FAST like it was a piece of cake. I hardly give a correction. When I say sit, he does it. I don't have to tell him many times to do what I asked him to do. If I grab a collar, he sits for it immediately and wait.

He was like a perfect dog. He has a mellow personality and good with people. He is not aggressive or barky when strangers come in the house. He ignores the person and keeps his attention on me.

I wish I had a video to show you guys what I've taught him. I showed the trainer who worked with me on his rage aggression. He was impressed on things I've taught him. The trainer is experienced with schutzhund and mondioring.

I refused to give him away to other family because I know he will throw a rage and hurt someone badly. I chose to euthanasia him.

Keep reading this until you see what I see: You gave 100% and tried everything you knew to do to help this dog. And you had success. 90% trust is a HUGE accomplishment. Training a fearful dog is a HUGE accomplishment.

But some things can't always be fixed...no matter how much we want them to and how hard we try. That's a bitter pill to swallow and a difficult life lesson to learn, believe me I know.

You didn't fail Cody. Whatever bad things happened in his life he was extremely fortunate to have found you. You made his last home a loving one.

Lindsay,

You gave Cody love and support when others gave up. You gave him life when others could no longer handle him. By NO MEANS did you fail him. You showed him that there are some good people in this world, unfourtuneatly he may have came across to may bad ones. That was a big bitter pill to swallow. I hope that time will give you comfort. As hard as it was to do, he is finally rage free. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Lindsay,

After reading your post today my heart just broke. I am so sorry that this happened to you. I wish there were something that I could say or do to make you feel better. Just try and focus on the love that you helped him to experience while he was with you. Seems as though before he came to you that love was something that he didn't know and you gave it to him. He is peaceful now. No worries, no fears, just that happy place that dogs go to where they can once again be the happy spirits they were intended to be before mankind taught them how to hurt. You will always be special to him, he will always remember your kindness and the fun that you had together. Take a deep breath, have a really good cry and when you are exhausted, stop, take another deep breath and with that breath let him go, knowing someday you will meet him and he will lick your face, look into your eyes and thank you for all you did, including releasing him from the fears and angers he had in this world. You are a wondeful person to have loved him and an even stronger person for making the right decision both for him and the others around you that you love, no guilt should ever come from that. My prayers are with you, my friend.

Dear Lindsay: I understand that feeling of letting your dog down. My old dog bubby (who we called bubby ben laden) finally had to be put down due to combination of being blind, deaf and agressive. We worked with him for 17years and saw some improvement. But you could never really trust him around other people.
I agonized and cried my eyes out for a long time, and I still miss him, even though he was a handful.
I believe you when you say you did the best you could. And he gave the best he could 90%.
My heart goes out to you. It is such a tuff thing to go through.
God bless you

Thanks guys,

I truly appericate your supports and I know I did tried my best. I need to get my life back to normal and move on, but it wasn't easy. I hope to get a dobie puppy later in the future from a reputable breeder, but not anytime soon. I will need to do my homework and screen breeders out. It takes time and I wish I went to see Ivan's seminar in Phx!

Lindsey, I know I'm late chiming in here, but I too feel for you and your loss. I'm sorry I didn't post the canine rage syndrom here, but had already posted in the other thread before I saw this. I did notice the similarities though. Here is another interesting thing that can happen to dogs to cause rage like symptoms:

A rare condition in humans, pheochromocytoma, infrequently presents with full blown aggression (rage) and/or fear.
Pheochromocytoma http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pheochromocytoma/DS00569/DSECTION=2
symptoms are due to catecholamine excess - as if there was way too much adrenalin. The pheo kicks out this stress hormones episodically and without warning.

There are reports of pheochromocytoma in dogs http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9348493
(a report of 61 cases)however, there's not a good description of the behavioral symptoms in the abstract of the report. However, I don't doubt that a dog which suddenly experiences a surge of adrenalin like catecholamines could become fearful and react as a suddenly very frightened dog might react, especially one which has no idea why this is happening to them, and which they cannot
control.

Would be helpful if such a dog is to be put down, for a postmortem exam to be conducted and include investigative testing for this tumor.

Dear Shody: The rage syndrome is true. Even in humans, my husband has a brain illness that the doctors can't find a solution to. In the many symptoms he does have, rage is one of them. His adrenaline goes haywire and pumps out like crazy and he, for no reason, goes into a rage mode. It has been very hard on him. It is not triggered by anything, it just pops up. As an example when fishing, (he love fishing) all of a sudden one moment in his mind he is thinking how much he loves fishing, and the next he hates it, he hates the people fishing next to him, and then he gets so upset, his stomach gets very upset, he throws up, gets severe head pain, and he always leaves the area. He hates it and cries, he is not normally like that. So, in this day and age, who knows what our animals can suffer from. I never thought what my husband suffers from was around, so I do not want to say animals can't have it. I leave that door open.
But whoever has it, what we have found is that structure is very important. My husband still works, he rides his bike to get plenty of exercise and our home life is structured. So, it bring it right back to exerice, discipline and love.
My prayers are with you. Again I say- you did the best you could with what you knew and had at the time. Knowing animal sense things, I believe your beloved Cody sensed it.