Could this be rage syndrome?

[Chazzy]

I have been training a st bernard bitch (12 old months approx and spay) This dog is on her 3rd home now and her aggression towards people and other dogs is out of control. She has been on a training program for fear agression for over 3 weeks now which her owners have been following religiously. It has been working with no problems at all and things were improving untill yesterday when she went for a person and tonight when she just attacked another dog for no reason at all. She is very obedient and knows her place in the hireachy of the home, she is not a dominent dog or possessive at all and has responded really well to clicker training. Unfortunately as she has had so many homes it is impossible to tell what her parents were like or what her other homes were like or how she has been treated in the past. In my 15 years as a behaviourist I have never had a dog I haven't been able to help but I'm running out of ideas on this one. Another worrying factor is the owner has told me tonight that her eyes seemed to glaze over during the attacks and she was pretty calm afterwards. Could this be a form of rage syndrome? I don't want to give up on this dog. Any ideas? I forgot to mention that the dog has no known medical problems, injuries or pain that the owner is aware of.

[kuritsa18]

Have you tried doing any research on the internet or talked to other trainers? Have tried contacting a club for saint bernards or society? I think you should try that and try to find some people or groups that specialize in that breed and even bring in another trainer to see what they say/think.

there is another lady on this forum who has a saint bernard and is having the exact same problem; maybe you guys can exchange some ideas.

If there are two people having this problem then could this be the breed of the dog and not just behaviour that he learned? I think you should do some research about the breed and there genetics. It could possibly help and give some insight into the problem.

Definatley don't give up! As a trainer yourself you should know that consitancy is the key and even if you think your dog is better or has changed there still is that chance that there is something left over. Training should never stop with or become lack with dogs who have problems like this; the owner should always be aware and prepared. I'm not saying the dog will never change but change takes a really long time especially for a behaviour that has already been learned and has shown the dog that what he is doing is ok or working somehow for him. consitancy and possitive re-enforcement is the best way to go. Also, have you shown them techniques on becoming a stronger leader for their dog? Leadership is key and always plays a huge role in obedience and chnaging behaviours. For some more info I suggest you look at Cesar Millan's Dog Psychology Center. it has a lot of really useful and insightful information that might help you:

Hope that helps!

[prolibertate]

It doesn't matter what the owner believes about the dog's health. They're not a vet. Have they had a vet look at the dog to make sure she doesn't have any illness that's making her this way? Many dogs have health problems that cause them to act aggressively because they're in pain, and standard tests don't uncover what's wrong. The first thing that should be done is a visit to the vet for a full work-up.

Dogs don't attack for 'no reason at all'...if one is observant and knows how to read a dog, and sees/knows what happened on the occasion of the biting, they can figure out what caused it. Also, unless it's been beaten out of them, a dog always warns when it's going to bite...so people need to be made aware of the signs and what to do to diffuse the situation.

Lastly, if you're not sure what else to do, there's no shame in calling in another behaviorist who has a lot of experience with aggressive and/or fearful dogs. It would be a shame if this dog get put down because someone didn't want to, or was afraid to, ask another person for help. We're all doing what we do to help dogs, not ourselves, and sometimes asking for help from someone who might be able to help is the best thing to do.

Also, read the books by Pat McConnel, Jean Donaldson, Jan Fennel, etc....I don't recommend Millan as some methods he uses aren't positive ones.