English Bulldogs and Head Tremors

Let me preface by saying, I am just an owner; I am not an expert. If you are concerned for your pet’s health, call a vet first.

If you're the owner of one or more English Bulldogs, and you're anything like me, you have been scared insane by the head tremors some can have. My wife and I adopted Dozer in the summer of 2018, and we could not have been happier. We already had one English and were ecstatic to have another. We got Dozer home and everything was going well, until one day a couple of weeks since adoption. He had a head tremor.

We rushed him to the vet. He was still having the tremor when we went in to see the doctor. The doctor said, "Well, it could be epilepsy. It could be from anxiety. Let me put him on something for anxiety, and we'll see how that works." We were frightened that it might be epilepsy since we already had a dog with a seizure disorder. There was nothing we could do but to try the medication and hope for the best.

We took Dozer home with the medication and immediately gave him a full pill, as directed. After about a week of giving it to him, we noticed that the medication seemed to decrease the number of tremors, but they didn't go away. One tremor lasted almost nine minutes. So, we again consulted the vet. He told us to give the medication twice daily and see if that helped. We did, and the tremors became even less frequent. We thought we were on the right path. Medication was the key. Then it happened.

One particular day, I was giving all of the dogs (there are four) treats for jobs well done, if you catch my drift. Well, Dozer started having tremors. I put the treat close to his mouth and let him lick at it for a few seconds and BAM! The tremors stopped. This came as a shock to me, and I was excited to share the news with my wife. We were both so happy that we knew how to stop the tremors. Since that day, we don’t panic about his head tremors.

I have heard of many solutions like this one, and all of them involve food (big surprise). Some owners have used peanut butter, pig ears, anything to distract their bullies long enough to stop the tremors. Food isn’t the only way, however. One method that I use does not involve food. However, you will have to cope with the inevitable slobber on your finger. What? I rub Dozer's gums, and in just a few seconds the tremors are gone. I discovered this one day when I had no treats available.

I had to spread the news so, after I told my wife, I immediately visited a group of which I am a member and noticed a lot of owners talking about head tremors in their bullies. I passed along my thoughts and tips, and many said the method worked for them. I couldn’t have been happier for them.

Anyway, Dozer is still on Trazodone for anxiety, and we give him a half a pill twice a day now. When tremors do occur, we simply follow the methods highlighted here. You can try this method if you would like to; it just may work. You might still want talk to a vet and get an opinion first. What I do works for my bulldog and others, but it may not work for all. There might be something more serious going on. Let's hope not.