Head Tremors

Hi.
It’s quite common for bully breeds to develop
idiopathic head tremors. They are generally
harmless unless there are other symptoms
present. Your vet can check Lilly over for any
other other potential causes and to clarify that
there’s no harm. I’ve had three bullies with this.
I haven’t medicated my current two, as they don’t
seem bothered by them. My first bully was on
anti seizure meds, made her lethargic and dulled
her personality a wee bit.
Hope this helps.

Hi Chris and Lilly,
I know exactly how you are feeling I’ve got a boy who is 2 in December and the past 21/2 months has been experiencing the head tremors. Horrible to watch their head bobbing up and down uncontrollably but still fully responsive , there was no frothing at the mouth and Chumley was still able to walk around and respond to us normally with those jobbers wobbling 😕 i read an article from the UK and someone paid a lot of money to have their bull kid fully tested and they found no abnormalities but they did say it is a movement disorder requiring no medication , they also think vitamin B complex which acts on the nervous system helps which makes sense ,. I have been giving Chumley a B group powder as I was unable to get the B complex as yet it is on order and I have seen a big difference I also make sure I give him a spoon of low fat Greek yoghurt and a tiny drizzle of honey each morning and some nights so I’m not sure what helps the most but wanted to cover all suggestions low calcium low sugar and the soluble vitamin B , all suggestions
Hope this helps hopefully both Lilly and Chumley will grow out of them soon
Regards Michelle and Chumley 😊

Hi Chris and Lilly,
I know exactly how you are feeling I’ve got a boy who is 2 in December and the past 21/2 months has been experiencing the head tremors. Horrible to watch their head bobbing up and down uncontrollably but still fully responsive , there was no frothing at the mouth and Chumley was still able to walk around and respond to us normally with those jobbers wobbling 😕 i read an article from the UK and someone paid a lot of money to have their bull kid fully tested and they found no abnormalities but they did say it is a movement disorder requiring no medication , they also think vitamin B complex which acts on the nervous system helps which makes sense ,. I have been giving Chumley a B group powder as I was unable to get the B complex as yet it is on order and I have seen a big difference I also make sure I give him a spoon of low fat Greek yoghurt and a tiny drizzle of honey each morning and some nights so I’m not sure what helps the most but wanted to cover all suggestions low calcium low sugar and the soluble vitamin B , all suggestions
Hope this helps hopefully both Lilly and Chumley will grow out of them soon
Regards Michelle and Chumley 😊

Hi Chris and Lilly,
I know exactly how you are feeling I’ve got a boy who is 2 in December and the past 21/2 months has been experiencing the head tremors. Horrible to watch their head bobbing up and down uncontrollably but still fully responsive , there was no frothing at the mouth and Chumley was still able to walk around and respond to us normally with those jobbers wobbling 😕 i read an article from the UK and someone paid a lot of money to have their bull kid fully tested and they found no abnormalities but they did say it is a movement disorder requiring no medication , they also think vitamin B complex which acts on the nervous system helps which makes sense ,. I have been giving Chumley a B group powder as I was unable to get the B complex as yet it is on order and I have seen a big difference I also make sure I give him a spoon of low fat Greek yoghurt and a tiny drizzle of honey each morning and some nights so I’m not sure what helps the most but wanted to cover all suggestions low calcium low sugar and the soluble vitamin B , all suggestions
Hope this helps hopefully both Lilly and Chumley will grow out of them soon
Regards Michelle and Chumley 😊

One of my two bully dogs was alergic to Blue Wilderness dog food. We moved him over to Wellness and havent had any problems. We still has some BW left over and accidently gave it to him and they came back briefly. Thats how we identified the cause.

Hi everyone, my bully Hank had this a couple times since he was 6 months old and he is now 2. it’s either idiopathic tremor ( benign) or focal seizure. Vet said he may grow out of it but if there is a bigger issue, you can’t really tell until it starts happening more frequently. He is on no meds and had his last episode 7 months ago. I was told to give him calcium ( icecream , yogurt, cheese) after it happens and can even do this daily ( lowfat if daily). Yes, this is horrible to see! If this means anything, both times my bully did this it was around June/July. I don’t know if it’s an allergy that time of year, fertilizers, etc. ?

Hi, My Lilly, an American Bulldog, now 7 1/2 had head bobbing as a puppy. It freaked me out. I did research and found answers that said yogurt. So after a few days of yogurt, the bobbing stopped. I know some vets say yogurt helps animals stay calm. maybe this was it. All I know is that it worked. I still give her yogurt occasionally. She loves it. Good Luck.

My Boxer Freddy had these. i was lucky enough to find this article about them. I followed the advice and the tremors stopped. Others who used the ideas in this article had the same luck or the tremors were greatly reduced. There are big differences between head bobs and actual seizures. Seizures require anti-seizure meds. Know the difference there are videos out there that show the difference. Read this article, it changed my boxers life. I simply use a probiotic from Natures Farmacy called Probiotic Max. For me this did the trick.

Georgia English Bulldog Rescue: You wake up in the early morning hours because your bed seems to have suddenly gotten a vibration feature, but as your mind clears you realize it’s your prize possession, the love of your life, lying next to you in bed and his head is shaking. Head tremors are a common problem in bulldogs and is another of those pesky “BULLDOG THANGS”. You hop out of bed in a panic, he’s having a seizure!!!!! No he’s not, it’s a head tremor and there is a big difference.

1. With a head tremor, the dog is alert and will respond when you call their name…the tremor may even stop for a few seconds when you distract them or give them treats. With a seizure, the dog’s eyes are open but they are not aware of their surroundings and they do not respond to verbal stimuli.

2. A head tremor is a fine tremor or bob of the head, whereas a seizure has a more coarse violent shaking of the head with squinting of the eyes, spasms in the face and foaming of the mouth.

3. A head tremor may scare your dog and they will try to slink away from you and hide. In a seizure, the dogs limbs are rigid, they may propel themselves forward during the initial part of the seizure, but when it becomes a full blown seizure they fall and move their legs as if they are running. Usually described as running on their sides.

Head tremors are categorized as a “focal seizure” but are not seizures in the true sense of the definition.

There are 2 schools of thought regarding head tremors:
1. They are caused by low blood sugar
2. They are caused by low calcium
The theory is that they are a neurologic response to a blood chemistry abnormality…not a neurologic event caused by a brain or neurologic misfiring (seizure).

HOW TO TREAT:
1. Ice cream
2. Low Fat Yogurt
3. Low fat cottage cheese with honey or Karo syrup
4. Sugar cubes
5. TUMS
I prefer #1-3 because it covers both potential problems, low blood sugar and low calcium. Give #1-3 during the event, then give them TUMS 2-3 times a day over the next few days.
If Head tremors become a chronic or frequent problem, you may want to continue TUMS for longer periods of time or on a regular basis. Also, to prevent low blood sugar during the night, give a treat before bed. Not only does this prevent low blood sugar but it protects their stomach from gastric acid during the night. I have made it a habit of treating my dogs with yogurt everynight.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
DO NOT allow your vet to prescribe seizure medications for head tremor. Once those medications are started, it is very difficult to stop without them developing a full blown neurologic event seizure disorder. If you are in doubt, video the event to show your vet or a trusted bulldog person. Also there are many videos on Youtube that demonstrate the difference.

Feel free to contact me on Facebook at Kesa Duffey for further information and links