just FYI the KBr is the scientific abbreviation for Potassium Bromide. There are several forms of potassium, but its the bromide that was helpful for us.

just FYI the KBr is the scientific abbreviation for Potassium Bromide. There are several forms of potassium, but its the bromide that was helpful for us.

I have experienced my first head tremor as a bully mommy. I do not believe that the head tremors are seizure activity. As an Neuro ICU RN, I have an opinion as to what I believe it is but am curious as to how you all answer my questions.

Please only answer if your dog has had tremors.

1. dog or bitch- Dog

2. age of onset- 5 months

3. diet (brand of dog food)during the tremor- They started on kirkland brand food, but still continue on his vet diet.

4. remedy that was used- I give him peanut butter, once he gets so focused on the treat, they stop.

5. does the problem continue- only once did it continue after the treat, but they usually go away.

6. if so, current brand of dog food- Purina HA, allergy vet diet.

a side note, he looks like a bobble head, so I think they are head tremors that I see people post on here, my vet calls them focal seizures, and said they couls always respond to a treat, getting him to focus (I guess this is where focal seizure comes in) but he said sometimes they do progress and he may need meds at that time.

Miranda and the SB gang in Toronto.
The spina bifida babies,

Pugsley

Piper and Rosco
And always Chance

And Matilda

I have experienced my first head tremor as a bully mommy. I do not believe that the head tremors are seizure activity. As an Neuro ICU RN, I have an opinion as to what I believe it is but am curious as to how you all answer my questions.

Please only answer if your dog has had tremors.

1. dog or bitch- Dog

2. age of onset- 5 months

3. diet (brand of dog food)during the tremor- They started on kirkland brand food, but still continue on his vet diet.

4. remedy that was used- I give him peanut butter, once he gets so focused on the treat, they stop.

5. does the problem continue- only once did it continue after the treat, but they usually go away.

6. if so, current brand of dog food- Purina HA, allergy vet diet.

a side note, he looks like a bobble head, so I think they are head tremors that I see people post on here, my vet calls them focal seizures, and said they couls always respond to a treat, getting him to focus (I guess this is where focal seizure comes in) but he said sometimes they do progress and he may need meds at that time.

Miranda and the SB gang in Toronto.
The spina bifida babies,

Pugsley

Piper and Rosco
And always Chance

And Matilda

Please only answer if your dog has had tremors.

1. dog or bitch --Bitch(don't tell lola;>)

2. age of onset 1yr 2 mths

3. diet (brand of dog food)during the tremor Just started her on Wellness 5

4. remedy that was used (food distraction, yogurt-mostly)

5. does the problem continue (not one since taking her off wellness( knock on wood

6. if so, current brand of dog food TOTW Pacific Stream


Keep us updated and talk to Cathy on here she has done alot or research and was a god send for me when I went through this..

Please only answer if your dog has had tremors.

1. dog or bitch --Bitch(don't tell lola;>)

2. age of onset 1yr 2 mths

3. diet (brand of dog food)during the tremor Just started her on Wellness 5

4. remedy that was used (food distraction, yogurt-mostly)

5. does the problem continue (not one since taking her off wellness( knock on wood

6. if so, current brand of dog food TOTW Pacific Stream


Keep us updated and talk to Cathy on here she has done alot or research and was a god send for me when I went through this..

I don't think these head tremors have a thing to do with the seizures at all. What I suspect is that it has alot to do with glucose. Unfortunately these foods don't have the same breakdown of nutritional information as human food...but I suspect that the carb count isn't high enough (for some bullies).

The brain cannot store glucose, therefore we need a continuous supply. Corn has been a main ingredient in dog food forever...but many of us have switched to foods (due to allergies, etc) that contain a different source of carbs and some have no grains. The description of these carbs all say "highly digestable", and I wonder if some dogs (depending on their metabolic needs) are using up these carbs too fast. This would lead to a drop in glucose, the tremors and the fix...all containing high amounts of glucose.


2 weeks ago, I changed food. We were on Royal Canine (contains oats and rice)...we are now on TOTW (contains potatos and peas)....potatos/peas are more simple carbs than the oats/rice. My boy is very athletic and energetic and I suspect he just ran out of glucose.

I am going to stay on TOTW, I have seen things that I like from it, but I am now going to supplement his diet with either brown rice or oatmeal that I will add to it. My bitch hasn't had any problems but she has never been bred, was not in her heat cycle and she isn't near as athletic as my boy (her energy needs are different currently). I think Kayro and the simple sugars provide a quick fix but it's like eating a piece of candy for a diabetic, it's far better to have a complex sugar so that it doesn't drop off quickly again.

Just my thoughts.

I don't think these head tremors have a thing to do with the seizures at all. What I suspect is that it has alot to do with glucose. Unfortunately these foods don't have the same breakdown of nutritional information as human food...but I suspect that the carb count isn't high enough (for some bullies).

The brain cannot store glucose, therefore we need a continuous supply. Corn has been a main ingredient in dog food forever...but many of us have switched to foods (due to allergies, etc) that contain a different source of carbs and some have no grains. The description of these carbs all say "highly digestable", and I wonder if some dogs (depending on their metabolic needs) are using up these carbs too fast. This would lead to a drop in glucose, the tremors and the fix...all containing high amounts of glucose.


2 weeks ago, I changed food. We were on Royal Canine (contains oats and rice)...we are now on TOTW (contains potatos and peas)....potatos/peas are more simple carbs than the oats/rice. My boy is very athletic and energetic and I suspect he just ran out of glucose.

I am going to stay on TOTW, I have seen things that I like from it, but I am now going to supplement his diet with either brown rice or oatmeal that I will add to it. My bitch hasn't had any problems but she has never been bred, was not in her heat cycle and she isn't near as athletic as my boy (her energy needs are different currently). I think Kayro and the simple sugars provide a quick fix but it's like eating a piece of candy for a diabetic, it's far better to have a complex sugar so that it doesn't drop off quickly again.

Just my thoughts.

1. dog or bitch....Bitch

2. age of onset.....3 years and a couple of months

3. diet (brand of dog food)during the tremor. Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream

4. remedy that was used...first time, cheese with a teaspoon of sugar wrapped in it. Second time peanut butter

5. does the problem continue.....has happened only twice, but they were both recent.

6. if so, current brand of dog food.....still on Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream.

Hope this helps. Let us know what your thoughts on the cause could be.

Amy, Sophia and Isabella

1. dog or bitch....Bitch

2. age of onset.....3 years and a couple of months

3. diet (brand of dog food)during the tremor. Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream

4. remedy that was used...first time, cheese with a teaspoon of sugar wrapped in it. Second time peanut butter

5. does the problem continue.....has happened only twice, but they were both recent.

6. if so, current brand of dog food.....still on Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream.

Hope this helps. Let us know what your thoughts on the cause could be.

Amy, Sophia and Isabella

nm

Miranda and the SB gang in Toronto.
The spina bifida babies,

Pugsley

Piper and Rosco
And always Chance

And Matilda

nm

Miranda and the SB gang in Toronto.
The spina bifida babies,

Pugsley

Piper and Rosco
And always Chance

And Matilda

I feel bad for Rosco, I would like to prevent them. I can't imagine what it would fell like to have your head bob and not be able to control it, it must be annoying to them.

Miranda and the SB gang in Toronto.
The spina bifida babies,

Pugsley

Piper and Rosco
And always Chance

And Matilda

I feel bad for Rosco, I would like to prevent them. I can't imagine what it would fell like to have your head bob and not be able to control it, it must be annoying to them.

Miranda and the SB gang in Toronto.
The spina bifida babies,

Pugsley

Piper and Rosco
And always Chance

And Matilda

my vet made comments very much like yours. I don't recall if he termed them "focal seizures" but he did feel the dog could possibly be distracted, however they would likely pass within a few minutes anyway. The reason he gave the KBr for my bitch was to hope to PREVENT them from happening, and said too that if these tremors did progress to full seizures, we would go to a narcotic to control them but they never advanced beyond head tremors, thankfully. I've had a bulldog with epilepsy and it was remarkably different from the head tremors.

my vet made comments very much like yours. I don't recall if he termed them "focal seizures" but he did feel the dog could possibly be distracted, however they would likely pass within a few minutes anyway. The reason he gave the KBr for my bitch was to hope to PREVENT them from happening, and said too that if these tremors did progress to full seizures, we would go to a narcotic to control them but they never advanced beyond head tremors, thankfully. I've had a bulldog with epilepsy and it was remarkably different from the head tremors.

thinking faster than I type -

thinking faster than I type -

Oatmeal and rice take a while to go to sugar in the system and should 'level out' thru the day more slowly. Any time I hear of a pet person only feeding once a day I give them the 'level the blood sugar over the 24 hour period' talk and they seem to understand the reasoning for feeding 2-3 times a day better.
Everything I've read says that dogs don't need carbs in their diet, but if they only have access to food 1-2 times a day then I see a need for carbs that their body can process slowly. Just my opinion though.

Oatmeal and rice take a while to go to sugar in the system and should 'level out' thru the day more slowly. Any time I hear of a pet person only feeding once a day I give them the 'level the blood sugar over the 24 hour period' talk and they seem to understand the reasoning for feeding 2-3 times a day better.
Everything I've read says that dogs don't need carbs in their diet, but if they only have access to food 1-2 times a day then I see a need for carbs that their body can process slowly. Just my opinion though.

Yeah, I agree. I don't think it's necessarily a brand of food that's to blame, but I do think it may be related to the premium foods with little to no grains in them. I will be interested to see if the addition of oats/rice to my boys diet will make a difference.

Yeah, I agree. I don't think it's necessarily a brand of food that's to blame, but I do think it may be related to the premium foods with little to no grains in them. I will be interested to see if the addition of oats/rice to my boys diet will make a difference.

I tend to agree with you about it being glucose level related.
I've seen the head shakes a nursing dog gets that are calcium related and a dose of Calsorb will stop those in under a minute. My bitch that gets headshakes occasionally had her 1st when nursing a litter of 4 robust pups and I didn't have the Calsorb on hand so I mixed a tablespoon of honey into a 1/4 cup of yogurt and used a big syringe to get it into her mouth while holding her chin tilted up.
She has had 3 or 4 episodes of headshakes since then that are unrelated to lactation and the yogurt/honey has stopped them within a minute. I think these shakes have been when she either wasn't eating her full rations, was extra active, or I was late getting her meal to her. The shakes have occurred without a link to a particular brand of food (I have 3 that I use and rotate between) but I have recently put her on Diamond Natural Xtreme Athlete to put a few more pounds on her and will be interested to see if she has any headshakes while on this food.

I tend to agree with you about it being glucose level related.
I've seen the head shakes a nursing dog gets that are calcium related and a dose of Calsorb will stop those in under a minute. My bitch that gets headshakes occasionally had her 1st when nursing a litter of 4 robust pups and I didn't have the Calsorb on hand so I mixed a tablespoon of honey into a 1/4 cup of yogurt and used a big syringe to get it into her mouth while holding her chin tilted up.
She has had 3 or 4 episodes of headshakes since then that are unrelated to lactation and the yogurt/honey has stopped them within a minute. I think these shakes have been when she either wasn't eating her full rations, was extra active, or I was late getting her meal to her. The shakes have occurred without a link to a particular brand of food (I have 3 that I use and rotate between) but I have recently put her on Diamond Natural Xtreme Athlete to put a few more pounds on her and will be interested to see if she has any headshakes while on this food.

My bitch, who is now past 12, started having head tremors at about 2.5yrs old. She was eating Science Diet Maintenance, and has since 7yrs old approximately moved onto Science Diet Senior along with canned Kirkland. She has been getting a daily PetTab all along. I consulted my regular vet when they started and because she was having them a few times a week he felt that we needed to 'break the cycle' and altho they never progressed into "seizures" we put her on BID oral Potassium Bromide (non-narcotic). She has remained on this except for about 3-4 months when she was pregnant/nursing but when tremors returned a few weeks into nursing pups I weaned them early and put her back on KBr and tremors stopped again. About 2-3yrs ago I dropped her back to SID dosing with no negative changes. She will very occasionally get a little tremor but not full head shakes lasting 2-3 minutes, and I think this happens when she's stressed or very tired, maybe seen once in a quarter-year. HTH

My bitch, who is now past 12, started having head tremors at about 2.5yrs old. She was eating Science Diet Maintenance, and has since 7yrs old approximately moved onto Science Diet Senior along with canned Kirkland. She has been getting a daily PetTab all along. I consulted my regular vet when they started and because she was having them a few times a week he felt that we needed to 'break the cycle' and altho they never progressed into "seizures" we put her on BID oral Potassium Bromide (non-narcotic). She has remained on this except for about 3-4 months when she was pregnant/nursing but when tremors returned a few weeks into nursing pups I weaned them early and put her back on KBr and tremors stopped again. About 2-3yrs ago I dropped her back to SID dosing with no negative changes. She will very occasionally get a little tremor but not full head shakes lasting 2-3 minutes, and I think this happens when she's stressed or very tired, maybe seen once in a quarter-year. HTH

Maizy had them at about one year of age. She was on Eukanuba. I switched to Natural Balance and Maizy has never had another head shake. She is now 6 years old.

Morgan started having head shakes at about one as well. She was on Natural Balance and I switched to Merrick.

I have also used Taste of the Wild pacific stream and neither girls had head shakes. I currently use Nature's Variety Vennison and so far no head shakes.

I believe Maizy also had head shakes on Wellness.

Trace is 7 months old and has never had a head shake.

I believe for my girls, the head shakes were definitely food related.

Maizy had them at about one year of age. She was on Eukanuba. I switched to Natural Balance and Maizy has never had another head shake. She is now 6 years old.

Morgan started having head shakes at about one as well. She was on Natural Balance and I switched to Merrick.

I have also used Taste of the Wild pacific stream and neither girls had head shakes. I currently use Nature's Variety Vennison and so far no head shakes.

I believe Maizy also had head shakes on Wellness.

Trace is 7 months old and has never had a head shake.

I believe for my girls, the head shakes were definitely food related.