Buster's head tremor...

[Petey's Mommy]

I am so relieved to see that there are other pet parents out there that experience this. Tonight is the first night I came across idiopathic head bobbing, apparently I was using the wrong key words. Anyways, I will add Petey's story. I adopted him from the local humane society when he was about 2.5 years old and he is now estimated to be a little shy of 5 years old. He is the sweetest, friendliest, and gentlest dog in the world, but he is expensive. He commonly gets hay fever which causes him to lick his feet, which in turn causes yeast infections which get very nasty and painful for him. He has also been diagnosed with low thyroid and takes Soloxine for that. About 6 months after he became a member of our family I noticed his first tremor which was right after a bath with new shampoo. I panicked thinking he was allergic to some ingredient in the shampoo. Well after that he had them off and on, varying in frequency (sometimes he will have a few throughout the week, sometimes none for three months). About a year ago or so, his vet put him on Vetriliquid drops to help control what he diagnosed as mild epilepsy. These drops have been proven to be effective in controling some mild epilepsy in dogs according to the vet. The drops have seemed to reduce the number of seizures. Last night he started his "choking" episode as he sometimes does when he is getting ready to have or has had his head tremors. This lasted much longer than the 15-20 minutes it sometimes does, it lasted from about 9pm-12am and then off an on until 8 or so this morning. About 12:45 am I was woken from a deep sleep to Petey laying on the floor next to my bed, shaking enouth to wake me up. I have no idea how long his tremors were going on while I was still asleep, but it lasted over 10 minutes while I was awake. He has never, that I know of, had one last this long. I took him to the vet this morning and because Petey has been having these tremors for awhile now, the vet wants to put him on Phenobarb. Years ago I had a schnauzer with epilepsy and it was MUCH different from what I have seen with Petey so I have had issue believing this is what Petey has. It is ALWAYS just his head. Also, he tries to be near me and will even do a little tail wag when I talk to him. He will also look me in the eye and "see" me. After reading all these posts and seeing so many videos that could be my dog having his tremors, I will resist the Phenobarb. I am happy to talk about this and go into more detail if anyone has any questions. I do not see where anyone mentions any "choking or coughing". Petey doesn't have this happen with all his tremor episodes, only some of them. You can feel like a hard ball-like feeling in his throat and he tries to eat anything: carpet, backpack straps, grass, tags off blankets, anything that he can get his mouth on. Also, he also drinks a ton before and/or after his tremor episodes whether or not he has a "choking/coughing" episode.

[KATIE&OLIVE]

i know this is an old thread but i hope someone has some advice.my 2 year old boxer, Olive, had her first episode on Saturday evening, then Sunday and again last night. her episode looked exactly like Buster in the video. i lost my first boxer to cancer at the age of 5 so i am very hypersensitive when it comes to my girls...
Ashley

[totallyhip]

We have 3 boxers and both of ours have the head tremors. My oldest boy had them when we first got him. He would shake his head for about 20 seconds or so about 1/2 hour after eating. We took him to 3 different vets with 3 different not so good answers. One guy wanted to do exploratory surgery! We decided to switch his kibble several times and it still happened. Then we switched him to raw diet and has been on it for 5 years and no tremors.

Our girl Leia has them now too. Not sure why she gets them. She is on the same diet as Luke. When it happens we hold a table spoon of organic peanut butter in front of her nose and will stick some into her mouth. This seems to stop her from shaking her head. Our vet also suggested some type of sugar (honey) and that maybe her blood sugar is low.

Our vet wasn't overly concerned about it as Yes it is quite common with these breeds. They aren't really sure what causes it. It is however very scary when it happens. Someone told me once that we are probably more scared by it then they are.

[bodietuckermom]

I thought I would also update. My border collie mix hadn't had an episode since my last post. We went to see a DVM who specializes in neurology. He dismissed my claims that it was caused by HeartGuard, and said they are minor seizures, likely due to genetics and that he would NOT put him on any anti-seizure medications until they were impacting his way of life or hurting him. These current tremors aren't hurting him, just scaring the pants off of me....

I changed from HeartGuard to Interceptor, as I had read up on numerous articles that said the main drug in HeartGuard (Ivermectin, sp?) caused many problems, the drug company would like you not to believe. We've gone MONTHS without anything, and so I thought I had figured it out on my own...without the help of Tucker's neurologist.

Well, last night he had another. Not much longer than the previous ones, a minute or two.

So we're back to square one...what is causing this? Why has he gone so long without one? Why now?

[bodietuckermom]

Also - not sure if anyone has read up on what exactly goes into most commercial dog food, but this is an interesting read. http://www.canineseizuresbreakthroughs.com/
I realize the author at the end is promoting his cook book for dogs, but I've looked into the claims that many of our dogs cancers, seziures and other problems can likely be linked to the "crap" (pardon me...) that we feed them. Like many others, I trusted my vet and used Science Diet for years. I've now switched to Innova and I am so much happier with it. It's only slightly more expensive and if I can ensure there are no euthanized pets in my dogs' food - well that's well worth it to me...

[acagle]

What was the diagnosis of Buster's head tremors? My Jessie (a black and tan hound and bloodhound mix -1 year old) has just started the same exact tremors. Is there anything to do for it and is it dangerous? I am so worried about my sweet girl! Please help!

[hazelrunpack]

acagle, it's been a very long time since I've talked to meb, but I think the tremors turned out to be harmless in nature...and idiopathic (no known reason)

Have you had your vet take a look at Jessie? Maybe it's the same sort of thing

[bluechynagirl]

Hi there, so sorry to read about Buster and all the other doggies with this complaint, BUT SO RELIEVED!!My bulldog pup started with the head bobbing last nighSt and we thought she was having an epileptic fit until we read this site.Surely there must be some more advancement on treament by now though???Sarah.UK

[firellady]

Originally Posted by meb999

Buster's been having little 'seizures' (actually I'm not sure what they are). We are going to the vet's tomorow for a thorough exam, blood tests etc.

I was just wondering if anyone here may have an idea of what this could be. He got his first 'attack' on friday. It's like a head tremor. Nothing else moves but his head. He's completely alert the whole time (he's even willing to play while it happens). His apetite is normal and it happens at different times of the day (and it has different lenghs).

Here's what it looks like (there are 2 videos) :

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?doc...96077706955474

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?doc...83019408822522


It happened the first time on wednesday (at 2 o'clock pm, lasted about 8 minutes), once on friday (lasted 2 to 3 minutes), twice on saturday, and once on monday. Those are the ones we have witnessed. I've spoken to the vet twice -- once on wednesday -- she said not to worry, since he's alert the whole time ; and once on saturday -- she said to take him in for blood panel, but she's not really worried because he's young (he's 3 years old). I, on the other hand, am SUPER worried...

It could be like a zillion things.

Has anyone ever heard of Paroxysmal Dyskinesia? (see :http://www.homestead.com/bulldogsworld/headtremor.html)

Any other ideas on what this could be????

i have a female boxer bull who just started having the same thing to happen. go to bulldogsworld.com and go to head tremors in the bull dog. i have found this to be very helpful in explaining this condition. there is also a video of a bull dog having these types of movement. hope this helps you to come to terms with this condition and maybe understand the what is happening.

[MURDOCK]

HI MY NAME IS TIM IAM NEW TO THE FORUM,I HADGOOGLE SEARCHED K9 HEAD TREMORS AND YOUR POST ABOUT BUSTER WAS THE FIRST ONE TO COME UP, I HAVE A BOXER MIX THAT LOOKS JUST LIKE YOUR BUSTER AND THE LAST 2 YEARS OR SO HE HAS STARTED TO HAVE THE HEAD TREMORS AT FIRST IT WAS NOT VERY MUCH MAYBE 2 3 TIMES A YEAR BUT HE HAS 2 IN LAST 2 WEEKS I JUST WANTED TO KNOW WHAT THE VET HAD TOLD YOU ABOUT BUSTER I TAHNK YOU VERY MUCH

[love~u~duke]

have you considered idiopathic head bobbing? my boxere Duke is a victum but it is not anything to worry bout. i watched ur video and it is almost exactly the same thing Duke does. Duke's is more noticable tho. most ppl freak out when this happens but i no the details and....truthfully.....i think it's a bit funny. Oh and btw if u distract him while he is doing that...like get his fav toy/treat and shake in front of face or just rub him and..well just distact him really.........he will stop. they mostly do it when they are sleepy or worn out, but if u can "wake him up some" it'll stop...for the time being. well thats all i can tell you now and if you would like i could do some research on it.

-love~u~Duke

p.s. i dont think it's something he will grow out of. but plz no he has no idea that his head is even shaking i promise it DOESNT hurt him in anyway.....if he has idiopathic head bobbing disease...tho i will never stop prayin that Duke will fight the impossible and this disease will go away and now ur Buster is also in my prayers

[love~u~duke]

also for those wondering idiopathic head bobbing diease is considered brain damage but is NOT harmful to the dog WHAT-SO-EVER!! I hope that, for all of you who have posted, your dog has the idiopathic head bobbing disease because it IS COMPLETLY HARMLESS and other dignosis' may be.

[Kingy83]

Hi

I have an 18 month old Labrador who is exhibiting the exact same head tremor as buster.

It happens occasionally and lasts for up to 3 minutes and once it's finished she is fine and showing not other symptoms of ill health. Sometimes I can snap her out of it out calling her to me. Vet seems to think it could be mild epilepsy but not sure.

I was wondering if you had any more information on Busters condition and if it had been diagnosed? Any feedback would be truly appreciated

Thanks

[Migly]

Gosh! Despite how many dogs this seems to happen to, there's not really a lot of information out there (and that's why I'm posting here!).

My 1yo Japanese Spitz has started having head tremor episodes. Completely alert during, and they seem to stop if you get her to walk towards you (she's a nervous dog, so when she approaches people she pins her ears down and sort of does a weird dance over to people, which I think has something to do with it).

She's had 3 episodes that I've witnessed in the past week. None last long, 1 minute at the most I think. Only happens when she's lying on the floor and is relaxed (but isn't worn out) and her head is raised.

One thing I did notice is she didn't have any over the weekend, when she was at my parents. They feed their dog the same food I feed mine (supercoat) but because there's more people at their place (I live alone) my dog was constantly doing things. She was always running around or always watching people. Her attention was always fixed on something. By the end of the day she was so exhausted she slept like a rock.
Then when Monday hit and my parents were at work (but I was still at their place) it happened again. I don't think it's boredom related but I think if she's not distracted it happens.

Saw a vet and explained all this to him, but he's convinced it's petit mal seizures. Doesn't want to put her on medication (I wouldn't want to either) but doesn't seem to know anything about head tremors.

[skatinggeek]

I have a 4 to 7 year old n/m Belgian Malinois that I adopted in November of 2009. He is probably closer to 4 years in age than 7. Up to this point he is totally healthy other than he will be needing some dental done at some point. He started what I now think are the idiopathic head tremors Saturday morning at 1:00 am. We had been watching a movie and I went to the bathroom. When I came back he was doing it. My first thought was that he was having a seizure so I grabbed my phone to record it/time it. I called the emergency vet who though it would be ok to wait and see our vet in the morning unless he had another one. At about 1:30 he had another one that lasted 3 1/2 min. I called them back and they said to bring him right in. They of course didn't find anything and sent me home with Valium in case he had grand malls. I took him to my vet Saturday and she didn't think they were seizures due to the fact that he is alert, walking around, etc. So she didn't want to start him on any kind of meds (which now sounds like a really smart move on her part). She thought it might be some kind of a toxin and I was told just to monitor him and keep a log (which I was already doing) of the episodes. Between Saturday morning at 1:00 and Saturday evening at 11:00 he had 7 episodes ranging in time from about 20 second to 6 min. I only saw him have one yesterday that lasted about 3 min. After searching the internet I now think he has the idiopathic head tremors and it helps to know we aren't alone. He had surgery in early November to get neutered but has not have his heat worm meds for a could of months (please don't freak out on me it's a long story). I don't know what his life was like before I got him as he was found as a stray. The only thing his blood test showed was that Amylase was high by 59 points, but our vet said a lot of places aren't testing that anymore and not to worry, and that his Albumin was low by .1 point. Glucose was normal at 99. I am going to continue to record his episodes and keep a log and I am going to try the honey. There is a page for this on Facebook that I joined and if you are on Facebook you may want to join it as well. Here are three videos of Porthos having his head tremors. I'm sorry for the low quality, I know it is hard to see his head shaking, but it is all I have. Good luck to all you other dog lovers who are going through the same thing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEwsWTOLAHc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwOJNNqUmJQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMD_wyp6-9Y

[skatinggeek]

Just after posting this Porthos had another one. I tried the honey and that stopped the head shaking immediately. He did have just a little residual jaw clamping (for lack of a better term) that I had not seen before but that only lasted about 3 second. However he had another soon after that, a little more honey, stopped right away. Again a little after that another. I was afraid to give any more honey because I don't want to mess up his blood sugar and I don't know how much I can give him. It lasted about a total of 3 min stopping and starting. Then he started yet another a few min later so I tried the toy thing. So far... it has helped. He played and the tremors stopped. So my thought is maybe exercise helps. How much do you guys play, walk, etc your dogs that have this. When you exercise them more does it seam to lessen the duration or onset of episodes? Does anyone else have a dog that has them as often as Porthos? I'm so glad I found this site!

[watkinsan]

I just wanted to say how relieved I am to have found this thread on a Google search. My sweet Grace has had these "bobble head" episodes off and on for the last year or so. When I initially took her to the vet, I was worried about Wobbler Syndrome, which is a "biggie" to worry about in Dobies. Basically, he told me not to worry, and that if she only does this once or twice a year, she'll be fine. So, "not to worry" was all the diagnosis and help with this I was to get. I've tried to not worry, and as she only has this happen once in a blue moon, I haven't taken her back to see the vet about it.

Last night, Grace had another bobble head episode that lasted about 2 minutes. So this morning I got online and tried to find out what this could possibly be....and YAY, I found it. Her head looks just like Buster's in the video (thank you for having the foresight to even shoot the video in the first place!!). I'm just so grateful to finally know what in the world it is that's been going on with her, I just had to put a big 'ol THANK YOU post.

Like everyone else, Grace seems to not be bothered by this at all...unlike me. What a relief it is to not only KNOW what this is, but also have the reassurance that she's not hurting or in pain from it. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

[belladee0]

I have just found this site, and was compelled to join after reading Buster's & every one elses stories regarding head tremors. My 1 year old boxer bitch, Cassie, had a tremor some months ago, although we didn't realise it at the time. Yesterday and today at approx. the same time ( 9.00 pm ) she had these head tremors again, lasting about 5 minutes. they were just like Buster's but slightly more vigorous.
Although we are worried it is reasuring that we are not alone. We now intend to try and eliminate what may have triggered these tremors as Cassie seems to have an allergy which causes her to scratch along with an ear infection/blood blister and had just had a new treatment for fleas/foxes mange,(the vet thinks if she has been in an area where foxes have been, and that this is causing her to scratch.).
We seem to have alot to sort out, hopefully we will be able to eliminate things as we go along and all will be well in the end. Good luck to everyone who has a member of their family with this problem

[Migly]

Well it's been a few months since it happened to my dog. Her tremors were quite severe but didn't last long.

She hasn't had any in a few months though and I suspect that it's somehow related to a wicker basket we discovered was growing mould (ick!) on the back and were completely oblivious to (it was against a wall in the laundry which has damp problems).

I don't know for sure that it was that, but the timing makes sense, so I don't know if she was just sniffing it, or eating it or it was just that it was there.

[belladee0]

Just had two days without any tremors, I guess we just play it day by day and see what happens.

[MaxaLisa]

My Max had a similar ongoing tremor. It has disappeared in the last several years. I'm not sure what made it go away - acupuncture, chiropractic care, or antibiotic treatment (doxycycline for possible tick diseases) are high on the list for helping to resolve it. I'm sure laser therapy or the like might help too.

He does have ongoing neck issues. I make sure that I use no collars or head harness on him, or front clip harnesses, I use a harness that looks like this:
http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fu...roduct_ID=1771