Hi Everyone,
Just wondered if any of you could offer any advice, we where all just sat watching TV when are female boxer Lucie stood up and we noticed her head was twitching. We have rang our vets who said he doesn't think it is anything to worry about (but we still are) and to call back if she keeps doing it. She has stopped doing it now only lasted about 5 mins. She is also in season, been bleeding since Monday(don't know if that has anything to do with it).
Thanks in advance
Louise n Gary

How old is she? Did she seem 'distracted' at all?

hiya
thx for replying, she's 23mths old,shewas'nt distracted in any way,just she came to me and rested her head on my lap
her jowls shaking along with her head, she's fine at the moment,just lasted a couple of minutes.I rang the vet and he says 'these sort of fit type episodes occur reglarly in dogs'   but i've never heard of or seen such a thing. The vet says to ring again if it continues.
It shook us up for a while, waiting for the vet to ring us back,she has'nt done it since the last post but sure to keep an eye on her
thx for the replies

I'm probably completely wrong, but it sounds almost like a 'petit mal' fit. There are very many causes for this, so there is no need to panic. This may well be the only time she ever does it. Just keep an eye out and make a note of any other occurrence, and mention it to your vet. If it happens again it would be worth telling her breeder. Are you planning on breeding from her?
:)

hiya jeangenie
we've thought alot about breeding and as this would be completely new to me and my wife,we have read up and studied alot about breeding but to be honest and imo i think it would be best to leave it until Lucie is abit older,she's still a baby and we think she's not ready either,she's giddy,boistrous and still,in my eyes very immature, i don't mean to 'slate' my own dog,but this is the way she is and she really needs to calm down alot to become more of a motherly character.
We all love Lucy(and Bruce,2yr old boxer) to bits but we feel its not the right time for breeding just yet.
Like i say, i will keep an eye out and we thank you very much for all your replies,we'll keep trying to find out what the problem may be and if anyone has other ideas what this 'fit type' episode could be, please don't hesitate to post
thx all

http://www.dpfa.org/HeadBobbing.html

Here's an article about head tremors, something that my Doberman did a couple of times right after being neutered. By your description, it could well be the same thing. It has been talked about on a Doberman Pinscher board I go on, as several people had experienced this. It happens in other breeds, although this article doesn't mention a Boxer. You can also type in Head tremors or head tremors in boxers and see if anything comes up. I don't think it's necessarily anything serious. Did your dog have anesthesia recently? That is certainly not the only trigger, and in fact not too much is known about it.) Let us know what you find out.

Carrie

I had a Boxer bitch who had head tremors. Her head would nod rapidly for a minute or so and then she would be perfectly ok. It is quite alarming when you first see it but it seems that it is nothing to worry about unless the tremors are really violent, very frequent, or accompanied by other symptoms, e.g. fainting, staggering gait, vomiting etc.. There is some, slight, evidence that tremors may possibly be associated with hypothyroidism so you might wish to have the dog tested for that. A finger dipped in jam, honey, or peanut butter and offered to the 'nodding' dog can be effective in stopping the tremor. In my dog's case the frquency of the tremors reduced as she got older and they eventually ceased altogether. 

hi shadowboxer
thx for the post
did she do it often? this is the first time i've ever seen Lucie do it and just wondered if she would ever do it again.
I'll be sure to get her checked for hypothyroidism, hoping things go ok
fingers crossed;)

I think what it is associated with is hypoglycemia....just that their stomachs are empty and maybe a little hungry and the blood sugar is a bit on the low side. That's why a little snack often helps. They don't seem to lose consciousness, but in case they do, never give food to an unconscious dog....but a little smear of jam, sugar or honey, as it was said on the inside of the cheek could help.

Carrie

hiya
i don't think its because she's hungry, she's fine in the eating department(lol)
she'd been snacking all day, aswell as her usual meals, she would tell me and it would be noticeable if she was hungry
anymore ideas?
thx

She may not be hungry, but from what I have heard from several people on this Doberman message board who experienced this...and there were suprisingly quite a few, the little snack or sweet seemed to cause the tremors to cease, indicating that the blood sugar level was on the low side, thus being revived with the snack.

They don't know conclusively what causes this. It was mentioned in something I read that some scientists think it could be the early beginnings of a "new" condition or affliction. That's only a theory. Or that it could be related indirectly to some other kind of neurological disorder. But all the people's dogs on that message board seemed to experience relief with a bit of food during the episode, which sugests hypoglycemia.

Carrie

i see where u're coming from, thanks, i'll look it up and talk to the vet
all we can do is take tests and see what comes of it, i've hundreds of things going through my head ,just wondering what the cause may be
thanks again for all replies

Hi BoxerLuv

No, she did not do it very often. Sometimes she would have a couple of sessions within a few weeks and then go months without a sign. Then it stretched to two years or so, and then the tremors ceased completely. I guess she must have been 7 or 8 when I last saw one (she died age 14).