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

benny

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millie vanilly, beth anne (guest member)
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.
It's very scary but never seemed to be serious for my bulldog that had them.

I'm curious... What medications did the vet put him on so far? Did you give any flea+tick treatments/chews?
 

Bulldog2001

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It's very scary but never seemed to be serious for my bulldog that had them.

I'm curious... What medications did the vet put him on so far? Did you give any flea+tick treatments/chews?

My vet had my dog on Nexguard chews to prevent fleas/ticks , he was only 8 months old, then not even 1 week later, he had head tremors! I Never gave any since and now continue to say ā€˜ no thanks ā€˜ to the vet!

Iā€™m curious as well what the dog was on that could have caused head tremors
 

helsonwheels

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My vet had my dog on Nexguard chews to prevent fleas/ticks , he was only 8 months old, then not even 1 week later, he had head tremors! I Never gave any since and now continue to say ā€˜ no thanks ā€˜ to the vet!

Iā€™m curious as well what the dog was on that could have caused head tremors
All flea/tick meds are basically pesticides.

I have never given to any of my dogs any sort of flea/tick treatment. Ive Used it for something many yrs ago as per so call vet till Iā€™ve researched it. That was it.

I use fractionated coconut oil, add lavender, citronella, peppermintā€¦.rub it in my hands onto the dogs. Bugs cannot tolerate Essential oils as it burns their little brain circuit. Also add pure lavender on their outside collars.
 

Bulldog2001

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All flea/tick meds are basically pesticides.

I have never given to any of my dogs any sort of flea/tick treatment. Ive Used it for something many yrs ago as per so call vet till Iā€™ve researched it. That was it.

I use fractionated coconut oil, add lavender, citronella, peppermintā€¦.rub it in my hands onto the dogs. Bugs cannot tolerate Essential oils as it burns their little brain circuit. Also add pure lavender on their outside collars.

I never knew that they were chemicals and pesticides until he had a head tremors and other reactions(this was a few years ago) then I did my research and never gave him anything since and no vaccines either.
 

helsonwheels

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I never knew that they were chemicals and pesticides until he had a head tremors and other reactions(this was a few years ago) then I did my research and never gave him anything since and no vaccines either.
Like wrapping you dog n cats in a blanket of chemicals. Iā€™m just not a fan of any chemicals. I rather stick to the holistic side.
 

Bulldog2001

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Like wrapping you dog n cats in a blanket of chemicals. Iā€™m just not a fan of any chemicals. I rather stick to the holistic side.

I am the same way, no chemicals, or anything or meds from vet, I decline and try to treat it holistically
 
Jun 30, 2014
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My bulldog Jake has had them, they are very scary. Very common too. They are idiopathic head bobs and have no known cause. Distract your bully by letting him lick peanut butter from your finger. You risk serious illness and disease by choosing not to vaccinate or protect your bulldog from heartworm which is far worse than head bobbing. Just my opinion.
 

Bulldog2001

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My bulldog Jake has had them, they are very scary. Very common too. They are idiopathic head bobs and have no known cause. Distract your bully by letting him lick peanut butter from your finger. You risk serious illness and disease by choosing not to vaccinate or protect your bulldog from heartworm which is far worse than head bobbing. Just my opinion.

I have vaccinated by dog as a puppy shots only, thatā€™s all they require them they are protected for life, they donā€™t need yearly shots once the puppy shots are in them.

He was SEVERELY allergic to the yearly shots-this was 1 year AFTER he had his puppy shots, he was in the vets for 2 weeks every single day, they gave Benadryl, and problem is 10X worse!
I have made it clear, no more shots for him after he had that after the yearly shots and I read and seen proof they only need puppy shots and they are protected for life(no more is needed after puppy shots), titer test if your not sure.

Hearworm meds are dangerous to ā€˜potentially preventā€™ the heartworm, there are natural prevention and not chemical based like what they give at the vets.

Same goes for prescription foods or foods that are from Hills, Science diet, Royal Canin, Purina, Eukanuba, Iams and others, does more harm than good and there are alternatives that work better. None of those ingredients are needed, corn, ā€˜by productā€™ and wheat and lots of others.

All those extra shots, heartworm preventative from vet, vet food and others I listed, are NOT needed and simply vets make $$$$ of it all and itā€™s not safe for the dogs health, Meaning more $$$ at vets office and not a healthy dog
 
Jun 30, 2014
26
28
NE Georgia
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Jake
I have vaccinated by dog as a puppy shots only, thatā€™s all they require them they are protected for life, they donā€™t need yearly shots once the puppy shots are in them.

He was SEVERELY allergic to the yearly shots-this was 1 year AFTER he had his puppy shots, he was in the vets for 2 weeks every single day, they gave Benadryl, and problem is 10X worse!
I have made it clear, no more shots for him after he had that after the yearly shots and I read and seen proof they only need puppy shots and they are protected for life(no more is needed after puppy shots), titer test if your not sure.

Hearworm meds are dangerous to ā€˜potentially preventā€™ the heartworm, there are natural prevention and not chemical based like what they give at the vets.

Same goes for prescription foods or foods that are from Hills, Science diet, Royal Canin, Purina, Eukanuba, Iams and others, does more harm than good and there are alternatives that work better. None of those ingredients are needed, corn, ā€˜by productā€™ and wheat and lots of others.

All those extra shots, heartworm preventative from vet, vet food and others I listed, are NOT needed and simply vets make $$$$ of it all and itā€™s not safe for the dogs health, Meaning more $$$ at vets office and not a healthy dog
 

benny

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Jan 9, 2022
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millie vanilly, beth anne (guest member)
My bulldog Jake has had them, they are very scary. Very common too. They are idiopathic head bobs and have no known cause. Distract your bully by letting him lick peanut butter from your finger. You risk serious illness and disease by choosing not to vaccinate or protect your bulldog from heartworm which is far worse than head bobbing. Just my opinion.
Please donā€™t confuse a preventative chew for a vaccine.

The facts are that at least some of these are known (by the manufactures and added to their white papers) to cause neurological disorders. And bulldogs are prone to some neurological disorders.

The anecdotal evidence I have seen so far is that head tremors show up on bulldogs that have been treated with one of these types of preventatives

It is FAR safer to do stool tests a few times a year and treat if an infestation occurs.
 

Bulldog2001

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Please donā€™t confuse a preventative chew for a vaccine.

The facts are that at least some of these are known (by the manufactures and added to their white papers) to cause neurological disorders. And bulldogs are prone to some neurological disorders.

The anecdotal evidence I have seen so far is that head tremors show up on bulldogs that have been treated with one of these types of preventatives

It is FAR safer to do stool tests a few times a year and treat if an infestation occurs.
Your 100% right!
I totally agree

Well putšŸ˜Š
 

Peppaā€™s mom

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Sep 28, 2021
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Hi all, jumping on the head tremor bandwagon. Peppa is 2 years old and has been on Simparica Trio for over a year with no issues. Following her September dose within a few hours she started having the head tremors. Sheā€™s had at least 8 episodes over the course of the month lasting no more than 5 minutes each time. We saw this vet this week and they are opening a case with simparica and sending my video for comment. Will see. I agree with others that treats for distraction seem to shorten the episode.
Hereā€™s my new dilemma - she will be staying at a ā€œdoggie hotelā€ (kennel lol) end of October as I have to travel for work for 6 days. Itā€™s out in the country with lots of grassy areas to play. We are in Montreal and itā€™s still flea/tick season. Itā€™s mostly the ticks Iā€™m worried about. A blood test last year showed she had been bit once and I didnā€™t even know. She will have had no treatment for nearly 2 months. I am hesitant to try a new preventative medication especially so close to me leaving her for a week but have no idea whatā€™s the bigger risk - meds with head tremor side effect or ticks.

Everyone has different opinions and thatā€™s why Iā€™m posting here ā˜ŗļø Just to see what other EB owners think. No judgements.
 

Bulldog2001

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Hi all, jumping on the head tremor bandwagon. Peppa is 2 years old and has been on Simparica Trio for over a year with no issues. Following her September dose within a few hours she started having the head tremors. Sheā€™s had at least 8 episodes over the course of the month lasting no more than 5 minutes each time. We saw this vet this week and they are opening a case with simparica and sending my video for comment. Will see. I agree with others that treats for distraction seem to shorten the episode.
Hereā€™s my new dilemma - she will be staying at a ā€œdoggie hotelā€ (kennel lol) end of October as I have to travel for work for 6 days. Itā€™s out in the country with lots of grassy areas to play. We are in Montreal and itā€™s still flea/tick season. Itā€™s mostly the ticks Iā€™m worried about. A blood test last year showed she had been bit once and I didnā€™t even know. She will have had no treatment for nearly 2 months. I am hesitant to try a new preventative medication especially so close to me leaving her for a week but have no idea whatā€™s the bigger risk - meds with head tremor side effect or ticks.

Everyone has different opinions and thatā€™s why Iā€™m posting here ā˜ŗļø Just to see what other EB owners think. No judgements.

I think Peppa is having the head tremors from those flea/tick preventative.

Thatā€™s a very common side effect, and also seizures and other neurological issues.

My dog started having head tremors since he had the very first flea/tick prevention chew and immediately started having head tremors that same day and he was only 7-8 months old and having 5-7 episodes per day, every day! That was for 4 months straight that he had daily episodes.
Now he has ā€˜idiopathic epilepsyā€™ as well.

I seen the commercial on TV saying ā€œdonā€™t use Nexguard on dogs with ANY neurological issues such as head tremors and seizuresā€.
I was also reading how it can take up to 3-4 years to cause epilepsy/seizures in dogs that have been treated with these flea/tick preventatives. That actually makes me wonder if the idiopathic epilepsy was caused by these flea/tick chews.

Head tremors are definitely a side effect of it.

They donā€™t need any flea/tick prevention, if Peppa had already been bit by a tick in the past and you werenā€™t aware of it, I wouldnā€™t worry about it.

This is just my experience though, no judgments at all.

Keep us updated
 

helsonwheels

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All flea/tick preventions are basically chemicals. You can use it once n most certainly can affect the dog/cat for the rest of their lives. Issues can come out immediately or yrs later. Iā€™ve researched these products when I was in my 20ā€™s when I had dobermans. Even back then my gut was telling me to wait n look it up. This is why Iā€™ll never give any products thatā€™s basically chemicals to any of my pets n that goes for allergy treatments. Again this is me, Im not telling anyone to dump their treatments. Iā€™m simply on the holistic side of health. Why I use essential oils n been doing it for yrs. I have my own flea/tick mixture that works well n for allergies I use a diffuser n chemical free cleaners. I do go to the vet for certain issues like when Jake swallow a section of a bone, laser for eyelashes, an ear hematoma cause Sadie bit his earā€¦I swear heā€™s jinxed lollā€¦.But health wise my vet always saysā€¦.Keep doing what youā€™re doing. Well I am.
 

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