I realize that title probably sounds a little confusing. Let me 'splain.
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| Cats Cookies for People! And/or Pups... |
The episodes were always less than 30 seconds and completely isolated to her head - no evidence of a full-on seizure or anything like that. Having just lost our last pup to bone cancer at only 2 1/2 years of age, your mind kinda immediately goes to dark places: OMD, the dog's got a brain tumor! But then you (or at least I) go to the opposite end of the spectrum and think: No, it can't possible be anything serious. We can't be that unlucky!
The first time, I hoped it was just an oddity, an itchy ear, and that would be that. But nope. After the third time, we headed to the vet. Ears, eyes and blood all checked out as absolutely fine. The vet suggested I try to get it on video, but I've been unable to. The episodes are so short, I can never catch them. He said they could be idiopathic (basically no known cause, and probably not that big of a deal) or he said, if they get worse/more frequent, the next step would be an MRI.
We really don't wanna go the MRI route (or even contemplate what that might lead to), so we did what all folks faced with any health issue do - we googled it! A lot of folks out there have dogs that occasionally exhibit mild head tremors. Many of them said that when they gave the dog a sugar cookie, it would stop immediately.
After that we noticed that the episodes most often occured on weekend mornings, when we - even Rita! - sleep in way past Rita's usual breakfast time. So, I bought some Trader Joe's "Cats Cookies for People." Okay - these are cookies shaped like cats, but are for humans and are located with all the other human cookies. But I'm assuming people are dumb and tried buying them for their cats (even though there's no apostrophe - their not "cats' cookies" after all), so TJ's had to make sure folks understood and therefore named them "Cats Cookies for People." Only now I think they should rename them "Cats Cookies for People and Pups." Or "People and Bobble-Head Pups."
Actually, the cookies really look more like tigers. If they had named them Tigers Cookies in the first place, they probably could have avoided adding the "for People" part:
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| Kinda looks like a tiger to me... |
Now, here comes the mischief part. Even though she likes the Cats Cookies, and gets them almost every weekend, she won't eat one unless Momma eats one first.
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| Rita suspiciously eyes a Cats Cookie |
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| "Oh, yeah. I just remembered I like these...Thanks, Momma." |
Wish us luck that a few Cats Cookies for People (for Pups) are the end of Rita's bobble-head troubles!
Happy Monday Mischief!
So are you thinking she has low blood sugar? When we first got Stella Rose we knew NOTHING about raising a pup and how fast they can become overheated...I was showing her off outside and that evening she became all bobbleheaded also, after using the google dr. we figured out I had overheated her, after that I read everything I could about pugs so I can be a better pug momma.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if she thinks there could be medicine in that cookie and that is why you need to eat it first....aren't they sooooo smart!
stella rose's mom
Yes, that's what folks on Dr. Google surmised - that it was due to low blood sugar. I know I get a terrible headache if I get too hungry, so I'm usually happy to join her in a cookie or two in the mornings! :)
DeleteLOL...I will have to keep all that in mind if these pups get those kind of symptoms.
ReplyDeleteHopefully they won't!
DeleteWell done Googling it and finding a solution. That is so much better than going down the MRI route and then maybe having meds that were not needed. So pleased. Have a marvellous Monday.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes Molly
Yes, we were really hoping to avoid any unnecessary meds!
DeleteYou will be happy to dodge the MRI bill as well...Getting one done in my area can easily run you over $1000! Yikes! Cat Cookies are a much better solution. Hope they keep her head on straight ;-)
DeleteWhen I first saw the name Cat Cookies that wasn't the kind I was thinking of, if you know what I mean.....esp. on a mischief blog.
Hehehehe, yes, she LOVES those kinda "cat treats"! Unfortunately, she'll dive right in to those without the suspicious waiting...
DeleteAnd, yes, happy to avoid the MRI bill, although after what we went through with Abby, we have pet insurance this time around!
Dr. Google has given us some great ideas through the years. Hope this keeps working. Love her suspicions though.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Dr. Google can be a little sketchy sometimes, but other times it seems to be right on the money. Hopefully this is one of those times!
DeleteNah, she is not a goof...she is giving you a treat for treating her so well!
ReplyDelete*Cairn cuddles*
Oz
I like your perspective, Oz! (But she is still a goof...) :)
DeleteGiggled that you need to eat one first :-) Sure hoping that the tremors truly are nothing!
ReplyDeleteYep, I always have to eat one first. I don't mind... I get low blood sugar myself. (Although luckily I don't get the head bobble thing!)
DeleteThat's interesting - it makes sense that dogs would be affected by low blood sugar, like people. Whenever I see ridiculous (or seemingly obvious)warnings like 'for people', my thought is always, "Someone must have done it, or they wouldn't have to say so!!"
ReplyDeleteExactly. So silly though. Kinda like "Animal crackers" - you'd hope no one is dumb enough to think those are really for animals...
DeleteOh hilarious! You know, my mom's little dog was having what appeared to be seizures in the evenings. It was totally food related. Splitting up her meals stopped it completely. Dogs are odd critters.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that her seizures were food related to. Luckily these aren't full-on seizures, like I said. Just a little bobble-headed-ness.
DeleteYeah. Honey had what my mom called tremors. She'd sit and shiver. Almost like she was in a trance. Maybe that's happening to me when I don't get enough to eat. I'll have to pay attention. And have ice cream on hand, just in case.
DeleteIt's always best to have ice cream on hand!
DeleteShe is SO cute. I heard somewhere that Breyer's vanilla ice cream can be given to dogs who have seizures.
ReplyDeleteI didn't try it with my Hector, he died before I had the chance to try it :( Rita is so adorable.
Oh great. Now Rita's going to start having seizures so she can get some Breyer's! I hope she doesn't read this....
DeleteSorry to hear about your Hector. There's never enough time with our precious pups.
Its a good thing that they are for people too. :) I have heard of the head tremor thing. Glad you found something that works.
ReplyDeleteYes, so far so good, and it's been months. Hopefully it stays like this!
DeleteSo happy you found something that seems to work well for Rita! Yea! Yep, sounds like low blood sugar for sure!
ReplyDeleteWe are happy too. Fingers crossed that's all there is to it!
DeleteInteresting. Glad that google turned up something that is safe and works for Rita. You have to be careful about taking advice from there, but cookies are always a good idea! Hope they continue to work.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I give my hubby grief all the time for getting medical advice off of Dr. Google, but it's been months and so far her head bobbles have been way more infrequent, so hopefully this is really just a low blood sugar thing!
DeleteNorbert is 11 and has had similar bizarre episodes infrequently once or three to 4 times a year since he was 3 since its so rare we never did major testing. If cookies work I say go with cookies
ReplyDeleteUrban hounds
That's good that it's rare. I hope it stays that way!
DeleteWe love the cookies that Trader Joes makes for dogs and in some of the flavors that are cat shapes along with shoes, couches and my favorite, the squirrels (which just happen to be the biggest cookies).
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, those cookies are good. I mean - they smell good. There's a neighbor who leaves a cookie tin out in her yard with those in for pups who stop by. Rita LOVES to go by there.
DeleteRita,
ReplyDeleteYou're so funny! My Mum sometimes gets those from Trader Joes and I wouldn't have a problem eating them, however, I've never been offered one - how rude! I'm coming over to your place! :)
Wags to all,
Your pal Snoopy :)
Snoopy, come on over! You can sleep on the couch and eat Cats Cookies at our house! ;)
DeleteThat's a unique solution. Glad it is working for you. That's funny that you have to eat them first though.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that so odd? She's a little nut-bar.
DeleteOur LittleBear used to have grand mal/tonic clonic seizures. He had them about twice a month when we first adopted him... then later went down to about once a month... then one every two months... and kept getting further spaced out with time. We hated seeing him go through them, but they were infrequent enough that we decided not to medicate him. I also have a seizure disorder (that I *am* medicated for), so I was really empathetic to his seizures. We never did figure out what caused them, except that less stress equaled lower incidence of seizures and more equaled higher. A stressful event, such as a vet visit, would almost guarantee a seizure the next day or the day after. Now that I think about it, he had much fewer seizures after moving into our home from the apartment we lived in at the time, so it's possible they could've been caused (at least partially) by some chemical they used on the grass there or something. So many possibilities... none of them relevant now that he's gone...
ReplyDeleteRegarding the head bobbles, he would have those for a few minutes upon coming out of a seizure, so I know what they look like.
Low blood sugar can definitely cause seizures in people, so it's possible that Rita could be having minor focal seizures related to low blood sugar. Giving her a quick snack in the morning may be all you need to prevent them. If the cookies are indeed working, you'll know your Googling served you well.
Cookies are certainly a wonder cure for my ills (so I pretend). In fact, the idea of having cookies in my nightstand cracks me up, because they'd most certainly be used to cure any number of ailments I diagnose myself with during the night. If I kept something in there for the dogs, it would have to actually be dog treats... something I would not be tempted by.
I'm sorry to hear about your seizure issues (and LittleBear's - what a sweet name btw). It's good that you didn't have to medicate him. i'd hate to have to dope Rita up, so luckily so far we are avoiding even considering going that route.
DeleteYes... cookies in the nightstand could be dangerous! LOL. But luckily (or not), I'm such a chocoholic that plain sugar cookies are kinda boring to me. I'll eat a few in the mornings on the w/ends (to get Rita to join me, and also to stave off a headache, since I also can be hit by low blood sugar) but other than that I'm not interested in them!
Glad you found a solution that works!
ReplyDeleteYes, me too! Hopefully it keeps working!
DeleteOMG how much you sound like me. First I freak. Then I google.
ReplyDeleteIt's good that you figured this out on your own. Are you thinking that her blood sugar drops? I can always tell when I've gone too long without eating because I get shaky and feel like I'm going to faint. (Not that I've ever fainted but you know.) ;-)
I'll confess... Bella loves the Ginger Cat variety of these. On occasion, I will give them to her to settle her stomach (because of the ginger) or to bribe her to let me trim her nails. ;)
ReplyDelete