Idiopathic Head Tremors (Head Bobbing) Who's Bulldog has had them?

Libra926

Pistol Packing Bullyagrapher
Staff member
May 5, 2010
7,482
734
Washington
Country
United States
Bulldog(s) Names
Vegas and Orion
Hi everyone! I am a newbie in the forum and I am really glad I joined. My 9month old bulldog called Ulysses had his firs "episode" last night. It was frightening to see him shake like that for no apparent reason. I panicked because I thought he was having a seizure, but as the seconds went by we realized he was totally fine apart from the shaky head, I've been doing extensive research ever since and I am almost completely sure it was "just" idiopathic head tremors. I am really concerned about it though, he was really sick for the past 2 weeks with kennel cough, until last Saturday he was on antibiotics, paracodin, and something against his swollen throat. Just now he seems to be getting better and now this. I would like to ask more experienced bully owners what is the right approach? I have a vet appointment for tomorrow, but my husband says we should give it a while and see how it evolves...

You know...it seems as if several of us have experience head tremors, even seizures with our bulldogs after illness, surgery and or excitement. My advice, get it on video BEFORE you go to the Dr. It's so much easier to show them than try to explain. Also, make sure the vet you go to has experience with bulldogs. This is typically a breed related thing.
Keep honey, Karo syrup and/or plain yogurt on hand. Alot of the time it tends to be blood sugar related. A vet appointment is probably good, but have your video in hand and the vet picked out. Go to youtube and search for idiopathic head tremors/bulldog and maybe find one that resembles what your bulldog is doing (if you can't get one on video)
You've found the perfect place to come. We are so experienced in this area. We have so many peeps that have dealt with this...and each of us had a different trigger. The upper right corner is a search bar for EBN. Type in idiopathic head tremor and some of the videos and previous thread should come up. If you need more direction, tag me using [MENTION=572]Libra926[/MENTION]....and I will help locate some info.
I think everything will be okay.
 

JeannieCO

Queenie
Mar 11, 2011
12,680
873
Tip of the Mitt, Michigan
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Emma, Charlie, Milo, Peekaboo and Jack
Chris,

I know nothing about head tremors expect from what Iā€™ve read of others who have experienced them here. I wanted to comment on the vet though. Iā€™m assuming when you say VCA thatā€™s Alameda East? What vet are you going to over there. I had taken Ace and Orion there for years, they both saw Dr. LaDawn Scott (was Hillis) and Dr. Erin Miller. I took Wilson in for his Wellness check and asked for their most experience bully vet. They had me see Dr. Jeffrey Steen and it was him that made the most derogatory comments toward the bully breed. That was the last any of my dogs went there.

I found a true bully vet and heā€™s even listed on EBNā€™s Vet recommendations. Hereā€™s his info:

Tom J. Geiselhardt, DVM
Homestead Animal Hospital
6900 S. Holly Circle
Centennial, CO 80112
303-771-7350
homestead-animal-hospital.com

Heā€™s just awesome!!! I drive 40 minutes to see him. I would HIGHLY recommend switching from VCA if you can. You WILL not be sorry!!!!

When are you guys leaving him with Linette? If something happens Iā€™m always available. Just let me know.
 
Last edited:
OP
A

asuman1179

New member
Jan 9, 2012
50
2
Denver,CO
Bulldog(s) Names
Meatball
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #18
Hey, yes we go and see Tom. Such a great Vet! This was an emergency run to VCA a few weeks back. Last Sun. AM was last time meatball had an episode. I hope it is out of his system. We are leaving meatball 27th-29th of this month. Please have your bullies play with meatball if she only has smaller dogs that weekend.


Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
 

JeannieCO

Queenie
Mar 11, 2011
12,680
873
Tip of the Mitt, Michigan
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Emma, Charlie, Milo, Peekaboo and Jack
Hey, yes we go and see Tom. Such a great Vet! This was an emergency run to VCA a few weeks back. Last Sun. AM was last time meatball had an episode. I hope it is out of his system. We are leaving meatball 27th-29th of this month. Please have your bullies play with meatball if she only has smaller dogs that weekend.


Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
Good to hear, Dr. G is just wonderful. Be sure to let Linette know that a play date is ok. She may not be comfortable with that since it's her watch. If she's good, I'll walk Wilson up to her house for introduction. :up:
 

Bulliemom25

New member
Aug 4, 2011
89
2
Jacksonville, NC
Bulldog(s) Names
Kramer :)
Thank you guys for your help. We have been up all night with him having these fits. I got it on video to show the vet like you recommended. I'm so worried.
 
OP
A

asuman1179

New member
Jan 9, 2012
50
2
Denver,CO
Bulldog(s) Names
Meatball
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #21
Peanut butter and Kayo syrup has been work well for meatball because it has been over two weeks.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2
 

Maife

New member
Apr 8, 2012
166
16
Country
Germany
Bulldog(s) Names
Ulysses
Thank you so much for all of your advices. Ulysses has not had a tremor since the first one. I have been giving him prophylactically yogurt with a little honey, a vitamin supplement and a little oatmeal. Just as a snack once a week. His breeder recommended me this and he just loves it.
 

dozersmama

Supreme Overlord of Awesomeness
Community Veteran
Dec 31, 2010
1,465
120
Illinois
Bulldog(s) Names
???
@Bulliemom25 Dozer had them. Best treatment we found was not letting his blood sugar get low. We fed 3x a day on schedule. When he was playing a ton we gave him a small snack. If he did have one we gave him vanile ice cream instead of karo syrup because it also brings their calcium up which in some studies has been found to help. and it stopped them immediately.
 
Last edited:

ollieivy

New member
Feb 26, 2012
416
13
Bulldog(s) Names
Oliver and Ivy Claire
head tremors are why i joined EBN in the first place...it scared me. after much reading and suggestions, i think that it's probably low blood glucose. i don't have any proof of that, but ivy just had one 2 days ago for the first time in 2 months. i stayed calm, gave her a teaspoon of honey (which she loves) and a little bit of kibble. it went instantly. there is a lot of information about this here on EBN. the concensus is that all the expensive tests do not give a diagnosis.
 

LynnA

New member
Community Veteran
Apr 25, 2012
1,369
38
Maine
Bulldog(s) Names
Otis and Winston
head tremors are why i joined EBN in the first place...it scared me. after much reading and suggestions, i think that it's probably low blood glucose. i don't have any proof of that, but ivy just had one 2 days ago for the first time in 2 months. i stayed calm, gave her a teaspoon of honey (which she loves) and a little bit of kibble. it went instantly. there is a lot of information about this here on EBN. the concensus is that all the expensive tests do not give a diagnosis.

Can anyone recommend how much Kayro syrup? Daily, weekly, as it occurs?
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
Staff member
Community Veteran
Jul 28, 2011
48,581
3,673
Gilbertsville, PA
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Chelios (Frenchie), Nitschke (2004-2011) Banks (2005-2014) and Lambeau (2014-2024)
Can anyone recommend how much Kayro syrup? Daily, weekly, as it occurs?


Does not have to be Karo.... it can be a carrot, a piece of kibble, any thing to distract the muscles.
 

Max

New member
Feb 7, 2022
23
18
Country
America
Bulldog(s) Names
Max
Hi there! Sorry to hear about your upsetting experience. Although frightening to watch, I'm pretty sure what you have are head tremors. So, I cut this out of an article and I've been waiting to use it.

My Recommendations:

If your dog exhibits this head bobbing behavior
DONā€™T PANIC!!! This could only worsen the situation by adding additional stress on the dog.
ā€“ give them a bowl of ice cream or frozen vanilla yogurt to get the situation under control. If you donā€™t have any of those then Ensure, Pediasure, Karo syrup all work because of the sugar and or calcium content. Liquids work quicker because they are absorbed into the mucosa of the mouth.
Call your veterinarian and advise of the situation. Schedule an appointment for a visit and have your vet do a health screening with blood work. Odds are the blood work for calcium and sugar will be fine.
Keep a record of each episode, every time one occurs ā€“ describe it in great detail, time it occurred ā€“ how long, how frequent. Give this info to the vet when you see him. Take video of the episode, cause...we all know it's so much easier to show the episode then try to explain it. I have tons of video of actual seizures if you are interested in seeing how Vegas's situation differs from yours.
IF they do not get any worse than the head bobs ā€“ donā€™t do anything else but observe and document. If the behavior changes in any way ā€“ call the vet, you may need additional assistance at this point.

Just so you know, there are so many peeps here that have bulldogs with head tremors. What causes them? Carrots, right[MENTION=959]kazzy220[/MENTION]? Husbands? Right [MENTION=900]KMARINO[/MENTION]?
Stress, excitement, over stimulation, extreme exhaustion, low blood sugar. Many many reasons. Keep us informed.
We got Max in January and maybe a month ago started to have head tremors. Scary yes but everything I have read is that it is not serious. Hopefully they will just go away.
 

Max

New member
Feb 7, 2022
23
18
Country
America
Bulldog(s) Names
Max
Thank you so much for all of your advices. Ulysses has not had a tremor since the first one. I have been giving him prophylactically yogurt with a little honey, a vitamin supplement and a little oatmeal. Just as a snack once a week. His breeder recommended me this and he just loves it. What is prophylactically yogurt and type of vitamin thanks Our Max has been having head tremors on and off thanks again
 

Most Reactions

šŸ“° Latest posts

Members online

No members online now.
Top