[Ladymom]

I found an interesting article on rage syndrome. Lack of proper socialization with humans between 7 and 12 weeks of age seems to be a factor. Did you get your Yorkie from a reputable breeder?

Likely Candidates

In Capers, Mugford reports that he sees the problem starting in most dogs at about 7-1/2 months of age, on average, "although some dogs exhibited symptoms as early as three months and others as late as two years of age." At Starfire, the few cases we have seen were between one and three years of age. However, in both Mugford's experience and ours, many dogs first displayed the symptoms at or around one of the five critical learning periods we have identified in dogs. These occur at about 6 weeks of age, 12 weeks (plus or minus a week), 24 weeks or about 6 months of age (plus or minus two weeks), 12 months or about a year of age (plus or minus a month), and two years of age (plus or minus two months).

Says Dr. Bekker, "As is characteristic of dominance aggression in general, many more males than females were affected (68% vs. 32%) and symptoms in males were often more severe than those in females." In our work, most of our clients' dominant-aggressive dogs were intact males.

Other Possible Contributing Factors

Inbreeding may be a consideration but little is known about the mechanisms through which inbreeding could affect the problem. Other factors also need to be considered as possible causes or contributors to dominance aggression. Poor socialization with humans between seven and 12 weeks of age can lead to aggressive behavior toward people.

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