Phoebe and the head tremors...
Submitted by carol on March 14, 2013 - 9:16pmYesterday she was fine. Tonight she had a couple of sessions where she was trying to catch flys which obviously were not there. Didn't last long and went away with no intervention by us. Talked to our breeder yesterday and her take on it is that it is a problem with low calcium. Who knows??? I am just so surprised that so many of us have dog who have this problem. Quite amazing to me.
Stella had them when she was younger too
Totally freaked me out at first and I never liked to see it. I'd give her a bit of yogourt each time, which covered both the calcium and low blood sugar theories. It also provided a distraction, which seemed to calm things down too.
As she got older, she stopped doing it.
Bulldogs are a mystery!!
Fly Biting
is totally different then head shakes. Google it for videos to see if that is what she was doing. It is neurological.
I would video these episodes and discuss them with your vet. Then you can make an informed decission on if there is anything to be done. I personally would avoid medications and would prefer to see sometype of natural/holistic method used to help. If you find that the long list of, yogurt, honey, peanut butter, etc. works then use such. But there is no medical studies that prove the it is simply low blood sugar.
And I would hope that common sense tells us that this should not be a common thing and that it is all neurological.
Isn't the fly biting
because they are itchy somewhere they can't reach? I've heard stories of people's bullies doing that and them finding issues with their tail pocket or somthing in "that" region.
Maybe give it a check?
Fly biting
Maybull used to do the fly biting and it seemed more like a game. It usually happened during nightly zoomies.
Listen to us using all this technical language...'zoomies',' fly biting', 'tippies,' and 'toofies.' We're a little crazy, aren't we?
Fly Biting or Licking
I think it can be due to hair in gums, anal glands, tail pockets, etc.
But I find it very important that we remind people to be sure to make sure it is not a medical issue...before we advise them on a puplic forum that it is not a problem and not to worry.
We are not vets or homopathic vets and everyone should be careful giving advise on just their own personal experience.
What if the dog actually was a Flybiter, it is real and a neurological issue and not just a term we use. It happens with other breeds. What if we tell these people oh it's just his tail pocket itching him...and the dog had a seizure and died. When he might have been able to have been medicated with Pheno or something and not have died.
Just don't think we should always be playing vet without advising these people to consult a vet.
Headshakes could also be a start to epilepsy. While they typically are not because epilepsy would generally affect the whole body, or one side of the body and not just the head...but do we really want to be telling every one don't worry, especially when we are diagnosing something sight unseen.
Norbert was a flybiter later in years, after 8 maybe. His had nothing to do with his tail pocket, or any other issue, it was neourological. And he had a couple of seizure like episodes around 10, he was put on phenobaritol for a time period then weaned off it. But it was definitely neourological.
People need to be cautious when buying puppies from people who are breeding crap bulldogs with all these horrible health issues. The quality of the puppies on these forums is getting so much worse, the dogs don't even look like bulldogs. It's bad breeders, puppy millers, etc and people who excuse these health issues as common. they are not, should not be and buyers should be educating themselves to find breeders that are health testing and concientious of health and temperment as their top priority, then breed standard. A bulldog should look like a bulldog not a boxer.
FYI - This is not directed to anyone in particular.
Just all these young unhealthy puppies coming to these forums and everyone saying oh that is common...is very frustrating for me.
indeed we are!lol but just
indeed we are!lol
but just look at we're crazy about!!!