Ideopathic Head Tremors
Submitted by frank the tank on October 28, 2011 - 6:09pmI have a 14 month old male, neutered bulldog who recently started having head tremors. Initially of course I was entirely freaked out but after talking to my vet who sees 8 to 10 bulldogs daily, he immediately knew what they were and assured me that they were harmless. I have seen a few videos on YouTube that are identical to what Franklin is having and I am relatively certain that he will be fine as my vet suggested. His own Frenchie had them years ago and not since. He believes them to be completely random and no one knows (vets, neurologists etc) what causes them. They can go away for years at a time in his experience with his dog and his clients dogs.
Because the dog's quality of life is unaffected and can live with this occasionally occuring, there is no research money put into this topic since there is no real money to be made on it currently. This means it is up to us as bulldog owners to offer advice on the topic and discuss it. My vet has told me that it wouldn't be much use going to a neurologist or spending all this money on testing since it will more than likely come back as normal, provided Franklin is not having a seizure and I am convinced that he is not.
The point of this isn't to go off on my soapbox on all of this or my findings online or through my vet. I simply want to hear about other bulldog owners with similar experiences. I've heard many different theories and most have some merrit, but bottom line is we don't know for sure. I've read the article on this website which is how I found the forum.
My bully has had 5 episodes since his first on Monday when he had 3 and they lasted for 5 minutes, 5 minutes, and 10 minutes. After reading another owners experience, the past 2 tremors were less than 20 seconds because I saw them begin and then I immediately call him and give him a treat. He immediately re-focuses and then the tremors stop right away. I'll do the usual sit-stay-paw routine and they stop right away, once he focuses only on that treat. Boy, does Franklin love a good treat. I'm not sure this will continue to work but is has worked very effectively the last 2 episodes.
Anyhow, sorry this is so long but I would love to hear from other bully owners and what their experience has been with this.
Andrew Arnold
We had a female that experienced head tremors
and like you, the first time I saw it, terrified me.
Anyway I came to this forum, 10(+) years ago. A woman who used to frequent this board believed that it was caused by low sugar brought on by hunger and or stress. She suggested that I feed twice a day with a treat at bedtime. She also suggested that when my dog was having an episode, to give her a high sugar treat like honey. I followed her advice and Gladys never had another head tremor.
Good luck. I think your vet gave you great advice, he could have sent you to the poor house running unneccessary tests and getting no answers.
Lynn King CPDT-KA
We have them here, too..
We have a 6 year old make neutered bulldog that we have recently rescued. He started having ideopathic head tremors shortly after he came home. Because we are unsure of his history, we don't know if these have happened with him previously or if it's a new thing for him. We haven't noticed anything specific that triggers the tremor and he can maintain normal functioning while they happen. Sometimes getting him to focus on a toy/treat can make it to stop, but other times we just have to rub him and relax him until they finally give. I had originally thought it may be related to his sever ear issues or possibly a lump I found in his neck, but the vet feels neither are the cause. (The lump turned out to be a swollen gland that has since gone away.) I've read about trying calcium supplements or melatonin...but he's already a very calm boy. The melatonin may make him comatose! I am also interested in reading other responses. This has been my new topic of internet study the last few weeks since Oliver came home :)
Holly <3 Gage <3 Sophie <3 Oliver
I've found that with my dogs
Head shakes are food related. My first bulldog had head shakes while she was on Eukanuba. I changed the food and she hasn't had a tremor since. She will be 9 years old next month. Another of my dogs had head shakes on Natural Balance and again they stopped after a food change.
Here as well.
It is always food related with Sophia. I changed her food, she hasn't had a head tremor since. When she was having them, stopping them was a matter of a tablespoon of something with sugar in it; either honey, peanut butter, ice cream, karo syrup, etc. That stopped them instantly.
Amy and Sophia
not so sure??
My Olde English Bulldogge just started with the head tremors last week. She is a little over 2 yrs.
I started doing a ton of research as they scared me. She has been on perscription Rabbit and Potato food for a while
as she had a lot of GI issues as a pup. Anyway, last night she woke us up having the head tremors again, hubby brought her downstairs and gave her some honey (we tried this the other day and it worked) - well last night it didn't. Brought her back to bed after the honey and she kept having them....
the poor thing, I hate it when it happens and wish i could make it stop for her. I was SO HOPEFUL when the honey worked the first time, but after last night, im bummed again..........
Anyone have any other thoughts???
Head tremors
The few dogs of mine that have experienced head tremors that were not related to a nursing bitch have all been episodes of low blood sugar or a slight calcium deficiency. When head tremors occur I give a 50/50 mixture of honey and yogurt, it stops the tremors within a minute. It works for nursing mom's too. One of my male dogs did experience reoccurring head tremors, I gave him a Calcium tab daily for about a month and they haven't returned.