[TheStig]

Idiopathic Head Bobber, with something called Idiopathic Head Tremors Syndrome?

The other week, I swear someone had switched my corn pops cereal with a few crack rocks instead. My boy came up to me (9 months old today) and this usually means he wants/needs something. So, the first thing I asked him was if he was hungry and needed something to eat.

This freakin' guy starts nodding his head up and down repeatedly, as if he were telling me yes. I couldn't believe it. I thought a yeti came from the woods, snatched my little boy up and replaced him with an identical little boy...who could now nod yes when answering a question. :roflmao:

Well, since then, he has done it twice more, that I have witnessed. He'll just be sitting there, and all of a sudden his head will start nodding up and down, very short crisp nods. Almost looks like he is sniffing the air very intently.

He'll move his head around, which makes it appear more like he is sniffing, but he is def. just nodding, or shaking up and down, if you will.

I googled it and figured through all of the reading, that it is a normal occurence in a few breeds and is completely harmless. Harmless because nobody knows why or where it stems from, or harmless because no dog has apparently had any negative side effects from it.

So, anybody else got a head bobber?

 

[sam&macksmom]

IHT can be a neurological issue.

http://www.dobermantalk.com/doberman-health/56175-idiopathic-head-tremor.html

 

[TheStig]

I guess the advanced search button pwns me. My bad.

 

[melbrod]

Out of four dobes, two (totally unrelated bloodlines) have head-bobbed. But I never really saw any negative effects from it.

 

[thea2003]

Chatty's boy who recently passed had head tremors as a young dog and eventually ended up having seizures so keep a close eye on him.

 

[Jennie ATX]

I've seen Ziggy do it 4 or 5 times and he's 2 and a half now. It's never been serious enough for me to feel like I should have it checked out.. I offer him a treat and he snaps out of it. If a dog were doing it fairly often, I'd have it checked out.

 

[Australdi]

It was researching IHT that brought me to DT. Zil had the shakes from side to side and unforunately it was linked to his CAH.
Definitely worth get a full screen done by the vet just to be sure.

 

[natdobe]

My boy does it every so often and he's almost 6 years old. The vet said to just watch him and it is more common in dobes than you think. He said it's a good sign that I can offer a treat or redirect him and he snaps out of it.

 

[LVdobe]

Prime did it about 6 mo old just sitting in the car. KNOCK ON WOOD! has never had another episode. It lasted about 20 seconds

 

[willydobe]

Willy is 6 1/2 years old and he has been doing it for about 5 yrs. Idiopathic head bobbing
isn't anything to be concerned about according to my vet. The important thing is to
stay calm, talk to him in a quiet voice. Giving him a treat will usually stop the head
bobbing. There is no pattern to the episodes. It can happen twice in a week and then
not happen again for 6 months.