Head Tremors or Head Bobbing in Bulldogs

Buster had another quiet day.  On his afternoon walk, he started to jump and run.  So he is definitely getting extra sedative now.  He has 6 more weeks of restricted activity!

His suture check is tomorrow (today's picture shows his incision and staples and yes, a bit of drainage).  Hopefully the stitches will be absorbed enough that we can remove the cone of shame.   It is okay to remove the surgical cone 5 to 7 days after the surgery but we played it safe and kept it on him until the surgeons say his sutures are safe.  We'll update you tomorrow.

We've mentioned previously that we give Buster a little plain yogurt every day.  About 6 months after Buster's first surgery, he got up one morning and walked to the kitchen, where we were eating breakfast.  We looked over at him and saw that his head was shaking and lashes blinking involuntarily.  It was like a seizure localized in his head.  We asked for help on Twitter and a friend of ours, @That1EBD, referred us to a blog post about head tremors in bulldogs.

It's a fascinating and largely unexplained phenomenon.  Although the tremors could be caused by epilepsy or even diabetes, one bulldog owner and breeder extensively researched case literature and worked with a vet to find that bulldogs commonly have tremors in pregnancy (okay, Buster is a boy so we can rule that out) and after surgery.  It is unclear why this happens but it seems that it may be low calcium levels.  Please follow the link above for an in-depth discussion of the topic.  It is possible that a seizure could be indicative of epilepsy or diabetes so talk with your vet if this happens with your bully.

Suffice it to say that Buster had head tremors one time.  We have consistently given him a little yogurt with each meal and periodically let him have a small amount of frozen yogurt or vanilla ice cream.  I stress--small amount of frozen yogurt or ice cream.  FWIW, Buster recommends Yogurtopia.  We haven't seen any head tremors yet but they typically don't occur until 6 months post-op and they may not occur at all.

Free to Be Bup

Ecollar off, suture check

Staples and Stitches, Oh My!

It turns out that Buster did not stop seeping fluids from his incision.  We had a really hard time determining the exact nature of the fluid.  How red is red?  How red is dog's blood?  We did not have this issue after Buster's first TPLO so we were really amazed at how much fluid came washing out of his incision.  It was like a daily bath.

We first noticed it Saturday night and called the surgical center.  They told us it was normal and to call back if it was still happening on Monday.  On Sunday morning, it had the metallic odor of blood and we were concerned by the sheer volume so we called again.  Normal.  It was still happening Monday.  Finally on Tuesday we said we were unnerved and that they had told us to call if it was still occurring on Monday.  We talked to one of Buster's surgeon's made an appointment and took him in for a suture check.  As the doc said, "It's free and why not have the peace of mind?"

The fluid was normal drainage.  However, our secondary surgeon said that she could "milk" Buster's incision and so she added a couple staples to keep him sealed up.  We confirmed that we are keeping him confined to a small space (as seen on this blog--about 5 feet by 7 feet).  We also discussed keeping him drugged up to keep him quiet.  For the most part he is resting calmly.

Buster is continuing to make remarkable progress, based on our experience with his first TPLO.  He is touching down most of the time but is not weight bearing.  He has learned how to walk rather quickly in his attempts to head out to the plaza, where his friends are.  He barked to Oliver and Madeleine when they walked this evening.

He clearly is bored and lonely but we are doing all we can to play and talk with him calmly.  He sang a lot for attention and to be included in cooking dinner.  I tried to record it but every time I've tried to record Buster's songs, he quiets down.  Ah, guess only Jay and I will know the exquisite singing of Buster, American bulldog.