If you’re dealing with idiopathic head tremors (or sometimes referred to as head bobbing), you have my sympathy. It’s stressful to not know why something is wrong with your pup, and it’s even more stressful to watch them go through it knowing that there’s nothing you can do.
If you’re new to head tremors, I’ve written about it HERE, and a veterinary office contributed an article here. Both posts contain a different video of Cooper tremoring so you can compare it to what you’re experiencing. {Update 2017: Here’s my most recent post with head tremor FAQs to check out after you’ve read through the other material to hopefully get any lingering questions answered.}
On both of those posts, I tried to keep up with the comments but totally lost track! The general thread, though, is that everyone is reporting something different: Some people suspect grains were causing tremors, then others reported an increase in head bobbing with a grain-free diet. A handful of people had luck adding calcium supplements, and others reported vaccines worsened tremoring episodes. With Cooper, I suspect it’s related to his already compromised immune system, but there’s no proof behind that… it’s just a theory.
So. Frustrating.
From our end, I thought we had gone months without a single tremor, and I was thrilled… until Cooper started climbing into bed with me in the middle of the night. Twice recently I was woken up by him tremoring in the early morning hours. That got me thinking that maybe he hadn’t been tremor-free but that we just weren’t awake when they were happening. Again. So. Frustrating.
So, in an effort to help track the tremors, I put together an Excel spreadsheet, my “Tremor Tracker.”
It’s nothing fancy – I’m not so good with Excel – but if you’d like to download the file, click here to download. You’re welcome to customize it however you need. I just hope it helps!
In the meantime, I’d love to know how your dogs have been doing. Any updates? Improvements? Have you spotted any trends that might help the community? Please share your experiences in the comments!
Keep up with the dogs, cats, and kids of OMD over on Instagram. I post tips, tricks, and lots for fun nearly every day. I’d love to see you (and your pets!) there: Join us on Instagram!
My dog Rusty ‘ s head does this! His sister Suger did it too! I rescued them along with their brothers and sisters 6 years ago. They were all adopted out and I had to call all their owners to watch for signs when I noticed Sugar doing it. She was almost 1 yr old when hers started. Her people were aware at her adoption of her head bobbing but my vet told me it was wobblers. I know that not to be true now but back then I didn’t know. She gave her an anti anflamitory injection near a spot on her neck that seemed to be hot. Her owners had not seen symptoms for the 3 years I kept track of her. But I did eventually lose track of them so idk if she has ever shown signs after. Rusty started bobbling at around age 3 I think. But it wasn’t frequent until recently. I’m going to take him to the same vet that gave Sugar her shot. Although she changed offices and is now nearly an hr away. Food does help bring him out of it as you mentioned in your blog. He seems to get the episodes more if the rescue pups are stressing him out a bit. He is a doberman(dad was full blooded red doby) and german shepherd/rott (mom)
Definitely go get your pup checked out at the vet, but – if I’m remember correctly from my initial research – Dobermans are one of the most commonly affected breeds. Let us know how Rusty is doing!
Our dog Spartacus survived canine distemper virus as a puppy, so he has permanent damage to his central nervous system. He has a constant head twitch, but it’s more of a clicking jaw. We’re so used to it at this point, it’s weird to us when a dog doesn’t have a head twitch! We posted a video of it here: http://chilloutspartacus.blogspot.com/2014/02/loving-distemper-dog.html
When we spoke to the dog neurologist she said Spartacus doesn’t even know he has the twitch and can’t feel it. We hope Cooper also isn’t aware of his tremors. Good luck!
Thank you for sharing your experience. What a relief to know that he’s unaware and unaffected by the twitch!
Hi there!
Our Samson survived distemper also. Left with only a twitch which faded over time. Happy to hear another dog survived an often fatal disease.
Just goes to show medicine is still an art, especially vetrinary medicine. The only medical problem here is some bleeding from Hershey’s, er, “exhaust port.” The vet thinks she ate something hard which had its revenge on the way out. Some time in the cone of shame to keep her from licking, some liberally applied ointments, and liberally used rubber gloves and things are looking better. We’ll both be glad when this is over!
Oh, dear. Poor Hershey. Since I’m a week late on comments, I’m hoping all has been resolved and is well!!
Our Pitbull/Mastiff mix experiences atleast one tremor a day with no signs of slowing down. He eats a limited ingredient diet to help with his allergies, but I’m worried about him getting his 2 year old vaccinations– any articles that you can reference me to that discuss a possible correlation? Do you have Cooper checked by a Neurologist yearly for his tremors?
I haven’t found any data that shows a correlations, but I personally believe that there is one. Cooper’s tremors ramp up after every vax (and any medication, for that matter). I would definitely talk to your vet about the tremors before getting any vaccines. She may want to run additional tests beforehand, just to be safe. Best of luck to you and your pup!
Thanks, Maggie! Same to you and Coop!
How horrible that must be for all of you! I’m glad they don’t think Cooper is in any pain, but it still must be terrifying. Have you looked in any dog forums? There may be a discussion going on somewhere about this.
Or what about a survey? If you designed a survey that people with dogs that had tremors could complete. That might help pinpoint something.
A forum is a great idea! I will start seeking one out, for sure. Can’t believe I hadn’t thought of that! Thanks for the idea, Jodi!
Georgia bulldog rescue has discussion posts. .
My boy had rabies vac tues afternoon..weds tremors have been almist constsnt..I’m beside myself!!
Poor Cooper. I have to go back and read your first posts – not sure how I missed them before but this is some kind of seizure? (I’ll go read your other posts before asking any more questions, sorry.)
I did want to tell you I have numerous tracking platforms for Bella as well. I formulate her diet through an excel spreadsheet that calculates protein, calories and fat so we can keep her protein %ages down.
But I keep an online journal as well to track her diet, her pills as well as her ‘constitution’ and her demeanor. I can download it to an excel spreadsheet to then share with our vets. I like that more than a spreadsheet because Jan and I can both update it from any computer or device – makes it kind of handy.
That’s a really great idea, Leslie! We do all our expenses and such through Google docs so that we can both update it, so it makes PERFECT sense to do the same with Coop’s tremor tracker. Thanks so much for the suggestion!
It’s not a seizure, and studies have shown that anti-seizure meds have no effect on the behavior. I think what frustrates me is that I’m a person who needs to DO, and there’s nothing that we can do, at least not until there are more studies and data. I just focus on the fact that he’s not experiencing any pain or lasting damage…
Could you share that spreadsheet? I have to home cook for my bullies now as processed dry food has too many allergens. They get vitamin supplements and molasses added to pork and squash for caloric boost. Occasionally a bit of low sodium salt. Does lowering protein in diet help the tremors?
My biggest concern about these head tremors is parasite exposure, so i make sure to cook properly, but we’ve had wildlife exposure to opposum, squirrels, skunks too.
Recently his sister had random hair loss following hives I thought could be mite allergy as they would swell, weep, show red ring around outer edge, loose fur and end up as a bald scaly spot. Her vet gave convenia shot, they have cleared excellently and hair is regrowing much faster. Her tests show no mites, just low thyroid levels (linked to immunity as its autoimmune disorder- being addressed naturopathically through selenium and iodine added to diet) but it was a month before I could get in to see him, and I’d already been doing food allergy and parasite/mite control, as he had shown signs of “bites” on the back of his neck/ears (crusted welts) too, which seemed to clear with shaving the spot and topical medicated bath/ointments prior to her skin treatments.
Both humans in the house sleep with dogs, and have also less frequently woken up had random itchy red welts/bites, so we treated for fleas/mites and spiders naturally with geranium oil and cedarcide (so many this year including tiny red ones inside)… mild winters such as we had create bug booms, easier to deal with in prevention (weekly baths daily vacuuming) than infection with 8 bullies in the house.
They recently all had their annual deworming afew weeks after an ivermax pill. Other than that, they don’t get regular exposure to meds or chemicals to limit reaction potential. It has been a dry summer, compensated with our irrigation systems which with constant kennel cleaning, make the area wetted daily, so I watch for molds or fungus (toxic to dogs) but it does dry out and I’ve never found any, but for some old leather patio furniture which was treated and smelled musty but dried our after being covered. Our fieldstone basement is aired out, also use a humidifier, to keep it cool and dry. Our house is a 100+ year old colonial which was rebuilt from the sills up by the historical/neighborhood group before we bought it- we ripped up the carpets and added more wood flooring which was reclaimed birds eye maple which we cleaned, deloused, sanded and urethaned a couple years ago. All tests come up clean.
I am still researching/eliminating central nervous system irritants, but the man thinks it’s a pinched nerve causing the head tremors. No signs of injury, but bullies do play rough, so I treated with metacam and hope and pray it doesn’t continue. If it does, he is going to get a detox with activated charcoal and milk thistle, plus see an acupuncturist/holistic healer.
Thank you for sharing in detail. What type of bullies do you have? We have an American Bully, and today he had first episode ever of head tremor. Read blog and tried Greek yogurt. Seems to be all gone now. Asked Vet uncle and he thought maybe low sugar.
Also, Meatball has allergies as do most bulldogs. He gets symmetrical hair loss on his sides but only for a few months out of the year. Some days he has no tremors and other days he will have them back to back. Its so sad to see dogs going through this.
From the comments you guys have shared, and from my own experience with Cooper, it does seem to be some sort of correlation between allergies and tremors. Perhaps it isn’t allergies specifically but a compromised immune system? Thanks for contributing your input and sharing Meatball’s story.
I dont think my first post was saved on here. Meatball now has perianal fistulas and the tremors have been worse. We got him from a puppy store and ended up fonding out the puppy store got him from a terrible puppy mill in missouri. I wonder if the tremors are similiar to fetal alcohol syndrome in babies. If his parents werent fed properly or taken care of, maybe that is why Meatball has so many issues. He is such a great dog its so sad to see him going through this.
Malorie: I’ve wondered about the correlation of the health of the parents in connection to Riggins’ idiopathic head tremors. We got him from a less then sanitary or well taken care of home when he was under 6 weeks old (they already were feeding the puppies kibble!!) The mother definitely was not well taken care of so we’ve always wondered if a lack of nutrition while in the womb and after birth was a cause for the tremors. Riggins also suffers from extreme allergies. I hope Meatball catches a break soon!
I’ve always suspected that Cooper’s allergies had something to do with it, too. He wasn’t from a great breeding situation either, so it makes total sense that there’s a genetic aspect to it, like what you’re facing with Meatball and Riggins. Hope everyone’s doing well!
I have a pit/boxer-choc lab mix. We just noticed this night before last after he came in with a gash on his eye. We could only assume he received this gash by shaking his toy and smacking into the picnic table. Our dog loves to shake things. The harder he can shake it the better he feels. After watching some videos we now think he has had the begining stages and that this accident the other night might had triggured it.
My question is, do the rest of your dogs with this problem, like to visiously shake their toys?
Hi, Stephenie: I would definitely suggest you take your pup into the vet for a checkup because I think tremors are categorized by a more subtle shaking rather than a vigorous one. It may be the same, but I’d get him checked out, just to rule out any other possibilities. That being said, Cooper LOVES to shake his toys!
Thanks Maggie, I think my message was not as clear as I thought. This tremor thing just was noticed after what ever accident he had the other night. My boyfriend noticed it after the accident. It didn’t last long because by the time I looked it was over. But late last night it started and at first. I was scared until realized he had no idea it was happening. I waited until he laid down and was content then I googled the incident. That’s when I found your post. So I watched some videos this morning and now I think he had beginning signs just not so noticeable due to he responds to my every move. But I was trying to relate to the breeds this happens to and I realize they are all head shakers.( with toys) So now I’m wondering if this could have something to do with it? That all that head shaking causes some kind of brain in balance . I took his collar off, and his toys away to see how he does for a few days. I thought maybe his collar was causing a pinched nerve with the shaking. Or possibly he is going through muscle withdrawal because the weather is bad and he hasn’t been so active. Now I’m wondering if anyone else has noticed that their dog is a vigorous shaker (playing with toys) that has this issue.
Hi there, for the past week my husband & I have been on pins & needles after having our dog Benson (boxer) almost 3 yrs old. In the emergency Vet hospitL for 3 days they’ve run all the test, blood work, MRI, Spinal tap ect. Only to find nothing definitive. Benson (Benny) is now on Phenobarbrital to treat “focal seizures” my husband & I strongly feel that he does not have seizures & these are definitely head bobbing episodes. They’d like us to have an EEG done on Benny this week. It’s so frustrating that we feel he has idiopathic head bobbing but he’s on these strong meds. Hoping to get some answers shortly. I was just wondering if anyone has just let their dog take the full episode of head bobbing before “getting them out of it”. Just wondering what would happen if we weren’t around him & how long he’d be in it for. We’ve been so on edge we haven’t just let a full episode take place. We are sleepless cuz we wake with every movement. Tonight he actually got off our bed (yes he sleeps with us) and layed on the floor. I think we were smothering him lol! Here’s wishing we could all get the answers we want so that we could rest assured our fur babies were ok!
Nadia, our english bulldog has had these tremors since he was 6 months old. He just turned 3. It is so hard and we do not think that seizure medication is a good idea. These are not seizures. I think that something has to be causing this but I dont know what. It is so hard to see. We dont leave our dogs alone for long periods of time. Luckily someone os usually home with them. We found out the store we got Meatball from got him from a terrible puppy mill in missouri. I think that maybe this is simular to birth defects in children if the mom is malnourished/alcoholic/ sick. Its not easy but he is such a great dog and he will go weeks without any and then he will have them again. Cant seem to find a link other than maybe allergies are bothering him
Hi Nadia! Our Pit/Mastiff mix, Riggins was diagnosed with Idiopathic Head Tremors at about one and a half years old and we totally sympathize with you– it is SCARY! I would not worry about leaving your baby alone for long periods of time, the tremors are harmless and do eventually stop. Riggins is left alone about 6-7 hours per day while we are at work and while we do not know if he is having tremors, we do know that he seems totally normal and there does not appear to have been any negative effects. I have let the tremor go on without “snapping him out of it” to get video for the Neurologist and it lasted about a minute. Riggins eventually got up (his happen most often when he is in a relaxed, laying down state) and began to move around in attempts to shake it off himself, which he did. Our Neurologist told us that it does not affect them at all and eventually, if and when they realize that something is a bit funny, they’ll naturally try to shake it off. Riggins is not on any medication for the tremors and we were advised that there is no scientific evidence that any medication has an effect on the tremors since they really do not know what causes the tremors as it is really on a case by case basis. Based on what our Neurologist told us, any seizure medication is unnecessary and could, eventually, have a negative health impact on your dog down the line. If I were you, I’d avoid the medication at all costs. Good luck with everything– eventually, you guys will get used to seeing a little bobble-head walking around and will be able to snap him out of it with the help of some treats in no time! 🙂 p.s. doggy smothering is the best kind of therapy 🙂
Hi Nadia, My girl Chilow (Beagle/American Bulldog mix) is 2 1/2 years old and started having these on Saturday.. We rushed her to the ER Vet at 3am just for them to say myabe Valley Fever.. Anyway I started getting on the internet and found this sight and YouTube has some videos of exactly what my baby is doing. We went to the vet yesterday and they prescribed phenobarb to her… I am strongly against it as I feel she is not having seizures. I gave her one dose last night and it seemed an hour later her tremors were worse. I have a call into the vet so we will see but I will tell you this sight has really helped me and my husband try to figure this out.. Good Luck to all of you and thank you for this site.
Your story sounds like ours. If love to connect if you’re interested?
My pit/dalmatian mix, Dakota Marie just had her first episode of this head bobbing. It totally freaked me out and I was going to rush her to the vet but I found this blog and read all of your comments and watched video’s on youtube. She was totally aware of everything going on and it didn’t seem to bother her at all. We rang the door bell and she rushed to the door and then they stopped. She was totally coherent through the whole thing and didn’t appear in any pain. I can’t say the same for me. My heart sank right into my stomach. I thought she was having a seizure and would need a CT scan or MRI of which I don’t have the funds. You all calmed a very scared mother’s nerves. Blessings Michele
I totally understand that feeling, Michele! Best of luck to you and Dakota Marie!
Thanks so much everyone for the information and stories. Our poor boy Apollo has these tremors and we have been frantically searching for information. So nice to see we are not alone! They were infrequent at first, then seem to go away, and now are back more frequent than before. We have been documenting the episodes per vet suggestion and trying to correlate cause. Apollo just turned 1 last month and is a pure bred Doberman. He had demodex mange when we rescued him as a 4 month old puppy so I’m interested in the theories about a compromised immune system being a possible cause. He also gets unexplained bumps on his skin like an allergy but eliminating certain foods does not seem to make a difference. Vet had suggested this also may stem from a compromised immune system. I had read that some people believe it may be a vitamin B deficiency causing the tremors. Any thoughts or information on this possibility? Thanks!
Our one and a half year old chocolate lab Jack, that we rescued a year ago, had his first episode of tremor in May/June of this year. He had broken his tooth and I thought it was because of nerve pain. He was on antibiotics for the tooth and has had it fixed, but he continues to have episodes but they are few and far between. He had his first one in maybe two months tonight. He is aware of surroundings and will often even come when called. Most often they occur while he is resting. Only once did i think stress caused it (I had to take our other dog to the vet and he was a mess while we were gone, according to my brother. They are attached at the hip) We just let them run their course and give him extra love and snuggles while they are happening to keep him calm.
After reading some people’s responses about compromised immune systems, I’m wondering if Jacks first few months might have played a role in this. Jack and his litter all suffered from Parvo. Only he and one other sibling survived. Could the treatment have affected him in some way? Something to ask the vet the next time we see him. We have been unsuccessful in getting the tremors on video, but yours is right on the money…he looks exactly like that.
Thank you for this opportunity to share our experiences. It makes you feel less alone when you are trying to be strong for them in their time of need.
Does anyone have experience with torn ligament in bulldogs leg? Surgery or no surgery?
Thank you for giving us an answer. I have a 2-1/2 yr old male vizsla starting to do this. First time I saw it I thought it was a fluke cause it lasted seconds. But tonight while he laid his head in my lap I knew it was more than that, but not a seizure. A tremor. He responded to me talking to him and petting and it was over. I’ll be watching for it now.
Our dog Max, is a yellow Lab. We adopted him from the local shelter. He is 3 years old.(We got lucky )My wife noticed him shaking one day while lying in his bed. She was scared that something major was wrong with him. It lasted less than a minute and then he was back to his happy self. This happened twice with her. As for me, I saw him once shaking after his nap. He had gotten up and was walking towards me, his head is the only thing that moved from side to side. It was so alarming. I went up to him and held his head gently hoping he would not be scared of what was going on. Shortly there after, his shaking stoppped and he was back to his happy self. Its like he never knew what happened.
I feel more at ease after reading the previous letters/notes. I am going to use the spread sheet you provided and see if there is any common thread for him getting the tremors. Thank you for doing that.
My dog Rufus is on prednil for his allergies. The allergies are clearing up after one day on the tablets. He had big red sores under his legs and groin. On the second day of this medicine he woke up in a hot fever and began head bobbing. I sleep with him and was woken up because his flappy skin was making a slapping noise from the bobbing. He appeared freaked out as much as I was, although he was very responsive and did every command I asked. I massaged his neck and tried to remain calm for his sake. It stopped as quickly as it started and I had no time to video it. I was too busy trying to call an emergency vet as it’s 2am here in Australia perth right now. I googled and found your story. I’m still calling the vet first thing in the morning but can actually go back to sleep knowing my baby Rufus (bulldog/Red nose Pittbull) hopefully will be ok. He’s fast asleep n appears relaxed now. I have to confirm that I believe this is linked to allergies. Oh and I felt his temperature rise n cooled him down with the fan n water, it appeared to help. It’s hot here in Perth right now.
Have you ever heard of a 3 week old mini dachshund with a head the moves from side to side. I have been breeding for 20 plus yrs and never seen it before. I just found your site. I will be taking him to vets in am. When i noticed it he would start then stop. I would think what is he looking at then a few mins later he would do it again.
My 1 year old English Bulldog started shanking “no” a week ago. I looked up everything I could, and noticed calcium deficiency was brought up several times, in several different articles. I started giving my dog treats I baked with calcium added and literal thanks to God, he has not had another one since. I don’t know if it is purely coincidence, or there is some science to it, but I am thankful!
That’s great, Ron! I’m so glad that works for you! Cooper takes a bone meal supplement sprinkled on his food to up his calcium intake (this one is awesome and inexpensive: https://amzn.to/2TGxpU4). I’m not sure how directly it’s affected his rate of tremors. He’s nine now and only has a handful a year, whereas when he was a puppy they were a weekly occurrence. I suspect it’s more an issue of outgrowing them but who knows. I’m happy to hear your pup is doing well!!