First, let me say that this post is long overdue, and for that, I apologize. No joke, you guys, I get an email or Facebook message about Cooper and his head tremors daily. Yesterday, I got two thoughtful, nervous messages and figured it was time to finally tackle this post.
Next, let me also say that I am not a vet. I’m not a vet tech. I have no medical training or expertise. All, every single one of the idiopathic head tremors FAQs below, along with the update about Cooper, are 100% my opinion. If you think your dog is facing this, bookmark this page to read later, and go to your vet. You HAVE to rule out underlying conditions (like seizures) before you can get an IHT diagnosis. Why? Because there’s no treatment, there’s no medicine, there’s nada for IHT, and some similar conditions are life-threatening and some can be treated. So, vet first. IHT FAQs later.
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Now that that’s settled, here’s what’s going on with Cooper.
His diet has completely changed since I last updated. We gave up entirely on dog food and limited his treats to single-ingredient chews our friend Sof found and bits of veggies like carrots for training treats. We joke that when we sneak food to Cooper under the table, in his head he’s like, “Oh, boy! Peas! Spinach! Cabbage!” Whereas Emmett’s process is, “Bacon.”
We went through an entire round of elimination diet/ingredient testing and ended up home cooking for him. Until we discovered a store-bought food that works for him (more on that another day), but it’s limited to six human-grade ingredients. Plus I add some supplements.
I’m explaining all this (and I go into more detail below) because I truly believe that fixing his food and feeding him nothing but clean, single-ingredient, organic (when possible) food has been the game changer. He had one super long tremor in October, coincidentally the week before his annual exam, which I shared a few seconds of on IG:
Other than that, he’s been largely tremor-free, at least free from long ones (though sometimes we’ve noted he gets a small tremor super early in the morning, so he could still be having those without us waking up). I think that covers the updates. Now, FAQs! Stick with me… this is going to be a long one…
How did you diagnose idiopathic head tremors?
Here’s the thing: The word idiopathic actually means unknown. Here’s the Google definition, “relating to or denoting any disease or condition that arises spontaneously or for which the cause is unknown.” There is no known cause. A diagnosis only happens by ruling out all other possibilities. That’s why I can’t emphasize seeing your vet strongly enough. You MUST rule everything else out first. In our case, we were lucky. This is not a common condition at all. We thought it was a seizure the first time it happened, but after a battery of tests, numerous conditions including seizures were ruled out. Our vet knew she didn’t know, so she consulted with a veterinary neurologist at Ohio State University. She sent all his test results and the battery of video we had taken of the tremors, and he took a look at all of it and said IHT. He said we could do an MRI and run way more tests but that he knew they would all come back without results. Hence, IHT. But, we only got to that point after lots of tests, vet visits, and the consultation with the specialist.
What causes the head tremors in dogs? And how do you treat them?
This ties into the answer above. There’s no known cause. I have heard of people putting their dog on anti-seizure meds, but the OSU vet we consulted with said they don’t help, so we’ve never put Cooper on any meds for idiopathic head tremors. That said, the easiest way to “treat” the tremors in my book is to stop them. We do that with a treat and getting Cooper to focus. Typically we’ll ask for a simple behavior–shake, down, whatever–then have him chase the treat reward. Usually by the time he’s back, he’s stopped tremoring. Sometimes it takes a few repetitions, but it always snaps him out of it. I know that’s not “treating” the tremors, but it at least stops the incident. As for treating, I think my closest answer is in the food Q below.
Do you give Cooper medicine/supplements/flea and tick meds? {I’m lumping together tons of Qs here… like, do you give him a B complex or calcium supplement or fish oil, etc.?}
Short answer, yes. Cooper is on an allergy medication, Apoquel, and when his allergies are at their worst, we add in a Zyrtec. {Updated to add: We recently tried the Cytopoint injection. He’s only had one and it hasn’t been long enough for me to share more. When I know more, I’ll let you know!} He also gets a monthly flea/tick topical. He’s allergic to most “flavor” additives, so he can’t take a typical heart worm pill. He’s on Revolution, which takes care of heart worms and flea/tick. There has been a lot of discussion in the comments about flea/tick causing tremors. There’s no evidence to back that up, so I get nervous when readers post to “stop all topicals!” That’s a decision you need to make with your vet. For Cooper, his system is SO sensitive that we minimize the onslaught, but I do believe that the value of topical treatments outweighs the risk. Again, that’s just my opinion, and our vet is on board. You have to make that call. Do I think they contribute to his tremors? I can’t say for sure, of course, but I haven’t noticed a correlation like… apply topical, get tremors. It just hasn’t happened.
As for the supplement piece, here is exactly what we feed Cooper: He eats The Honest Kitchen’s minimalist fish formula, which I alternate with a fresh food from The Farmer’s Dog. I believe that has had the single biggest impact. Feeding him clean, healthy, wholesome food with no additives has helped him gain weight, cleared up his skin and ear infections, and more. If his system is struggling to process food, I think that can only help. To that we add two heaping spoonfuls of organic, unrefined coconut oil at night. For breakfast and dinner we also add in a vegetarian vitamin (he’s allergic to flavoring, and many vitamins have liver/beef/chicken flavor) called Udo’s Choice and a calcium supplement, KAL Bone Meal Powder.
He gets his allergy meds in the morning, along with a probiotic from Only Natural Pet. We’ve also started him on a joint supplement from Super Snouts {Updated to add: We discovered he’s allergic to mussels so switched him to a supplement from ONP that didn’t seem as effective as we’d like. We tried a Dasuquin, but he threw up. Back to the drawing board.} Changing his diet, testing, and determining what works and, more importantly, what doesn’t has impacted his health significantly for the better, so I can only assume that it’s had an effect on diminishing his tremors.
Do you think vaccines/medications/food trigger the tremors? Should I stop vaccinating my dog?
Per above, yes. I think it’s like in humans. Crappy food = crappy health. However, you have to decide if certain meds are more beneficial than harmful. For example, Cooper’s allergy meds. Sure, it’s a chemical concoction, but him not taking allergy meds? A red, itchy, goopy, miserable mess. The medicine, to
me, is worth it. As for vaccines, I get this question all the time, and I can’t lie… I am a believer in vaccines for both people and dogs. Again, this is a matter of personal choice in conjunction with your vet, but I believe in vaccinating, and Cooper does get vaccinated. That said, we do three-years to prolong the time in between, and he’s allergic to the rabies vaccine so has to have a shot of a super strong antihistamine before he gets his vax. Whether or not you should stop vaccinating your dog in an effort to curb tremors has to be a decision you make with your vet.
Is he in pain? Does tremoring cause long-term effects?
There’s no way to know, but every vet and specialist we’ve talked to has told us no. He doesn’t seem to be in pain. When it first started happening, he did seem frightened. I wouldn’t say he’s used to it now, but he’s fully aware when he’s tremoring/shaking/head bobbing/whatever you want to call it. We can get him to respond to cues to distract him out of it, so I don’t think he could be in too much pain. I totally get it being scary for him, though. Long-term? I don’t know. He’s five now. He’s been tremoring since 2012, and I would say he’s in better health now than he’s ever been, largely because of the food/supplement stuff mentioned above.
Okay, still with me? WHEW! Thanks for sticking with this post, and I really do hope it’s been helpful. On all the posts I’ve done about IHT–the three linked to above and a couple in the early days when we were awaiting diagnosis–have almost 1,000 comments combined. I tried my best to lump together the questions that came up most often, but it’s likely I missed something.
Please don’t hesitate to leave a comment with any questions I might have overlooked or comments/feedback on what you’ve been doing with your dog!
Great article!! I did read the whole thing even though my dogs don’t have tremors. My Milah however, sometimes does the reverse sneezing, which started when we were treating her for a horrible, nasty bacterial infection after we rescued her from the shelter. The sneezing terrifies her, and although she rarely has them any more, I also find that I can comfort her, and subdue the sneezes by distracting her with a command. She won’t take a treat while she is having an attack, but she will sit or down. Thank you for posting <3
That has to be a bit scary–for both of you! I wonder the cause? Does she have allergies? Interesting info, Kathy. Thanks so much for sharing.
She does not have allergies that I am aware of. She sometimes still reverse sneezes. I can’t tie it to anything.
Hi, our boxer we rescued is about 4 1/2 When we got him it was due to him being abandoned so we took him to the vet and they gave him all of his shots not knowing if he had them or not well that and the heartworm med also,about a wk after he had become sick hospitalized for 2 days developed pancreatitis then epi,very common condition in certain breeds and had to feed him cooked bland meals small amounts 3x day Purina ,forti flora a miracle for tummy troubles, b12 shots subcutaneous wkly ,golds seameal extract, raw honey for allergies,and cbd oil and lots of love and research,my point to this is these post are lifesavers for our beloved pets as this info has helped us keep butters despite costly health issues,which most are not able to afford, boxers are very sensitive to many immunizations and medications for flea/tick,etc.. cbd oil is available legally nationwide but all are not equal research the company who supply it first,now 2 yrs later he is a healthy happy spoiled boy,mom’s trust your instincts as vets didn’t diagnose him fully we worked together and that’s how we’ve tackled his issues successfully.now he has been on blue buffalo limited ingredients turkey and potatoes grain free with semi raw beef I add and b12 shots wkly stable now no tummy troubles. b12 shots,cbd oil good for neurologic problems a must try hope this helps.
Could you please tell me what cbd oil you use and how much and how often. I also have a boxer. Thank you, Carol Tesch
Thanks for sharing your experience. Many things that I learn about dog health is from other dog owners and bloggers, because I wouldn’t even know to look something like this up. Following along with someone’s experience gives me the courage to speak about these things with my vet if I see something suspicious with our dogs.
So thank you for taking the time to be so open and thorough.
I am the exact same way, Kimberly. I appreciate reading others’ experiences because it helps to know you’re not the only one going through something! Thanks for the kind words!
Thanks for writing this! Zelda, my 1 yr old boxer, had her first IHT a week ago. She’s my baby so of course I was nervous. I had given her Advantage for fleas 30 minutes before. This wasn’t the first time I had used Advantage on her. It was the first time she had a reaction to the application. After a vet visit and ALOT of result, I’m sure it’s IHT. I washed the Advantage off of her and contacted them. She’s still having IHT usually when she’s falling asleep or sleeping. I am getting a refund for the Advantage but according to them…..”its just like lotion”….LOL! I’m in the process of trying a natural method for flea control:)
Cooper tends to tremor when he’s relaxed, too. We’ve noticed it first thing in the morning or right before bed. I wonder if that supports the idea that it’s muscular? Anyway, I hope all’s well with Zelda!
My dog Ike just started getting tremors as well. They typically start when he is about to fall asleep and again when he first wakes up. All of the symptoms are exactly as you describe. My wife and I took him to the vet and currently awaiting blood work results but from everything I’ve read I expect it to be IHT.
Hey there! My 11 month old boxer/husky just started having tremors about 3 days ago his had about 5 episodes only lasting seconds if I catch him and ask for a treat. I also find it’s only when his relaxed like you said morning/naps/bedtime. How many on an average day? Does it slow down eventually as they get older? Thanks I am a very concerned and worried fur momma 🙁
Just discovered this condition. I have two American staffy cross ridgeback puppies (11months) they are brother and sister. We do everything the same for both of them but the male has just started having these tremors in the last three days, only 2 about minutes each. They came out of nowhere, whether he is resting or active. The female has no problems at all. I didn’t realise this was even a condition. It was scary to watch but reading everybody else’s stories has helped a great deal. I haven’t yet caught one of these tremors on video to show my vet but it is reassuring to to I now have some answers.
My dog Milo is now six and he has had IHT since he was about a year old. His seem to come in waves. He may have several for a few days and then nothing for weeks even months or he might have one a day for a few weeks. I can’t find any rhyme or reason. I do feel in my gut it’s a muscular problem or a nerve problem. Maybe something that just didn’t develop properly as he grew. Like a lot of people describe it does seem to come on in a relaxed state. Not once have I seen it happen while he was active. More than once he was asleep in my lap when it happened and it started when he stretched his head back or turned it a certain way. It is scary at first but you get used to it. I taught myself not to freak out which helped him not freak out. If I am not already by his side when it happens he seeks me out because he knows I will make it stop ( and he also knows he gets a mini game of fetch out of it!) . The best thing you can do Is not freak out and teach him tricks, jump up and down with touch command, catch treats, fetch etc. Distraction is key to getting the IHTs to stop quickly.
Also Milo is a Shepherd/ hound maybe lab mix. He had food sensitivities as a puppy but has grown out of them. I have tried raw/ organic/ limited ingredient/ partially home cooked diets. I haven’t noticed any correlations in frequency of IHTs. I have settled on organic grain free but I’m a little less picky about treats. He gets old mother Hubbard, Pluto duck treats and the occasional three dog bakery sandwich cookie. He also gets lots of extra veggies. He loves carrots, peas, green beans and sweet potatoes. Not so much fruit. Turns his nose up every time!
Our Apollo (doberman) has IHT also. I read a study that said some breeds seem to get IHT more than others, Dobermans being one of them and it seems to be most found in purebreed dogs. Apollo is a rescue and our girls are mixed so we don’t have much experience with purebred dogs, but I would assume that the breeding would make sense and allow for a much higher rate of it being inherited.
We also don’t have a treatment for him, we simply try to stop the episode in much the same manner as you do. We find that he tends to get them most when he is really tired. Fortunately he doesn’t seem to get them with near the severity that Cooper does. But much like Cooper it doesn’t seem to bother him at all and he is totally focused and aware during the episodes, so the vets were sure they were not seizures. We too kept a log for a while thinking it may be linked to a medication but nothing seemed to correlate.
Apollo is also on a prepared raw diet too. We use Bravo freeze dried raw. We wanted to eliminate what we could to see if food was the issue. He also had some digestive issues, and we felt he had problems processing processed food much like Cooper. It also didn’t seem to have an effect on the IHT but his overall health is fantastic on this diet so we kept him on it. We also supplement with Origin as the vet felt he needed a bit more carbs due to his activity level.
Thank you for your posts. It’s nice to hear from other pet parents that have the same issues and see how others are dealing with it!
Thank you so much for sharing your experiences. You’re right; a lot of vets I talked to did say it’s most common in certain breeds, as you’ve discovered. Boxers and pit bull type dogs are also susceptible, but I’ve been surprised to see in the comments of my past posts every dog from a Chi to a lab mentioned.
It does sound like Apollo and Cooper are similar in a lot of ways. Apollo is lucky to have such a caring family. Hope all’s well with you both!
My dog was poisoned and survived with a palsy like tremor that receded. I fed her Candidae until we got a bad batch. All the dogs had effects from it. But hers lasted longer and she walked with her back end hunched. In my research I read that it’s automatic for the kidneys to be damaged for poisoned animals. So I tried a variety of kidney diets.
MS research included pros ND cons for high protein diet and low protein diet and decided that high was best. It’s the purines some high protein meats have that is bad ~ high salt. I started with raw turkey and pork. I became concerned about worms with raw pork and started cooking the meat. Turkey had high purine.
During the night she would have a hard hiccup like tic. She would curl up to me as close as she could.
So I researched and came across liver affected by toxins and did a milkweed with steamed squash, green beans and sweet and russet potatos. It cleaned her system and the tic went away. So I tried putting her on dry food which she can not eat of any brand. When she relaxed the tic would hit her.
Natural Balance has wet food that has no organ meats. We tried bison, rabbit, duck, venison and lamb. I have settled on duck. The only time she has the tic is when I try something new or different or she sneaks the other dogs dry food. I had her tested after the milkweed cleaning and her liver and kidney were in a good place.
Natural Balance canned food saved us. She cannot eat their dry food or chicken or cow beef wet. You have to try each one for a couple days to gage the reaction.
All of the dog food companies run into bad batches and it affects the kidneys and eventually the liver if change isn’t made. If it weren’t for the hormones and antibiotics in our meat my dogs would be on human food.
Wow. It sounds like you’ve been through the wringer. Your dogs are lucky to have you.
I do believe in the power of food for overall health. I’m so glad you found something that works for you! Hope all’s well with you and yours!
Thanks for sharing this and giving us an update Maggie. I’m a firm believer in the things we put in our bodies have a profound affect on our health. I’m sure under your diligence Coop will have less and less tremors.
I totally agree, Jodi. Thanks so much.
This article reads like what I went through. His IHT were very few and far between and could be broken easily just by giving him a rough rubbing all over his face to snap him out of it.
I “determined” (through daily tracking on an excel spreadsheet) it had to be related to his food or topical anti-flea. I have since switched to using Comfortis for his flea meds. It comes in pill form (not an oily mess all over his skin) and because he swims a lot it works even after multiple swim sessions.
I also switched years ago to The Honest Kitchen Zeal. This single change has made the biggest impact on his allergies and it is just as you suggest that good food is good health. Their new line of minimalist foods is very intriguing including the Brave you mention.
Protip: THK is very expensive, I call it the “Cadillac of Dog Food”, but you can drop the price 25% if you have a Pet Food Express store nearby, if you buy 3 boxes the 4th is free.
Side note: I used Apoquel with success for awhile but after reading on the mfg. website that “may cause existing parasitic skin infections or pre-existing cancers to get worse” (see their Safety page here https://www.zoetisus.com/bmst-minisite-apoquel/index.aspx) I decided to wait until it has been in the wild longer before using it and focus on food.
Thanks for this article I hope it helps others!
I can’t recommend The Honest Kitchen enough. The Beams dog treats are the best treat in the house among all the dogs. http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/beams
WOAH! We don’t have that pet store, but ours does a buy 10 get 1 free. Yours us a MUCH better deal. Lucky! 🙂
You’ve done such an amazing, thorough job. Also, I bookmarked those treats to get next time we’re out shopping! We haven’t tried them yet, and I know you know… with such a sensitive pup, it’s SO hard to find good ones. Thanks so much for sharing your experiences!
I was very upset when my big guy Harley started having his head tremors. I thought he was having mini seizures and of course immediately took him to the hospital. They took many tests and could not come up with a diagnosis. They said that he had to undergo an MRI to find out more. He is a rescue pit bull and I rescued him at 1 year old. He has a brother and sister as well which do no exhibit these tremors. As I read all your articles and watched the video of Cooper having his tremors I felt a sense of relief. I was comforted to know that there is someone out there that knows what is going on. Harley experiences these tremors mostly at night when we are settling in. They are not nearly as long as Coopers but they are the same. He is a little freaked out about them so I hold his head in my hands and kiss him and whisper in his ear and let him know I love him.. He is alert and can focus on anything I ask him to. I am so grateful to you for sharing your experience with us.
Thank you bunches,
Harley, Amber Puppy and me (Kim).
Thank you so much for sharing, Kim. It definitely is scary–for both of us–and it sounds like you’re experiencing that. All the vets I’ve spoken to have said that pits are a highly-represented breed to experience these but that they don’t cause any long-term harm or effects.
Have you tried to stop the tremor with a distraction like a treat or a toy?
I’m so sorry you’re going through this, but I am glad our experiences were able to help! If you ever have questions or want to go through your experience, please don’t hesitate to reach out!
I have seen recently that apoquel is very toxic. Have you read those reports? There are a number of very helpful site on FB but for dog health and detoxing. imho you should not be vaxing so much, you realize your vet will always advise for vax but they are very toxic. These chemicals cannot be helpful for health of your pup. Have you tried a holistic vet? We used to over vet our pups, flea. And tick preventative, etc., and it killed my baby, only 6. Now we feed raw with supplements to build their immune systems to prevent illness. Like I said, there are many very smart and helpful sites on FB I could recommend to you if you are interested. They will answer questions and guide you too. I am not trying to be critical but I read your last info and it actually scared me. If you are open to those sites let me know. Wishing you the best only. Joyce Bakker
Hi, Joyce: Thanks so much for weighing in, and thank you for being so passionate. I certainly don’t want you to feel scared about the choices I’m making for Coop! Let me say, first, that my belief in medicine, treatment, etc. holds true for people and animals: In every single individual case, the question comes down to weighing the potential benefit against the potential harm. For myself, when faced with late-stage cancer, there were lots of folks who said you can cure it with this diet change and that holistic treatment. I chose to go with chemo because, in my assessment, the potential benefits outweighed the potential harm. I face decisions with Cooper the same way. He spent years pooping blood. His fur fell out. He suffered from chronic ear infections. His anal glands would get impacted, and he broke out into pimples… on his belly and around his mouth. At the end of the day, the changes in diet, plus a regimented supplement routine cured most of those issues. But not all. The Apoquel takes care of the rest. He no longer has chronic ear infections. His fur is thick and glossy, and he’s gained weight–something that took years. While I acknowledge that it is a compounded medication and therefore comes with potential side effects, all those potentials are far outweighed by all the benefits. Same thing with vaccinations; I weighed the risks of him having to fight off a potentially deadly disease with a weak immune system. To me, the vaccinations are worth it. (Incidentally, I do believe the same for people… I got my flu shot while undergoing chemo because the risk of getting the flu was a far heavier weight than any potential effects of the shot.)
I totally get that you’re passionate, and I’m so glad it’s working for your dogs. I do truly believe, though, that every single person and pet has to be treated as an individual, and this is what works for me and Coop.
I really do hope that helped allay the fear you felt for Cooper! He’s a super sweet, strong, feisty little guy!
Best,
Maggie
Hi there,
My name is Sonny Jarak and I run a rehabilitation centre for dogs in Trent Hills Ontario. It’s amazing to see your research into IHT . I have a Doberman in our pack who in the last year has begun to have episodes of the tremors. Specialising in behaviour I’ve begun closely documenting these episodes and I’m happy to report that although it can be extremely difficult and emotional to see your loved dog go through the shaking, it is in no way painful for them, nor does it prevent them from doing normal things. I’ve also learned at least with my Doberman that as soon as she’s offered and takes food while shaking, it suddenly stops. That to me was most important because it immediately changed my energy and how I felt about witnessing the tremors.
Understanding the importance of your pets health and their diet/exercise in particular is also one of the best things you could have changed. Healthy body = healthy mind. Because I specialise with the most intense unwanted behaviours, I’ve learned how ‘knowledge’ helps control the body/mind, and that ‘love’ will nurture the state of mind they are in.
Easier said than done, but the best thing we can do when the tremors begin, is to simply re-direct them with a favourite treat, and most importantly learn to not share an emotional energy, nor soothe them physically during the episode. I will document and video one of our girls next episodes and hopefully help those to learn how to appropriately deal with the diagnosis and episodes of course.
I honestly believe that IHT is simply a result of genetics through thousands of years of selective breeding. Hope this helps those dealing with the issue and again thank you for your passionate research and clear love for dogs!
Sonny
Thanks so much for taking the time to share your experience, Sonny. We’ve found the food distraction to be effective with Cooper, too. If it’s a particularly bad tremor, I can pair it with a request for a simple behavior, and that level of focus somehow gets it to end. It is a relief, I think, for everyone who’s going through this with their dogs to know there’s no long-term effects, pain, etc. associated with it.
Thank you again! All the best to you and your pack!
I have the most adorable four year old long hair female Akita. I’ve Have owned her for three years, I first noticed her head tremors about a year ago on four separate occasions within a week. About 3 months later she had the head tremors and took a few steps and it appeared as though she was drunk, crossing her two front legs in about four steps it did occur after a long nap and then we went outside. I brought her back inside it stopped. Today she had her head tremors for at least 5 minutes much longer than before. That’s why I’m on this site before I spend god knows only how much the vet will charge doing test after test. She had her Rabies and Parvo shots 6 days ago. She has no allergies or any other problems, I don’t use any medications or treatments such as flea or tick meds. It almost made me cry today because it lasted so long. So I’ll try to keep the emotional state in check and try the treat trick. I feed Wilderness dry and cook chicken and vegetables, carrots & broccoli. No corn. Thank you for all the concerned comments & replies, I am very much relieved. I love her sooooo much like all the other posters!
Hi All,
Has anyone else had the experience I posted above whereas she was walking as if she were drunk the front paws/feet crossing over not straight for a few steps?
Does this sound neurological?
Maggie do you suggest I run a full blood panel on Fluffy? They said it covers everything except Thyroid.
That sounds more like a seizure, maybe not a typical seizure but not IHTs. I had a dog that had seizures and acting drunk, loss of stability, confusion always came after the seizure. Would you say that your pup was aware/conscious during the episode? With IHTs dogs remain alert and aware. Perhaps I’m wrong but it really doesn’t sound like IHTs.
I have two American bulldog brothers that are nearly 3 years old and Stan who has allergies to everything has just woken up from a nap and as he was walking across the front room had a head tremor. It scared the life out of me but after calling him over and stroking his head it stopped and is fine again now. He has had nothing other than his daily meal that hasn’t changed since he was 10 months old. Which makes me wonder whether after reading all the posts whether it could be a muscular issue as a lot are when tired or just before /after sleep
My pit bull/American bull dog mix started having tremors after her first Rabies shot… but at the time, did not make the connection. But in researching the head tremors, I read from an online vet, that rabies shots will exacerbate the condition, and cause tremors, which, unfortunately, has been true in my dog’s case. She had not had a head tremor in over a year…I asked the vet if they could give her less of a dose of the rabies shot, as she was due for her booster. They said they could, and gave her half the dose. A week following the rabies shot she had a head tremor. I documented them. She had another one 3 weeks later, one 8 days after that, one a day later, one a day later, and two the following day, which was tonight the 25th of February, 2016. I totally attribute them to the rabies shot, and am dismayed that I did it. My advice, no rabies shot, get the titers done. It is expensive, but worth it. I will never get a rabies shot for my dog again. And it does work to give her a treat – the tremors stop right away, so far.
hello diane did the tremor finally stopped?
My 17 year old dog had oral surgery and was traumatized! I believe he had a reaction to the anesthetic. Today is Sunday and he shows signs of improvement, but has started having tremors. Is this another reaction to the anesthetic and will pass or should I consult his vet tomorrow?
Hi, Sue: I’d definitely recommend you call your vet tomorrow!
Good luck & hope he feels better.
!7 years old wow you’ve done a great job caring for him, what breed is he?
Are you from Ohio? What part of Ohio if so? My baby dog has started having head tremors and I was thinking we might be sent to OSU and then I read your blog and realized you are probably from around here. Thanks for this. This blog helps me not to worry so much, even if it is something bigger than IHT my worrying won’t help it go away.
MAndy
Hi, Mandy:
We’re actually in Indiana, though our vet did consult with a neurologist at OSU. I bet it’s probably the same specialist you’re going to see.
I’m so glad this helped, and I’ll be thinking of you and your pup. Best of luck!
Thank you for this very informative site. Our 5 y/o shephard/blue heeler/akita mix is suffering from IHT. Suggestions here are helping us to determine a way to minimize or eradicate this. Coconut oil is already included and will begin B-Complex. Calcium appears to be popular, but we have not seen any lessening of IHT.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Tom. I hope it’s all working for you and your pup. I know it’s stressful, but it sounds like you’re taking a proactive approach! Good luck!
Thank you Maggie and thank you again for this site!
Update 3/21/16: We are still keeping our fingers crossed and watchful eyes, but no sign of tremors for 3+ weeks since I posted this. Since this post, doggie diet has been:
o One B-Complex pill per day (contains 50mg each of Riboflavin, B6, B12, etc. –from Trader Joe’s)
o 1 rounded tablespoon of organic extra virgin coconut oil (from TJ’s) per meal
o We switched over to a wonderful, wonderful, powdered dog food that you add water to make for meals. It has just really good, dehydrated stuff that is super easy to mix and prepare for 2 meals a day. Yes, it has supplements (Vitamin D3, E, potassium iodide & chloride, but the other stuff is just duck, celery, pumpkin, honey, bananas, green beans, sweet potatoes, apples (no seeds!) etc..). We found it on “thehonestkitchen.com”. A 10lb box of this powdered food is ~$90. However, it is looking like it is lasting us for 6 weeks. Our dog is 70 lbs if that gives you a reference point and she loves the stuff.
I am providing so much detail because I have poured over the internet on IHT and commonalities seem to be:
o Get off unknown ingredients and preservatives in your dog’s food (kibble, or canned)
o Coconut Oil
o B-Complex
Trust me that the day that we see another tremor, I will post — I promise, trust me. But if no update here, then things are still good with no IHTs and you may want to take a similar approach (I am not a vet, so no scientific reasoning here).
Hello. Thank you for sharing so much. Do you have any tips for coping with your own fear and concern? My Matilda started having what has tentatively been diagnosed as IHT on Sunday and it breaks my heart. I feel on edge waiting for the next one to happen, and I know that is not healthy for her. How did you process through the emotions associated with this as her human? I appreciate any guidance.
That is SUCH a great question, Kacy, but definitely not an easy one. To be honest, even though they say that the tremors don’t hurt Cooper or have any lasting effect, I do get upset each and every tremor. I think the biggest thing for me has been figuring out our “snap him out of it” routine and getting that down so that we end them as quickly as possible. Other than that… it’s so tough. Deep breathing. Gratitude that it’s not hurting him. Oh, and then spoiling the heck out of him with extra treats or games in the backyard! I hope that helps, and I wish you and your Matilda the best!
I have a golden retriever (Nala- 1 year) she has the same tremors as Cooper and we’ve noticed that when she gets too excited or plays too much the tremors in her head appear. And the way we stop them is calling her or we pet her.
I study Veterinary Medicine in Colombia and only in one of my classes we’ve talked about this tremors because it’s not often to see patients like Cooper or Nala.
Ps. I really enjoy reading you! And cases like Cooper really inspire me to research about this and I’ll definitely try the change of food and treats
I have a 6 year old Labrador retriever/Chesapeake bay retriever mix. We have had him for 7 months. We adopted him from a great local rescue. Thanks to your website, I have learned what my dog has, IHT. At first I thought he was having a seizure, then I saw your dog Cooper with the same thing. My dog Ben hasn’t seen the vet for this yet, but he is doing it more often now. 2 to 3 times a week. He is alert just like Cooper is. We keep him calm and pet him during his tremors. I did take a video of him for the vet. Should we take him to the vet?
One night my Westie (1 year old) started having head tremors. I went to the Vet and he told me that it was a type of epilepsy. He prescribed Phenobarbetial (Pheno) and my dog has not had a tremor for over 7 years. He is on Pheno for the rest of his life but the tremor subsided. He gets regular check up and blood work to ensure dosage is adequate. Maybe something to look into. Good luck!
Thank you for your detailed article. My dog Sally has had this for over a year now. The first time scared me as much as her. My vet had no idea what was wrong with her. She is a rescue dog and so an unknown “trama” was the only answer I was given. It is heart breaking to watch Sally and not know what or why….
I have always just cradled her head and tried to keep her calm. She seems to have gotten used to them, i still feel helpless. Your article has been a HUGE relief to me. Like your Cooper, my Sally seems alert and not in pain and after reading your articles, i feel more confident that i am doing the right things to help her through the episodes…again thank you for your helpful insite. Cooper is lucky to have you help him through it all.
Thankyou for writing this article and to all the people sharing their experiences. My beautiful girl who is 22 months got toxic poisoning last year and we nearly lost her. She had a full on seizure and it was touch and go for 4 days. She recovered after several weeks but now gets the head wobbles and occasional jerking. When it happened the first time 6 months after the poisoning we thought she was having another seizure and rushed her to the vet. By the time we got there it had all stopped. The same thing happened 2 weeks later and I took her straight up but she was so freaked out it set her into shock and had a mild seizure. When it happened again we took her to the hospital where she was admitted and had and MRI, spinal tap, everything so we could finally find out what was going on. After 4 days All test came back negative and she has been diagnosed with epilepsy. Reading your article is really interesting to me as you are literally describing what happens to Elly. She is totally aware, comes and tells me something is happening and I have also found that just letting it run its course at home and distracting her is the best way for it to stop. I will definitely try the food distraction if it happens again. I too have changed her diet. She was on a fully raw grain free diet but by the advise of the wonderful vet she is now on completely cooked food, nothing raw. You have definitely helped so thank you
Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences
Please keep us informed, thanks Maggie
I wonder if it’s the water…
Hmmmm I give my dogs filtered water except when they are outside…I will give them filtered outside as well thanks for the thought!
Thank Maggie for sharing your experiences with Cooper. My 1 1/2 year old ChaWeine just had her second episode but hers last hours have you ever heard of this? Also, does coopers whole body shake or just his head? Thank you in advance. I did take her to the vet the first time but he didn’t have any answer we figured she may have gotten one of my sons ADHD pills but this time I know that was not the case. She has been playing outside all day and when she came in was fine then we looked over about 10mins later and she was just a shaking.
Thank you so much for sharing your expierence with Cooper’s tremors. Our adolescent dog Kelsey suddenly started having them yesterday and we rushed her right to the emergency vet.
After getting thr IHT diagnosis, I have been scouring the internet and found your site. It has been a great confort to read not only your story, but everyone’s comments and experiences as well.
She had a few tremors last night after the initial two before going to the vet, and one this morning. I am still getting used to seeing her in that state, and I don’t know if I ever will be able to remain completely calm.
Thank you again for sharing.
I believe my dog is experiencing IHT… I haven’t been able to stop crying since it started. She is 2 years old and in perfect health. She’s a terrier chihuahua mix….When we distract her during an episode she is alert and she doesn’t look like she’s in any pain. She’s her normal self. This has been happening for less than 24 hours now. It’s happening quite frequently and more so now that I am so worked up. The vet said all blood work, vitals, and X-rays came back completely normal… I’ll do anything for her, I’m just unsure if getting an MRI is the right choice when I’m pretty positive it’s IHT. Even the vet said IHT could be the cause. I found your blog and I just need comfort from people who understand because I am absolutely terrified. 🙁
-Paige
IHT seem harmless but they are still not fun to see. Try changing dog food, maybe something higher quality, depending on what your vet says.
My 3 year old beagle Zeb got head tremors this past winter, I switched his food and they stopped for 11 weeks, now they are starting again. What type of food are you using? I think the higher the protein the more tremors.
I feel he is too thin also, but they ran a ton of tests and said he is very healthy.
Any suggestions on food and treats I would love. He is a rescue dog and I want to give him the best life I can.
Our greyhound tremors and your articles have been so helpful in making me feel like we are doing all we can for him. Our last grey had siezures so this was extra scary for us at the beginning. Thank you!! Xo
My Hungarian vizsla has started having head tremors. I am really freaked out as they seem to be lasting longer and longer. I can distract her through calling her or rubbing her head and it stops for a little while then starts up again. It’s 6:30am here in the uk and I am wide awake in bed as she started with a tremor at 5am ish and she is now sleeping soundly! I haven’t taken her to the vets yet but plan too I just hope it’s nothing too seriouse.
Sorry to hear that Sarah! I, too am going through the same thing with our Boxer. I hope your Vizsla gets better soon! I found it helps if I give him a treat or something to eat.
Best wishes,
Joy and Mr. Smee
Great articles! Thank you for sharing your experience! We are going through the same thing with our Mr. Smee who is a 1 year old boxer.
One morning I noticed his head slightly shaking to the left and right. Of course, I flipped out and took video and rushed him to the vet. He snapped out of it fortunately after I gave him a treat. The vets concern is that he slept most of the day and seemed exhausted. As you well know, boxer pups dont just sleep all day. The recovery time was a bit long. Did your cooper spend the rest of the day sleeping and did he seem exhausted after his tremmors?
We are headed to the K-State vet tomorrow to speak with a specialist,Im terrified!
Thanks again for sharing! Glad to hear Cooper is doing better with the supplements. ?
Joy
Thank you for this article. My Doberman has head tremors once in a while. I knew it was not a seizure as he is alert but didn’t know what it was and didn’t last long enough to take him to the vet. Harry Potter is 7 and he has been on a diet of boiled chicken and green beans and has lost excess weight. He gets no medications except some herbs for his kidney, which he loves and he looks so much better as it was obvious he was not feeling well and urinating in the house. I have dog doors so no reason for this. Normally the dogs eat boiled rice with vegetables and boiled chicken and this past week I have added some dry dog food trying to get away from boiling rice….the great dane Fred is a picky eater is not happy with commercial dog food and is refusing to eat it as did Harry this morning and Harry had a tremor today (he didn’t want to eat the dry dog food even with chicken broth on it and he is garbage disposal if allowed to eat freely, even bananas). Glad to read about the food…thank you…back to rice and veggies and chicken. Glad to know others having same issues and not serious. Harry is a rescue dog and hates the vets so not putting him through a lot of expensive and worthless tests.
My Kobe (6-7 yr old boxer/lab) has IHT. They truly are hard to watch, and what’s even more difficult, is people assuming you are just letting seizures “go untreated”. No…these are not seizures.
Cooper is a cutie. I wish none of our babies had to endure these, they are horrible. Kobe and I had a rough night with them, last night. He actually had 10 episodes, each lasting only 15-20 seconds. His tend to be this way. He has tons of them, all at once, then they are gone for months (at least that we see…but, we work, we sleep, etc). Here’s hoping all of our pups find a cure for this.
Just wondering if anyone has ever noticed these being associated with weather. Our bullador gets them before and after storms when the fronts are moving in or out. Or at least that is the only commonality that we have come up with in the past five years of the tremors.
This is a very helpful article. Thanks to it I have been able to stop any symptoms of IHT from my westie Suki. She started to experience this after having a brain parasite, and by giving her VITAMIN B, as I read o. this page in somebody’s comment, after 3 weeks the IHT subsided completely. After a month and a half she was her regular self, palying rough with her siblings and all the good stuff. I thank everyone that has contributed to this article!! Have a great day everyone!
Hi Maggie, how do we post a pic of our furry friends?
Thank you for your blog!
Luka, my soon to be 11-year old Doberman Pinscher, experiences IHT almost daily, and sometimes 2-3 times daily. I’ve never let them go on for more than a few seconds or until he comes to me for “help”. My “help”? Peanut butter! Not kidding! Just a tiny bit on the end of my finger, and tremors almost instantly disappear. Anything that distracts him long enough to not be focusing on his tremors works, though. I can sometimes get away with a piece of holistic salmon jerky, but only if I hold it in my fingers for a few seconds to get his sole focus on the treat.
Both of my dogs are fed Orijen formulas. After reading your blog, I have noticed that the more non-meat or seasoned table scraps I add to the kibble (on those rare nights were we have leftovers), his tremors increase in frequency, so those will be immediate cut from the menu!
There are no triggers, and they generally happen when he’s relaxed because (in my opinion) he’s not focusing on anything else. He never has one when outside, at feeding time, when playing inside, or whenever he’s focused on anything. Again, in my opinion, it’s neurologic or some “misfires” in his brain. In the end, though, like you said, the cause is unknown. I wish there was a way to do a brain scan on a dog as they were experiencing a tremor.
Do you think invisible dog fences have anything to do with head tremors?
Hi, Kate: There isn’t any information on that that I could find. However, I would say that since the tremors are mostly likely a neuro issue, any shock to the system could contribute. Just my opinion, of course, since there’s no data.
My dog began to shake her head yes pretty frequently and it happened right after a spell which I thought was a mini stroke. I did some research on these head Tremors and saw a suggestion to add calcium and kayro syrup to their food. I started a week ago with dark Karo syrup and ordered some Irish calcium period after a week and notice the head-shaking is Les and almost non-existent. Just thought for anybody his dog is doing this this might be worth a try.
My 7yr old American Bulldog just had one for the first time (that I know of). I found your blog while trying to sort out what just happened. Any idea why this would happen at her age?
Thank you for your blog, Maggie. This is tremendously helpful. The video of Cooper was so familiar to me. Our beagle/walker coonhound mix started head tremors this month. They don’t last long, they don’t seem to bother her and she has only had two. But we’ve been very concerned. We’ve had her a year (she’s a rescue) and she has had no health issues. But she has been eating a different food. We’ll change the food and see if that makes any difference. If not, we’ll take her to our vet and get her tested.
Thanks again!!!
Do you get nervous leaving him alone when you leave the house? My frenchie just started getting IHT and I’m scared to leave her alone because she looks a little frightened when she gets them but is completely coherent.
I found out today that my bulldog has this. I took her to the vet yesterday scared and this morning I video taped her and sent it to my vet. He said because of the video he can say its this. Im so careful about what she eats I feed her nutri source seafood select and spring water. I am just learning about this and can use all the infromation I can get my hands on. Thank you for your blog it helped me not be so stressed. Is there something I should be feeding her different?
My 8 year old bull dog basset hound Josie has had “the shakes” for about 5 years. The first time it happened it was a Saturday night and we were getting ready to go out. Needless to say we stayed in and spent the night with Google. Josie has every test under the sun including a neurology consult, everything is clear. There are a few things I can tell you for certain about her tremors. She 100% knows when it is happening. She will start whining or put her head on our legs to get our attention when they start. She always puts her head down to try to control them while they are going on. The majority of time they happen when she is transitioning from sleep to wake, especially in the wee hours of the morning (like adding insult to injury/ haven’t slept in 5 years). Whenever she has a change in her diet she is affected more. She recently started on Metacam for arthritis which has increased the incidence. She now gets the shakes 3 to 4 hours after she gets her meds and then again 2 hours after that. I am convinced it has to do with her food/ diet right down to how often she eats during the day. She does better if the meals are evenly spaced out over a 24 hour period. Even with all that info I still feel like I only know one thing. Giving her vanilla Activa yogurt-and it must be an individual serving -makes them stop by the time she gets through a container. Rarely she will require 2. This speaks to “the shakes” being a problem with calcium or protein. At the end of the day it is extremely frustrating and we have never been able to solve this issue but periodically I get on a mission and read amazing info like this-keep posting!
I am so sorry to hear about her shakes!!! Is like to share with you my experience amd hope it helps!
Our boxer, Mr. Smee one morning had the same thing happen. His head would just shake back and forth like he was telling me no. I panicked and Gabe him a treat and it immediately went away. We dished him to the vet and poor very diagnosed him with epilepsy. We then took him to a specialist to get tested. The specialist again diagnosed him with idiopathic epilepsy. We were crushed.
I spent a ton of time with Dr. Google and decided too completly change his diet. We started feeding him a homemade dog food with fresh vegetables, fruit, beans and meats. Once we switched his diet his head shakes stopped within 2 days!!! It was unbelievable!
We make a crockpot of food about 2x a week since or 2 other dogs eat it as well. The homemade dog food had made all the difference in the world!
I wish you amd your baby luck. It’s a scary feeling when you seem them like that.
Joy
My 7 month old English bulldog had a head tremor last night for the first time (that we know of). And then she had one again just a little bit ago. Both times was when she was settling in to sleep. I was wondering how often everyone else’s dogs get head tremors? Every day? Once or twice a week? Monthly?
Thank you.
I’m so glad I stumbled across this post. We’ve been dealing with IHT since December 2015 in our youngest of two Boxers. My ever changing list of possible triggers has included Febreeze, laundry detergent, calcium/phosphorus imbalance, decreased activity due to weather, type of collar, and more. He went 6 months IHT free, then had another December of 2016, which was the first time it got too cold to play outside last year. We have also noticed that they happen when he’s sleeping or just waking, especially if he wakes suddenly. We also fight with elevated liver enzymes which we can get close to normal (what we call “his normal” with Denamarin. The liver issue was an incidental finding when the tremors started, but is a loose correlation because while they happen at the same time frequency of tremors doesn’t necessarily track with the enzyme values. We moved a month ago and I believe the most recent spike may be stress related. I’m now trying Tellington TTouch and acupressure in conjunction with Denamarin. He hasn’t had any vaccinations in over a year and the new vet won’t do any until we get his liver enzymes back in line, thankfully. Again, still no absolute proof that the liver and IHT are directly related.
I switched to raw four months ago and our co-op hasn’t been able to fill orders this month. I think I have his calcium balance off and have been supplementing Ca. We use probiotics, but I’m going to try adding the vitamins you mentioned and switch to the probiotic brand you mentioned. I’m desperate for a solution and appreciate these articles. Thank you!
Wow thank you for all the information. My bulldog Betty has the exact same episodes. It’s heartbreaking to watch her because I feel that she’s scared. I do not think that she’s in pain though. I am going to completely change her diet. I have thought in the past that since she was a pet shop pup that this was a negative side effect that could have come from her bloodlines..But now after reading more maybe this isn’t attributed to her breeding but more along the lines of her bull dog breed.
My 1 year old Boston terrier had an episode of head tremor last night for the first time that we know of. She had been playing a lot before the episode and then fell asleep and it happened when she was waking up from the nap. I wonder if anyone has noticed their dog having the head tremors after shaking their toys back and forth a lot? My Boston shakes her dog toys so vigorously when she plays that it seems like it would hurt her neck or maybe rattle her brain around and maybe this could be the cause of head tremors??
Thank you all for your posts – I hope the cause is discovered soon!
My 3 year old rescue…ie we don’t know her breed, but we think English pointer/boxer/staffie mix…had something so similar to this today. I was putting on. my shoes and she dove under the coffee table…I said, “Hannah leave my shoe” because the movement of her dive had all the hallmarks of her *I have something I’m not supposed to have and I’m not giving it up move.* I put on my other shoe and said let’s go Hannah and looked down and saw her head shaking. I immediately looked at her legs and body and was shocked they were steady…I knelt down and said what’s wrong and put my hand on her head and she immediately rolled over for a belly rub and it all stopped. Had my son not witnessed it I’d have been certain I didn’t see what I thought I saw. She was so normal and it was so fast…we thought she maybe had a tickle in her ear…but the episode has been needling me all day and I found your site. She has not done it again, so maybe it was her ear bothering her, but now I’ll watch her like a hawk and video tape it for the vet if I see it again. Sorry for babbling, but your thorough posts have helped me realize maybe we’re seeing the beginning of something, but it also makes me think we’ll get through it if this is her fate…thank you so much for sharing Cooper’s story and yours! Sending you the best energy and well wishes for Cooper.
Our dog Jack just had 3 head tremors yesterday. Off to the vet we went for blood work. Scary sight to see him helplessly bobbing his head. Distractions worked. Last week he took a pill dose of anti flea medication. This week he is having idiopathic head tremors. The day before the first tremor he had a pig heart as a dog treat and a rib bone for dinner. Those are the only things that we have done different. the vet says its not the food. We will get the blood work today.
I have this issue with my lab. However I do believe her first time was with heart guard. I do not give flea and tick anymore
Because it enlarge her liver. It’s very upsetting to watch and it usually happens when she is sleeping. I am starting her on cbd treats and we shall see.
Have the treats worked? I was thinking of trying them on our lab. His tremors happen when he’s trying to fall asleep so it takes him a long time to finally drift off.
Great to come across your website today. My 13 year old border collie started having some head bobbing and eye blinking back in January 2017. I work in a vet’s office so fortunately was able to get some good referrals for tests- we did everything, ultrasounds, x-rays, MRI, Spinal tap, Bile acidity test, bloodwork- geriatric, urinalysis etc… and the results were that they couldn’t find the cause- so they suggested idiopathic epilepsy or head tremors- they aren’t sure which. We had him on some phenobarbital for about 3 months and that did stop the majority of them, but the side effects of that drug were harsh with ataxia for him, and it elevated his kidney levels so we weaned him off of that onto Levetiracetam, For about 4 months it nearly stopped all the tremors- but then he started having small breakthrough ones. So now he’s on that with CBD oil ( even though for seizures there isn’t definitive proof it helps for that) but that combination seems to be helping more. He’s never had a true epileptic seizure which leads me to think that IHT might be more of a fitting diagnosis. His only last a few seconds in a row, usually an up and down motion- but he knows when they are about to happen. He’ll come over and ask for attention of some kind. So I’ve been doing the distraction method as well to switch up his focus. For him, he has them most in the morning and evenings- which also fit patterns of epilepsy. So the conclusion? We still have no idea what causes them or what they actually are- but he’s a happy boy. I did change his diet to Honest Kitchen Zeal to help with his kidney levels- and I put him on Azodyl supplements for renal support. Thanks for all the information here, it’s good to know there are other people out there who are working hard to make their dog’s lives better!
Our 1 year old Boxer started having IHT’s last year and our vet simply said it was “common for the breed”. I found this to be strange considering I grew up with Boxers for 18 years and NOT ONE of our 6 family Boxers had IHT. It didn’t take us long to figure out there was a link in his flea and tick medication and the tremors. Almost immediately after being given “Bravecto”, the tremors would start up again and persist for at least a month. After giving him Bravecto for almost a year and finally making the connection, we switched to another flea and tick (NexGuard) medication hoping it would change. Unfortunately the same thing happened. About 2 hours after being given NexGuard, the tremors started back. We strongly believe there is a connection in the chemistry of his body and the flea and tick medication. We are trying to figure out where to go from here 🙁 Good luck to all!
Hi! Just wanted to say thanks for this article!! I have a 9 month old goldendoodle who has IHT. He first started around 4 months and head 3-4 over the course of the week and then no more again until about 3 weeks ago, and he has been having them everyfew days ever since (in the first few days he had several a day). We went the MRI and Spinal Tap route and sure enough, nothing there! So I think I may try some over you suggestions. Did you have cooper allergy tested? Is that why you chose the fish formula? I like the idea of fish as I dont really eat meat either but just curious. Also, sorry if you have covered this, how did you know he had bad allergies? Pappy has allegries but I am not sure if a consider them “bad”.
Thank you again!
Hi, Laura! We didn’t do an allergy test. Instead, we did an elimination diet to identify his allergies. It was a GIANT pain to do because it included even limiting his toys (like, no rubber or plastic), but it was worth it in the end. Cooper’s allergies I considered bad because he had sooo many problems, like cracked and bleeding skin, chronic ear infections, chronic diarrhea, etc. that weren’t explained by any other medical tests. In the end, it was pretty much all cleared up once we figured out his allergies… Best of luck with you and sweet Pappy!!
So last week my 5 yr old boxer Nala got her proheart injection and has started having the tremors. I am concerned it is a side effect. Anyone else have this issue?
my staffy has had this for 3 weeks wile we were away i believe a side effect after being given different food and i got a homeopath to make up a 200c dose of belladonna in a dropper and gave him 1 drop every 15 min wile he was bopping only needed 2 drops then 2 drops daily exactly 12 hours apart for 1 week until he completely stopped having them.. its now been 8 months and he has not had another episode. nor needed more belladonna.
also offering a toy or treat when there having an eppisode stips it as it distracts the muscle spazims.
research was the key for me as vets did nothing and said there was nothing they could do so i rwcomend a homeopathic vet always.
I have a 4 year old blue nose pit. I came home today and let her out of her crate ( she destroys everything if left alone free) and I noticed that her head was shaking. This has never happened before and she was acting normal jumping around, walking fine and when I was able to get her to focus on me or something else it would stop then start back up after. It lasted for a couple of minutes then stopped. Is this something I need to be concerned about or can something like this development. unfortunately it cost a thousand or more to take her to the vet to run test and I don’t have that kind of money. She is a very healthy dog. The only thing that has changed is her dog food. I got her kibbles and bits. But she has had this in the past. Can someone give me advice.
I have a dog that looks Exactly! like Cooper. What breed is he? (Black Mouth Cur?). Our Riley is a rescue from Texas, we live in Niagara Canada. I notices small tremors when we first adopted her but I associated them with her extreem fearfulness with trust of people. She would cower and hind when approached by people (not dogs) and be submissive with tail between her legs. With time, consistency and love she is now a wonderful, loving and trusting dog. I have not noticed the head tremors ever again.
Are the head tremors thought to be geneticly associated with particular breeds or environmentally triggered or an emotional/stress reaction? Cooper does not seemed stressed at all when it happens to him. My dog looks Exactly like Cooper and we assume she is a terrier mix of some sort. The other dog on the information web site is also a terrier breed. Is there any correlation with Terror breeds and IHD?
I have a now 17 week old GSD that started with head tremors when she was about 11 weeks. She does the ‘yes’ bob for 5-10 seconds, sometimes has a couple episodes in a few minutes, mostly all are when she is tired. Hoping they do not progress into longer episodes and especially not seizures. I have seen on some GSD sites that some pups have grown out of the tremors as they felt the neuro system was just not developed fully, any one else have a pup that grew out of them? She currently has about 10-15 episodes a day but they are very short. Thanks..
Why would you ever give your dog a vaccine he’s allergic to when you can get a titer? Rabies causes neuro problems and is responsible for head tremors. You have your dog on apoquel, give him flea meds, vaccinate him all the time even though he’s allergic – and your vet is on board. Your dog will have cancer next. Why? You’ve killed his immune system. And it started with that one rabies allergy that you kept giving. Who gives their dog a vaccine they are allergic to plus apoquel and flea meds. My god. Pill popping America. Now are dogs are druggies too.
Hi, Sarah! Thank you so much for your abundance of concern for Cooper! He’s a lucky dog to have people who care about him so passionately without ever having met him!
So, I totally get your concerns. A few things: He’s not actually allergic to the rabies vaccine. He’s allergic to a carrier agent. We are luckily aware and can give him an antihistamine beforehand. Where we live, we’re in a rabies state. In fact, our state does not accept titer, nor do they grant medical exceptions. Even with the titer for our own mental wellbeing, he still has to get it by law every three years. We are law-abiding citizens, and as guardians of a pit bull–as you know, a much maligned breed–it’s particularly important to me to uphold my responsibility as a pet owner. The Apoquel is honestly a god send for us. I don’t know if you’ve had the opportunity to be around a dog with skin allergies so significant that his skin literally cracks open and bleeds, but it’s a miserable thing, to put it mildly. Cooper spent the first chunk of his life with his skin bleeding, his fur falling out, his ears oozing, his eyes oozing, and the pads of his feet flaking. The Apoquel basically stopped all of that, except for his season ear infection. To me, that’s a pretty good trade off. Why? Because his quality of life is fantastic now, and he was miserable then. And just a little aside: This didn’t all start with the rabies vax. He was, in fact, born this way, and I’ll do absolutely anything to keep his wellbeing–mental and physical–in the best possible shape, even if that includes giving him one half pill every morning. I certainly don’t consider him a druggie, but I think you were probably tongue-in-cheek with that one! Our vet is on board with all this… And, in fact, all the vets we’ve consulted have been! That includes vets at two practices in Indiana, Purdue University vet school in Indiana, a vet clinic in Louisiana, and a neurology consult from Ohio State University. Oh, and we talked to a veterinary nutritionist in Tennessee. I feel confident that we’ve covered our bases.
As for your cancer comment, I can safely say that as a survivor of cancer myself, which I had at a young age, and without ever being a “pill popper” or having a rabies vax-ha!-wouldn’t it be AMAZING if predicting and, therefore, preventing cancer were that easy?
All that said, I feel like in comments it can be misleading to read tone, so if you ever want to talk all this through–or, even better, meet Cooper so you can see how happy he is, how shiny his coat is, and how much JOY he brings to the world–please don’t hesitate to reach out! Otherwise, thanks for taking the time to share your deep concerns for the wellbeing of my dog. Please do reach out if you’d like to have a conversation about any of this, but please know that I go to every length to research literally every tiny detail to ensure his health and wellbeing!
My English Bulldog, Mugsy, the father of my first bulldog who turned 1 today, has “head tremors”, it’s rabies miasm…. http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/rabies-vaccine-side-effects/ there are many different things that are signs. Mugsy has had a rabies vaccine every year, that will not be happening now that he is with me, I am currently detoxing him, and he has been switched to a raw diet….Slowly but surely those dangerous vaccines are being detoxed from his body, it takes time, but you have to be careful, these things are not safe, and need to be dealt with correctly, they cause problems in English Bulldogs daily, they are the cause of all EB issues. They need to be vaccinated, but slowly, no boosters.
Hi, Rebecca! I’m so sorry for everything you’re going through with Mugsy. It sounds stressful. I’m glad you got a diagnosis. For Cooper, that isn’t actually his diagnosis, but it’s great to include multiple considerations for people who might be experiencing tremors with their dogs. It underlines the most important point: Go to your vet! Tremors can be caused by many things, so your vet is the place to start!
Hi. Thank you for posting your journey with Cooper. What breed(s) is he? I have a 7 month old rescue who just started having head tremors. He had Parvo as a pup before I got him. I don’t know if that has anything to do with it. He goes to the vet in two days. The tremors are new so I’m concerned and appreciate your posts.
Hi, Susan! We actually had Cooper’s DNA tested, and he’s an Am Staff mix: http://ohmydogblog.com/2015/06/coopers-dna-test-results/. Hope all’s well wtih your sweet pup. Best of luck at your vet appointment!
Maggie, this is our dog, Cooper ( unsuccessfully tried to insert his picture). I couldn’t believe the resemblance to your Cooper! I came across your article because Cooper has the head shakes— not very frequently, this morning was probably the third or fourth episode I’ve seen. It looks just like your video: he is alert and responsive, but the head tremor is still disconcerting. Thanks for your post, and to others for the comments.
Cautious optimism
I write this to share with you the attempts, failures and successes I have had with Peaches (5-year-old EBD) and her head tremors. This post is a bit long; I want to give the back-story so you understand what I went through and where it has lead me.
I had a bull terrier Maggie, she would endlessly chew on her paws, there was nothing I could do to get her to stop, (change food, allergy pills etc) I heard a commercial for DINOVITE, and thought I’d try it. Their pitch is: “normal dog food has vitamins and minerals cooked out of it, Dinovite adds missing stuff to the food…bla, bla bla……It will stop dogs from chewing their paws………” So me being at my wits end try it…for about 6 months………………NOTHING……………end of story for Maggie and Dinovite. I hear of apoquel, try that and she develops cancer of the liver and passes….. (Subject for a whole other blog…dangers of Apoquel!) But I digress…………………………….
Peaches is a 5 year old rescue that I got at 11 months old….who has idiopathic head tremors (put her through an expensive amount of neurological tests…everything is ruled out….its head tremors. I tried changing food…no grain, no chicken……made my own snacks (dried apples and banana chips) giving her vit b complex pills, calcium pills, yogurt …..You name it, Ive tried it!…………………….no change she still gets them.
They come in clusters, weeks with none, then 2 to 3 times a day for a few weeks…..she snaps out of it in seconds, throw her a biscuit, spoon full of yogurt……..its not what I feed her, its CHANGE OF FOCUS. You see she stops them before she even swallows the treat or yogurt……I just need to change her focus…it just so happens food is a good thing that she focuses on.
SO I’m doing some cleaning and have this new, 90 day supply of Dinovite (left over from Maggie) taking up space in my cabinet, so what the heck…I start adding it to Peaches food….Why not…………..worth a shot! Low and behold it’s been a month and she has had only 1 tremor attack……………..(versus 2 or 3 a day). AS much as I don’t want to give credit to Dinovite, I can’t ignore the results… ( I am not in any way associated with the company , nor am I endorsing the product,) all I’m saying is…it appears to have had an impact in Peaches tremors……………….. I keep you posted.
This is totally comforting to read. My 11 year old pitbull started developing these head tremors and they’re terrifying…After rushing him to the vet, showing him a video and and the vet running a full blood panel to rule out something metabolically off, his blood work came back fine. But today he had another episode. He’s entirely awake and responsive during the episodes so I’m starting to think that they are head tremors and not seizures… Because of his age, it’s super risky to put him under for an MRI or a spinal tap. Going to call the vet tomorrow to let him know about today’s episode. Just afraid and would appreciate your support. I’m so glad I came across your blog! 🙂
Ashley
My Cali girl had an episode last night. It was the first and I immediately dialed the vet’s after-hours line, since it was 10pm. He called me back quickly. I explained it was as if my dog had Parkinson’s and I was freaking out but Cali seemed fine, alert and as if nothing was going on but did look concerned for me as I was near tears. She’s approximately 9-10 months old, I rescued her so I don’t know her exact age. She’s a lab sheperd mix and is otherwise a healthy girl. The vet said it could be a slew of things but of course, I took to Google and stumbled on your blog. While I won’t self-diagnose her, and I will take my vet’s advice to monitor her closely, at the very least your blog has put me at ease a bit. Thank you!
I was told by my breeder vitamin B50 1-2x a day for a week then down to 1-1x a day for life, if tremor persists continue 1-2x until they aren’t occurring anymore them back down to one. Also she told me to try giving him something crunchy to chew on, like a carrot or something, to halt the episode. Going to give it a try…we’ll see…
This info has been very helpful for me. I have a two year old chocolate lab named Cortez. While watching tv two days ago we noticed Cortez’s head jolting up and down rapidly. He had just fallen asleep and was conscious while the movements were happening. He stood up and jumped off the couch while his head continued to “tremor” this lasted about 30 seconds and he seemed to be just fine. ( we were so freaked out) it happened again in the middle of the night and we took him into the vet the next day. The vet took blood and ran rest to find everything was normal and he was healthy. She suggested we take him to a neurologist to have him tested for epilepsy. I feel like the vet didn’t know what to diagnose him with, I don’t think it was a seizure. And by reading this page and watching the videos, it’s exactly what it happening to Cortez. It’s more scary for us than it is for the dog. He doesn’t seem to be in pain when it’s happening and I’ve noticed it happens when he is dozing off for a nap or for bed time.
I have taken away all “Nylabones” being that I’m sure the chemicals in the bones can’t be good for them.
I am now researching different foods and meal plans for him.
Is anyone thinking of using CBD treats or oils for treatment?
I’m sure you must be aware by now, the FDA announced last fall that some of the tick preventive meds have now been linked to causing tremors and seizures. It’s 1 in 10,000 dogs.. so extremely rare! My dog has had tremors since she has been on as a tick prevention, it started after two years of the treatments, and my vet believes that potentially she was predisposed to it and it might’ve happened regardless but this medication triggered it. After her monthly dose she had tremors that lasted 5-10 seconds every 10 minutes or so. Everyone was convinced that after stopping the medication it would eventually fade out, but it hasn’t. She still gets them but now it’s more like once every couple of days. Not I’m researching treatments. We’ve done osteopath treatments and it hasn’t helped, but I ordered some MCT oil since it’s been shown to help seizures. I’m also thinking of trying acupuncture. Hope your pups are doing well!!
Yes, they issued a warning about meds in the isoxazoline class. (Incidentally, Coop’s preventative is NOT in that class.) Here’s the full link if anyone’s interested: https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/CVMUpdates/ucm620934.htm
I think your comment raises a point that is super, super important to emphasize. There is a big difference between an idiopathic head tremor and a seizure. If your dog shows any signs of either, head to the vet immediately!
Hello, I was attracted to your post because I was searching for the possibility of a relationship between topical insecticides and head tremors. Our dog has had only two episodes of head tremors and both occurred 1-2 days after application of heartworm/worm/flea topical “Advocate”. He is an itchy dog and we have him on a single protein diet which improved many things. I only give him flea treatments if I find a flea on the big dogs because they rarely scratch and it is easy to pick. They have only gotten fleas in summer so rarely have to be treated (twice in two years). For worms during other times I use an edible.
Fortunately I believe this has helped me identify the problem.
Hi, our 18 month lab was just diagnosed with IHT. Your article was SO helpful. Why don’t more vets know about this? Can you share a bit about the natural food you mentioned above? Hoping to switch up the diet a bit and stick to more natural ingredients. Thanks!!
I rescued my pit bull/Great Dane girl 4 years ago. She had severe tremors when I got her which the vet said was due to her past (she was a bait dog in dog fights). After many changes of foods, lots of different scans and many hours at the vet, they wanted to put her on seizure medication. They never mentioned IHT even though I had video after video of her during the episodes. She was fully aware during them but scared understandably. Long story short – she is on very clean food, no treats except a probiotic treat and still has them occasionally but the most remarkable part is CBD oil. I give it to her as soon as I see the shakes and it goes away immediately, my mind it blown!
Greetings, and thank you for your observations and opinions about your Cooper’s IHT. Our nearly 1-year old puppy, Oso, developed idiopathic head tremors, with absolutely no other symptoms, in July. He was neutered in May, and I have wondered if something related to the shift in his hormones may be contributory, but I have also read the literature which suggests IHT could be caused by a congenital issue with the trigeminal nerve.
My question to you now, a few years later, is this: have you noticed any other health concerns with your Cooper? I am concerned about if IHT affects the lifespan of our beloved dogs. Thank you!
Hello and Thank You for your great post. Our dog Daisy is a pit mix and has had IHT since she was 4 years old and she is 7 now. We recently noticed that she did not have ANY tremors on the new non grain-free food (yes, we panicked and switch her off the GF stuff when that was news). We also noticed that she seemed to get them during times when she did not get much sleep or was super tired. Common early morning, late evening, but have seen them most any time of day that she was relaxed. I’ve seen her have one in her sleep and she didn’t even wake up! (I woke her to be sure she was ok). She is not bothered by them at all and knows she gets a treat when it happens. We found success in holding the treat up so her head is pointed up towards us. We don’t let go until it stops. They last less than 10 seconds after we catch it. Less than 2 minutes overall. Of course, the first one happened at 10pm and we thought it was a seizure and we freaked out. My sister is a vet tech though and knew about it. We took her the next morning. IHT was eventual diagnosis.
My question though, for you and everyone, is since the grain free “thing” (I dont want to debate GF vs not if that is controversial!) has anyone changed from GF to “regular” (we switched to Pro Plan) noticed a reduction or complete lack of tremors? We recently switched her back due to skin and ear issues and the tremors started. We aren’t 100% sure it is the food, of course. We have no control dog! We also recently added a puppy to the family, so she may be more tired than previously. Just curious if anyone has any other anticdotal evidence of GF vs not.
Thank you!
I switched my dog off Pro Plan sensitive to a grain inclusive limited diet – Natural Balance, and his tremors have completely stopped. I know they could resurface down the road, but I’m optimistic!
When our 11 year old, T1 diabetic rat terrier mix was diagnosed with a UTI years ago, the vet said the GF foods were having significant heart issues and to take all our dogs off of it ( we had a min-pin and a daschound) at that time. We still have our rat terrier and now have a 19 month Doberman who just today has IHT symptoms. We are going to add B12 and organic coconut oil and see if his symptoms subside. Both dogs are on home cooked chicken, rice n veggies and dry kibble diet.
I also noticed another post about aggressive playing and our dobie is of the same ilk…very aggressive head shaking and pulling on his outdoor rope toy which is no longer in the ground-he destroyed it!
Wonder if all of the posters are still here? Is or was your baby a “ruff” player?
Hi,
Thank you for the article and insight. Our dog, Basil, was diagnosed by the neurologist as having IHT a couple years ago. I started wondering if it had anything to do with his flea medicine I give him because I noticed that twice the tremors occurred after putting it on him. Then I happened to find your article and coincidentally, we use the same Revolution flea medicine. I will continue to monitor him whenever I put it on because a lot of times my intuitions had led me in the right direction. Thank you!
Firstly, let me say what a wonderful resource this is!
My 11 month old beagle was ‘diagnosed’ with IHTS about 2 weeks ago. I was of course terrified when it first occurred and took her straight to her vet. He said we could do MRI, lumbar puncture etc, but due to her age, IHTS was the most likely cause.
She has tremors when she is tired, preparing to go to sleep usually. Let me reassure other fur-parents, she is in no way distressed or unhappy when it happens – that is what I was most worried about.
Good news is the vet said she may grow out of it, and it is completely benign.
I am writing this now because she is tucked up behind me in my chair and had a few tremors as she was dropping off to sleep, prompting me to Google it again.
I had never heard of the condition before it happened to my baby, and other people with dogs I have spoken to had no idea it existed either. The more awareness there is the better.
My puppy has been on Tribal Cold Pressed dry and wet food since she was 8 weeks old and we have a strict ‘No human food’ policy for both our dogs. Most treats are Angell grain free training treats, and Duck jerky, but they both have a ‘Whimzee’ every day.
I have learned to accept the IHTS as just one of those things you can do nothing about. It is just what she does when she is tired. I hate to distract her when she has a tremor because she is actually trying to get to sleep, although it does stop them. We are monitoring her for any other signs or symptoms that could indicate it is something else, but my advice is if you are confident it is IHTS your dog has, don’t stress, enjoy them for who they are, and try to give as much love as they give you?
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience and your words of encouragement! We operate on the same philosophy here… no stress, enjoy our time, have as much fun and love as possible, and just accept the tremors for what they are! Thank you so much for checking in and sharing your beagle’s experience. 🙂
My 3 year old Redbone Coonhound (Lincoln) began head tremors a few weeks ago. He was experiencing several per week and like most everyone I distracted him out of the episode. He was also getting them when he was resting in the morning or night.
I took him to the vet and his bloodwork came back normal. The only issue they found was a deep ear infection. Going forward the vet recommended treating the ear infection and see if the tremors stop. Since applying the ear meds his amount of episodes has decreased but were not finished with the meds. The vet also recommended seeing a neurologist if the tremors do not stop once the ear infection is cured.
Thanks for all the info!
My chihuahua has the head tremors, vet wants him on phenobarbital but if do will damage his liver! Doing a different approach!
Thank you for your posts on this! It’s so helpful and reassuring as a pet owner. My dog just started having head tremors and just took her to the vet the other day. They did blood work, checked her thyroid, and did a reflex exam all of which came back normal. Since my dog, Rosie, is aware during the episodes and distractions help her get out of them, the doctor said it’s likely IHT. She has a an ear infection and had an allergy flare up so the doctor said this could have triggered the tremors. So we are hoping with the treatment if her ears and she got her allergy shot the tremors will lesson. She did get me a neuro referral just in case I need it (if she starts having other symptoms with the tremors). Yesterday she only had one tremor and I was so excited but today she had several throughout the day, hoping tomorrow is a better day. They do always happen when she is resting. I feel so terrible when it happens but seeing your posts and knowing I’m not alone makes me feel much better. So thank you again for your posts.
It can be so stressful, Mel, but it sounds like you’re doing an incredible job for your sweet pup. Sending lots of love to Rosie!
So glad I found this, my dog has just finished going through all the vet tests and they have now ruled she has IHTS but they kept telling me there is no correlation to IHTS and the food they eat, but reading this makes me feel better that I have noticed that there definitely is and although she does get them randomly they are made worse if she eats anything with a sugar content even natural sugars (not sure if anyone else has noticed this as well or if each dog is different) we have have had to switch her food (purina pro plan weight management seems to be working well for us right now) as well as stop all supplements and treats and due to regulations a lot of supplements and treats don’t actually have to state the nutritional information on sugar so we are now going through slowly adding in each of her previous supplement/ and treats to see what we can continue to give her and what we have to get rid of hopefully we will have everything sorted out soon but again thank you for posting this it makes me feel better that other people do also see correlations between food and tremors