[Charcoaldreams]

I would love help on how to stop my dog from having a shaky head. She does this once every few months. Reading things online and apparently it is common for Doberman. She is 2 years old. She is my life and I just want to make sure these tremors aren't anything serious. Could I possibly change her diet to stop the tremors?

 

[melbrod]

It could be something like Idiopathic Head Tremors. Here's an informative post talking about them:

https://www.dobermantalk.com/doberman-health/72889-idiopathic-head-tremors.html#post1178068

And another thread about that topic:

https://www.dobermantalk.com/puppy-corner/280641-head-shaking.html

And here's a thread started by one of our members talking about her experiences with her dog who started having seizures:
https://www.dobermantalk.com/doberman-health/192082-charger-may-have-had-seizure.html

If you can distract him out of the tremor very quickly when you get him excited--tease him just a little with a cookie, for example, then it is likely to be the kind of tremor that some dobes show and isn't really something to worry about.

If you can't get him to pop out of it quickly, or if he has other symptoms...drooling, staring into the distance and unresponsive to you, anxiety before the trembling starts...that could be more like seizure activity.

The bottom line is that if you're worried about them, if you are seeing them increase in severity or become more frequent, head to your vet and see what he says.

 

[4x4bike ped]

Hi Charcoal....

What you are describing is a well described, yet little understood issue often called Head Bobbing Syndrome. It is not uncommon the Doberman breed.

Personally, I have never seen nor experienced it.

That being said... From what I have read over the years, offering food or a high value treat can temporarily mitigate the symptoms.

To my knowledge, no one has figured out the cause or cure. Seizure meds don't seem to help.

It may be genetic in origin. The general consensus is that it is a neurological problem.

Me... I would simply deal with it unless it becomes more severe. Then, I would consult a canine neurologist.

Best to you and your girl.

John
Portland OR

Edit to say: Just saw Mel's post. So... What she said ^^^

 

[spocksdad]

Here is link to previous Idiopathic Head Tremor threads, with links to others:
https://www.dobermantalk.com/doberman-health/183049-head-shakes.html

Our Dobergal Eva has head tremors since we adopted her 7 years ago. They have waned since she's almost 9 y/o now, but appear a few times/week vs. several times/day when we first adopted her.

The head shakes only appear when Eva puts her pretty head on your leg or lap, looking for some attention. She snaps out of the head shaking immediately upon sight of a treat for her! It's almost if she has learned to start head shaking at will in order to finagle a treat from us humans!

I hope you will benefit from reading the previous threads on the subject. :|

Here's a link to a Vet Neurology site on subject:
https://www.vetneurochesapeake.com/uncategorized/six-questions-about-idiopathic-head-tremors/

 

[greenkouki]

I think there is some info on vestibular disease on the DPCA.org site which may be of help to you too. Have you been talking to the breeder of your dog about it?

 

[4x4bike ped]

This may be the DPCA article that gk was referencing. It's brief, but does have quite a bit of info:

https://dpca.org/BreedEd/head-bobbing-syndrome/

BTW "head bobbing" falls under the general category of "tremors"

John
Portland OR

 

[Charcoaldreams]

I think there is some info on vestibular disease on the DPCA.org site which may be of help to you too. Have you been talking to the breeder of your dog about it?

I wish I could talk to the breeder about it but she has blocked my number because I told her of all the other health issues she has and she didnt care. Doberlands is not a good, reputable breeder.

 

[Charcoaldreams]

Thank you all for the info. It hasn't happened again yet. I hope it doesnt. I try and distract her the best I can but sometimes she wont even let me touch her without it getting more severe.

 

[Rosemary]

I wish I could talk to the breeder about it but she has blocked my number because I told her of all the other health issues she has and she didnt care. Doberlands is not a good, reputable breeder.

Doberland? Is this them? Home If so, then they have a long history. She used to use the kennel name Guardian Angel and then Guardian K9, if you'd care to do a forum search.

 

[Charcoaldreams]

Doberland? Is this them? Home If so, then they have a long history. She used to use the kennel name Guardian Angel and then Guardian K9, if you'd care to do a forum search.

Yeah, unfortunately that is them. I didn't know this whole site existed when I was getting my pup. It's hard once you see a picture of your dog all you want is to go get them. I'm honestly glad I got her from them though. She was the last female she had and she was changing her mind about letting me have her because she wanted to keep her, probably to breed because the other females were getting old from what it looked like. Who knows if she would have bred her, her health is not allowing her to be bred. So I am glad she is in the right hands now. Someone that will do anything for her.

 

[Fitzmar Dobermans]

I know that seeing a dog have a head shaking episode is freaky, but in most cases, it is really benign. My 11 year old male has had them his whole life. He went for years in his prime without them, but now at 11, is getting them more often..... does not seem to phase him. His mother had them also.

 

[triciakoontz]

My last female had actual seizures in the last year of her life. The Bach Flower remedy called “Rescue Remedy” completely stopped them. It comes in a small spritz bottle and you just spritz it in their face; the droplets only have to touch the nose and lips. My friend has a Greyhound with idiopathic head tremors and also has good success with Rescue Remedy. I’ve seen it bring dogs out of shock many times in the vet clinic. Worth a try.

You can slay it around her long before you use it for tremors to show her it’s not scary. Have an excellent handful of treats (cut up steak!), spritz in the air away from her, throw down a treat. You can gradually move the spritz closer to her over multiple sessions. All my dogs love to see the yellow Rescue Remedy bottle! Use it for fireworks ALWAYS!

 

[GingerGunlock]

My previous girl, Elka, had the head tremors. she developed them at around 6 months, after her spay. They would typically manifest if she was super anxious about something, or if she REALLY wanted something (she did it once while we were carving the turkey at Thanksgiving), and the tremors would typically subside if we distracted her with treats, had her do a few tricks, etc.

When I consulted the vet, they'd never heard of it (it would be really great if I could find a local vet who'd ever heard about Dobermans like, ever) and just called them "idiopathic head tremors", but had no treatment or management suggestions. Since it was so minor and intermittent with Elka, not even daily or weekly, I never pursued it further other than as an "oh that's weird". Ulrike has not manifested it, that we've seen, and she's 10 months old now, not yet spayed.

 

[Cressrb]

Many years ago was showing a very hyper dog and bought mouth spray rescue remedy to use in the ring. Ended up using it on myself. Works great!

 

[4x4bike ped]

Many years ago was showing a very hyper dog and bought mouth spray rescue remedy to use in the ring. Ended up using it on myself. Works great!

LOl Bonnie!

John.

 

[HandsumMrHoliday]

Like chills? Could be diet and thyroid. Does she get cold easily?

 

[Fitzmar Dobermans]

My dogs that have had/have head tremors tend to get them when they are very relaxed and usually sleepy.

 

[Ragdoll]

CBD oil has helped my girl. She is very high energy also. On the rare days I have given it to her, when she finally lays down, she snores. :goodluck: