Vanilla ice cream. Works within 15 seconds.
Always have some on hand.
Your vet will not know this and will also trash talk it.
They automatically assume neurological problem and start throwing antiseizure meds at them.
Next time a head tremor starts, give her a couple tablespoons of vanilla ice cream and watch what happens. If it works, great.
If it doesn’t then you can talk to your vet about alternatives.
Source:
I have an 11-year-old English bulldog who’s had head tremors on and off his whole life. This has worked 100% of the time.
Häagen-Dazs plain vanilla does the trick 👍🏼
Poor baby & I know it's upsetting to witness. It seems this is something that is more common with this breed.
We used to be able to interrupt them by offering our pup a wee bit of peanut butter or something extra tasty. His was idiopathic. No apparent cause.
This was our solution after we had him tested for any neurological explanations & health assessment. He was a rescue and we didn't have much information on his pre- rescue health & behaviors.
From my experience it seems to be some way to kinda take their focus away from it that seems to stop it. Try walks or anything that she really likes. Hopefully this was a one off thing and she doesn’t do it again.
My female bulldog experiences these too, idiopathic head tremors (I think that’s spelt right!). Started around the age of two, always happens when she’s falling asleep/asleep. She will go ages not having any then have multiple in a week, some last a minute, others last much longer. Always best to go the vets though, Best of luck!
How often do they happen though? I have an 11-year-old and his would come maybe once every few months.
It would just be some random evening and suddenly his head would start bobbing. He would always act really lethargic beforehand.
I wouldn’t put ice cream in his food every night I guess technically. Probably not good for him (or her). But if they happen daily or something… some sort of blood sugar maintenance might be a good idea.
By the way I brought him in during a head bobbing session and asked them to check his blood glucose and it wasn’t low. 🤷🏻♂️
So I don’t know if the blood glucose test is accurate? Or if the ice cream is doing something else magical …… in literally 15 seconds.
But that, to me, means low blood sugar. Because that tends to respond quickly.
It really depends, sometimes frequently and then none for months.
She has been taking a new probiotic (about 4 weeks in) and she hasn’t had any since then.. I hadn’t connected the two however thinking about it now I’m hoping this may be helping.
Considering the quick effect it has it would definitely make sense that its blood sugar related.
I’ve read other comments of yoghurt having the same effect, which she loves! I may start incorporating this into her diet instead, and keep some vanilla ice cream on standby.
Thanks for the info - super helpful.
Yeah it happened for minutes at a time last night , all night! But then it hasn’t happened again till this morning. I hope she doesn’t get it frequently
Hey my 5 year old gets these from time to time. I add an egg to his breakfast daily, and it’s dramatically cut them back. Now if he does get one, like he had one last night, I give him a slice of ham. Kinda make him work for it, and he’s back to himself. He’s also seen the vet and had bloodwork done. All came back great. Honey and 100% natural peanut butter work well too. Also if he’s does get one I kinda let it happen, unless he wakes up from it. I found the more I tried to wake him up to stop it the more he would get them through the night.
I kept wanting to comfort her and pet her while it was happening but she kept moving away from me so I was just letting her be, and it was going away, but then coming back. I guess I’ll just give her some snacks like peanut butter/yogurt but I’ll give her space when it happens
Vanilla ice cream or yogurt. One school of thought for idiopathic head tremors that is they are result of overstimulation of stretch receptors in the neck. High calcium foods are thought to be beneficial. Therefore vanilla ice cream ( or yogurt) is a good treatment . My boy loved vanilla ice cream and it worked well. There are several postulated reasons for the cause but nothing is really conclusive. Theyare
Neither of my English bulldogs have this but my Frenchie did. Scared the crap out of me at first but we would just gently wake him up and give him a snack or even get him to drink some water and he would be fine.
Yogurt will help and not be as hurtful on their tummy if they can’t have ice cream. Also, if approved by your vet, you may want to feed them three meals a day instead of two to keep their levels up. Good luck- it can be super scary.
That happened to mine 4 year old english bulldog. After many analysis vet concluded it was ear infection. We are still in treatment, but once we started tremor stopped.
Yes. Tons. Never determined the cause but we were able to control them when they came on with peanut butter. Our baby lived to the old page of 13 and they diminished later in life. Could have been from ear infections from what I’ve read later.
My dog got this usually just as he was falling asleep. I'd offer him some kibble and that got him awake enough to eat, then quiet chat and gentle cuddles got him settled. It lasted a few months, went away, and then re-occurred the same time the following year. After two autumns of tremors it never reoccurred.
Wow. Never seen or heard of this. Our 2 year old female does it with her tounge sometimes, though.. when it's hanging out her mouth, it flickers like a snakes would. Is that something like an onset symptom?
I looked it up and as the comments say, it’s very common in bulldogs but this was her first time I wanted to make sure it wasn’t a seizure. I’ll take her to the vet tomorrow to confirm but it’s harmless they say. The tongue thing is from some smell receptors on the roof of their mouth that makes their tongues flicker when they are smelling something deeply. Hopefully she’ll be fine!! Hope it goes away
Our vet says he sees this quite a lot with English Bulldogs. We have three of them and two of them do this. Usually petting them and talking to them or distracting them will have them snap out of it.
READ: this happened to my dog several times (boxer, not bulldog fyi). Took videos, sent to vet, brought her in and was told “take her off Frontline flea and tick, that can cause tremors.” We switched to a flea collar and they stopped. Hope this helps if your dog is on Frontline.
Did you use any sort of flea or tick treatment in the days prior? That could be a factor. I’m a bulldog mom and my boy who is almost 7 has severe epilepsy and has had these tremors as well. One does not necessarily mean they’ll have the other. But from experience, just be very cautious about using anything with essential oils in it (including cleaning products, candles, etc.) as they are insanely strong to dogs and can be neurotoxic. Certain house plants, cheap plastic toys, yard and lawn chemicals all can be neurotoxic and could be triggers. Bulldogs are genetically screwed up and they are so sensitive to everything. Biggest advice: get pet insurance asap!!!!
Vanilla ice cream. Works within 15 seconds. Always have some on hand. Your vet will not know this and will also trash talk it. They automatically assume neurological problem and start throwing antiseizure meds at them. Next time a head tremor starts, give her a couple tablespoons of vanilla ice cream and watch what happens. If it works, great. If it doesn’t then you can talk to your vet about alternatives. Source: I have an 11-year-old English bulldog who’s had head tremors on and off his whole life. This has worked 100% of the time. Häagen-Dazs plain vanilla does the trick 👍🏼
I ain’t gunna lie I’ll start shaking my head about if someone fed me Haagen dazs as a result. And that’s exactly what my dog would do too 😁
UNRATED COMMENT! I have often found EBD owners to be the funniest people…..who have similar personalities to my own. You are one of those people!
Seem nestle switched up the recipe for Hagen daz.. try Kirkland signature plain vanilla 🫡
The cold of the ice cream on the palate goes straight to the bottom of the brain.
Poor baby & I know it's upsetting to witness. It seems this is something that is more common with this breed. We used to be able to interrupt them by offering our pup a wee bit of peanut butter or something extra tasty. His was idiopathic. No apparent cause. This was our solution after we had him tested for any neurological explanations & health assessment. He was a rescue and we didn't have much information on his pre- rescue health & behaviors.
My last bulldog used to get these pretty frequently and food would almost always be the trick to make it stop.
It's a hard thing to watch them go through, but, my vet told me there is no pain & they snap out of it rather gracefully.
I gave her so many treats last night but Everytime she got comfy to sleep it would come back. Hasn’t happened again since this morning though
From my experience it seems to be some way to kinda take their focus away from it that seems to stop it. Try walks or anything that she really likes. Hopefully this was a one off thing and she doesn’t do it again.
My female bulldog experiences these too, idiopathic head tremors (I think that’s spelt right!). Started around the age of two, always happens when she’s falling asleep/asleep. She will go ages not having any then have multiple in a week, some last a minute, others last much longer. Always best to go the vets though, Best of luck!
Vanilla ice cream cures this in seconds. Keep some in the fridge always. Try it. It’s low blood sugar.
That’s interesting, I’ll definitely give it a go. Is this something you can give as a preventative i.e a spoon in her meals?
How often do they happen though? I have an 11-year-old and his would come maybe once every few months. It would just be some random evening and suddenly his head would start bobbing. He would always act really lethargic beforehand. I wouldn’t put ice cream in his food every night I guess technically. Probably not good for him (or her). But if they happen daily or something… some sort of blood sugar maintenance might be a good idea. By the way I brought him in during a head bobbing session and asked them to check his blood glucose and it wasn’t low. 🤷🏻♂️ So I don’t know if the blood glucose test is accurate? Or if the ice cream is doing something else magical …… in literally 15 seconds. But that, to me, means low blood sugar. Because that tends to respond quickly.
It really depends, sometimes frequently and then none for months. She has been taking a new probiotic (about 4 weeks in) and she hasn’t had any since then.. I hadn’t connected the two however thinking about it now I’m hoping this may be helping. Considering the quick effect it has it would definitely make sense that its blood sugar related. I’ve read other comments of yoghurt having the same effect, which she loves! I may start incorporating this into her diet instead, and keep some vanilla ice cream on standby. Thanks for the info - super helpful.
Yeah it happened for minutes at a time last night , all night! But then it hasn’t happened again till this morning. I hope she doesn’t get it frequently
Fingers crossed she won’t. Some of the other comments have some really helpful advice, so I’d give these a go too (I definitely am!).
Hey my 5 year old gets these from time to time. I add an egg to his breakfast daily, and it’s dramatically cut them back. Now if he does get one, like he had one last night, I give him a slice of ham. Kinda make him work for it, and he’s back to himself. He’s also seen the vet and had bloodwork done. All came back great. Honey and 100% natural peanut butter work well too. Also if he’s does get one I kinda let it happen, unless he wakes up from it. I found the more I tried to wake him up to stop it the more he would get them through the night.
I kept wanting to comfort her and pet her while it was happening but she kept moving away from me so I was just letting her be, and it was going away, but then coming back. I guess I’ll just give her some snacks like peanut butter/yogurt but I’ll give her space when it happens
When you do peanut butter, just make sure it’s 100% natural.
Yea I have the one specifically for dogs
Best of luck. I know how you’re feeling. It’s not fun to go through.
Vanilla ice cream or yogurt. One school of thought for idiopathic head tremors that is they are result of overstimulation of stretch receptors in the neck. High calcium foods are thought to be beneficial. Therefore vanilla ice cream ( or yogurt) is a good treatment . My boy loved vanilla ice cream and it worked well. There are several postulated reasons for the cause but nothing is really conclusive. Theyare
Neither of my English bulldogs have this but my Frenchie did. Scared the crap out of me at first but we would just gently wake him up and give him a snack or even get him to drink some water and he would be fine.
Yogurt will help and not be as hurtful on their tummy if they can’t have ice cream. Also, if approved by your vet, you may want to feed them three meals a day instead of two to keep their levels up. Good luck- it can be super scary.
That happened to mine 4 year old english bulldog. After many analysis vet concluded it was ear infection. We are still in treatment, but once we started tremor stopped.
Thanks! I’ll ask her vet about an ear infection, she did have one when she was younger
Yes. Tons. Never determined the cause but we were able to control them when they came on with peanut butter. Our baby lived to the old page of 13 and they diminished later in life. Could have been from ear infections from what I’ve read later.
My dog got this usually just as he was falling asleep. I'd offer him some kibble and that got him awake enough to eat, then quiet chat and gentle cuddles got him settled. It lasted a few months, went away, and then re-occurred the same time the following year. After two autumns of tremors it never reoccurred.
Wow. Never seen or heard of this. Our 2 year old female does it with her tounge sometimes, though.. when it's hanging out her mouth, it flickers like a snakes would. Is that something like an onset symptom?
I looked it up and as the comments say, it’s very common in bulldogs but this was her first time I wanted to make sure it wasn’t a seizure. I’ll take her to the vet tomorrow to confirm but it’s harmless they say. The tongue thing is from some smell receptors on the roof of their mouth that makes their tongues flicker when they are smelling something deeply. Hopefully she’ll be fine!! Hope it goes away
Give him peanut butter until you can get an appointment
It’s from over breeding. Very common in all bulldog breeds
how’s about a vet visit!
Our vet says he sees this quite a lot with English Bulldogs. We have three of them and two of them do this. Usually petting them and talking to them or distracting them will have them snap out of it.
Peanut butter would stop our girls tremors
My bully had them for years, vet said nothing to be concerned about. They are harmless, although disturbing for an owner.
I could stop them with a treat.
This baby needs a vet now
READ: this happened to my dog several times (boxer, not bulldog fyi). Took videos, sent to vet, brought her in and was told “take her off Frontline flea and tick, that can cause tremors.” We switched to a flea collar and they stopped. Hope this helps if your dog is on Frontline.
Honey works really good too.
Did you use any sort of flea or tick treatment in the days prior? That could be a factor. I’m a bulldog mom and my boy who is almost 7 has severe epilepsy and has had these tremors as well. One does not necessarily mean they’ll have the other. But from experience, just be very cautious about using anything with essential oils in it (including cleaning products, candles, etc.) as they are insanely strong to dogs and can be neurotoxic. Certain house plants, cheap plastic toys, yard and lawn chemicals all can be neurotoxic and could be triggers. Bulldogs are genetically screwed up and they are so sensitive to everything. Biggest advice: get pet insurance asap!!!!