URGENT!!! Head bobbing??? Worried bully mama

BullyB

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So my youngest bully, Bunker (turned 2 October 23), had a typical day yesterday...I was home all day...nothing out of the ordinary happened. My 2 bullies and I fell asleep on the couch and I woke up at about 12:30am I woke up to Bunker bobbing his head up and down....he looked like a bobble head. I initially just thought he had been dreaming, so I said his name and he sat up and it stopped. So the boys and I went upstairs to bed...Bunk went up the stairs and everything like normal, got into bed and fell asleep. I was up at 2:45 to the same thing happening...his head bobbing up and down pretty fast. I thought he was having a seizure, but the rest if his body was perfectly fine...he would sit up, walk around. When I would touch his head, it would stop. This lasted on and off for a little over an hour. His head would bob anywhere from a few seconds to a minute or a little longer, then it would stop for a minute or longer sometimes, then start going again. Of course while this is going on I did some google searching and found that this could be due to low blood sugar, so I gave him a little peanut butter...it got a little less intense, and then eventually stopped. He slept until about 7, got up, ate, and has been acting fine...tail wagging and everything. Obviously, I'm worried about it happening again and what the heck is going on with my baby. He has been a relatively healthy bully...was neutered and had soft palate trimmed November 2011. He gets one Benadryl with breakfast and one with dinner...feed him Fromm chicken 3 meals (my older bully has a sensitive tummy, so we feed 3 meals). Any thought and advice would be greatly appreciated! I'm so worried about my little Bunky! Thank you!!
 

Sherry

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If he stopped bobbing after he had nourishment, you may be onto something, can you give him treats throughout the day or a spoon of honey might help too. I haven't seen this behavior before, but I am a fan of Google. I use it often and do lots of research from it.
 

bullmama

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Sounds like Idiopathic Head Tremors. While they seem very scary, from what I know of them and all the bullies that do it, they are not life threatening. They usually happen during periods of great stress or while sleeping. (Bad dreams maybe?). If you put head bobbing, head tremors or idiopathic head tremors in the search box you can read previous discussions that may ease your mind a little. :hug:
 

cowsmom

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when i did a search of the site some would just clap their hands and say the dogs name loudly and snap them out of it. some would give karo syrup or peanut butter. some just gave some type of food or treat. maybe just keep the peanut butter handy and see if a pattern develops such as maybe they need a treat before bed if you think maybe its blood sugar.
 

2BullyMama

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[MENTION=1244]BullyB[/MENTION] .... during the head tremors you will know he is fine as long as he response to his name or the sound of your voice.... give him a treat. piece of kibble something to distract the muscles. As [MENTION=2]desertskybulldogs[/MENTION] stated... these are harmless and more scary to us that the bully -- the head tremors are very common in bulldog, dobermains and boxers, but are totally painless
 

cali~jenn

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Yep, head tremors. Kinda a mystery as to the why but it is ok. Have seen it compared to a twitch. Cutty can be distracted out of it but if I let him be, even after distracting and it being gone sometimes it comes back. A very odd thing and I always feel bad but they aren't hurting or anything. I always picture Cutty looking at me saying wtf?!
 
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BullyB

BullyB

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Yes...I know what you mean. I felt like he was looking at me like, "make it stop mom!" Broke my heart. I'm glad to know its nothing to be worried about...so thank you all for calming me down! So I can assume then, if this happens when I'm not home, he will be okay?
 

2BullyMama

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Yes...I know what you mean. I felt like he was looking at me like, "make it stop mom!" Broke my heart. I'm glad to know its nothing to be worried about...so thank you all for calming me down! So I can assume then, if this happens when I'm not home, he will be okay?


Yes... it will stop on it's own --- it is just to know when you see it, you can stop it with distraction
 

ModernFemme

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Yes...I know what you mean. I felt like he was looking at me like, "make it stop mom!" Broke my heart. I'm glad to know its nothing to be worried about...so thank you all for calming me down! So I can assume then, if this happens when I'm not home, he will be okay?
Oh lordy, that is awful. I was going to ask if it seemed OCD compulsive, but if he seemed out of control, that is totally terrifying. Sending good thoughts your way that you can pin this down and treat/prevent whatever is going on.
 
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kazzy220

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First of all did it look like this ............. http://youtu.be/KJlwBoFuJMY


If it did then it is idiopathic head tremors. And to be honest you're going to get two conflicting stories about what causes them because it seems to be torn between two reasons. First there is the theory that it is caused by low blood sugar, and by giving them food or a treat that is carbohydrate based it immediately bumps up the blood sugar and the tremor stops.

The other thought is that it is caused by over stimulation, in this case its baby carrots!! This was after the evening meal so no way could it have been low blood sugar level. I also know that others have had them happen because they wanted a toy ... [MENTION=900]KMARINO[/MENTION]

Whatever the reason, it's not dangerous and it's not hurting the bully. It just doesn't look nice!!
 
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BullyB

BullyB

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[MENTION=959]kazzy220[/MENTION]: Yes it did look like that except his head was bobbing up and down more. It actually looked a lot like this:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IoyfadGoCrk

Almost identical to that. He ate dinner at 5:45ish and the first tremor happened at 12:30am, the second series started at 2:45am...so I would assume its not because of overstimulation. He was completely asleep and had been for a while when they happened.
 

cali~jenn

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@kazzy220: Yes it did look like that except his head was bobbing up and down more. It actually looked a lot like this:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IoyfadGoCrk

Almost identical to that. He ate dinner at 5:45ish and the first tremor happened at 12:30am, the second series started at 2:45am...so I would assume its not because of overstimulation. He was completely asleep and had been for a while when they happened.

I think Cutty has always been asleep when his kickedinas well a actually. Odd...
 

2BullyMama

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Almost identical to that. He ate dinner at 5:45ish and the first tremor happened at 12:30am, the second series started at 2:45am...so I would assume its not because of overstimulation. He was completely asleep and had been for a while when they happened.

Yes, both my bullies always get them while sleeping or just after waking up.... this is why there no known cause, so many different circumstances when they happen
 
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BullyB

BullyB

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@cali~jenn: how often does Cutty get them? Should I expect this to happen often now? Is there anything I can do to prevent them from happening?
 

cali~jenn

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He hasn't had them very often honestly. Years back he had them a few times and I thought it might have been food related cuz he went years (after changing diff foods a few times) without. Now he has recently had them, maybe 2 in the last year or longer. For him it is very very rare. Still don't know what the trigger is, if there is one. [MENTION=1244]BullyB[/MENTION]
 

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