English Cocker Spaniel

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I would advise the reader to review the rating that we gave to the Cocker Spaniel. The controversial rating that we gave that breed could almost apply here. However, after speaking with hundreds of breeders around the world we have become convinced that the English Cocker Spaniel does not have as many temperament issues as the Cocker Spaniel. Still, even with the English Cocker Spaniel there have been reports of "Rage", (often reported in Springer Spaniels as 'Springer Rage' ) a temperament condition which causes a dog to suddenly "turn" on its owner. We do not know if this condition is real as we have never seen a case of "Springer Rage", however, it would be irresponsible to ignore the numerous cases of English Cocker Spaniels that suddenly become aggressive. Our Advice here is the same that we have given for the Cocker Spaniel. Please take the time to locate an ethical breeder, one that has a long history of breeding good dogs. In fact, if you have a moment, you may want to read our article, How to find a good breeder on the internet.

Temperament

Cockers are renowned for their friendly, faithful, playful, and affectionate natures. They are easily trained and make a good medium-sized family pet. Very few Cockers have temperament problems; in a 2002 survey consisting of 487 cockers, only 1% of the dogs were aggressive to people and 2% were aggressive to other dogs.

Rage Syndrome

The Following Information Was Taken From The Rage Syndrome Information Center. Visit Their Web Site For More Information: Rage Information

By Linda Ward

"Rage Syndrome is a serious but rare uncharacteristic behavioural problem that has been reported in several breeds (particularly in Spaniels). Rage Syndrome is often incorrectly diagnosed as it is sometimes confused with other forms of aggression."

"Sudden attacks for no apparent reason; the dog will often be sleeping and then attack without warning. The eyes become dilated and sometimes change colour during and after an attack, the dog is totally confused when attacking and will not respond to any attempts to stop it. The attacks are very unpredictable and the dog will often appear disorientated afterward and unaware of it's actions, then return to it's normal self shortly after. Victims are usually members of the family and due to the lack of warning from the dog, suffer from a flesh wound that will need medical attention. "

The above "Rage" information is copy written by Linda Ward and this small sample is only used for a general educational purposes in accordance with with the laws of copyright as they appear on the Rage Syndrome Information Center website.