I thought the only problem I have with our rescued Dobe was the barking in the crate I posted elsewhere on the forum. She is adjusting great to her new home and we are glad to have her.

But now something has happened three times that is, so far, unexplainable. When I have her out on the lead to do her business she will just be walking along and out of nowhere she yelps and acts like she was stabbed in the rear with an icepick. She will spin around to look, lick, bite, examine what the caused the pain but there is nothing there one can see. After one of these episodes she typically becomes despondent and twice just sat down until I said it was time to go in the house. She urinates normally, 5 to 6 times a day, drinks three or four times a day but consumes a good volume of water at each time. Water is always available but those are the the number of times I know she went to the water bowl (she is a messy drinker and trails water that has to be wiped up from the kitchen floor). Stools are mostly solid and mostly 2 to 3 times a day. She is paracite free, confirmed by the vet and animal rescue. She is recovering from Heartworm treatment, the actual treatment was given about 4 weeks ago.

For all appearances she seems to be fine until the pain or what ever it is happens. I explained the symptom to my Vet and she was at a loss as to the possible cause.

Any suggestion would be appreciated. I don't want her to experience this because it hurts/upsets her pretty strongly. I also am wondering if she is attributing this to me. One of the times it happened as she was walking past me, very close and I just got the feeling she thought I did it. The other two times it happened she was away from me. After it happens she cautiously takes treats and her response to Come could be described as reluctant, normally she responds to come with enthusiasm and quickly.

Ideas? I need help.

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.....out on the lead to do her business she will just be walking along and out of nowhere she yelps and acts like she was stabbed in the rear with an icepick. She will spin around to look, lick, bite, examine what the caused the pain but there is nothing there one can see. .....

Where is she licking/looking? Her butt, or her genitals, or where? Her tail? (I mean, exactly where is "rear"?)

How close together were the incidents?

Did the vet say anything at all? Any suggestions --- even that were lukewarm or unlikely?

Does she walk at all unevenly? Any kind of gait abnormality? (Watch her walk away from you and toward you.)

After the incident does she walk differently? More slowly? Could the reluctant recall be more hesitant movement than reluctance to come to you?

Does she lie always on one side or act as if she has trouble getting comfortable to sleep?

I'm asking these questions because I have a lot of material saved and want to start looking in the right spots. I'm not a health professional -- I just read a lot of dog health stuff. Maybe I can find ideas.

I'm not a medical professional but I own a GSD with a history of back problems. Sometimes my girl will get in a "bad" position to do her business and will yelp like she was stabbed. I haven't noticed alot of licking with my dog so maybe it's something different. If your vet didn't check her spine for painful areas, it might be a good idea to ask them to do so.

Thank you for responding.

The initial focus seems to be her tail and then she seems to move to the right just beside the tail.
The incidents were days apart.
Most of her time has been dragging a long line where I would have the opportunity to watch her gait. She has a real problem (she can't stand it) with the line in her legs so she compensates by striding sort of sideways to keep it on the side. When she was off lead I did watch and her gait is straight and normal as far as I can see.
After the incidents she moves slowly, timidly.
She lies on both sides, doesn't seem to be much preference.

She will be staying the day at the Vet very soon for the last procedure for her heartworm treatment. I am going to have them examine for this problem and see if they can figure it out while she is there.

Again, thank you for helping

she could have a spinal or hip problem. palpating the area to see if there is a reaction would be the first thing to do. if that doesn't bring results, it would be good to have your vet do a series of x-rays and send them off to a top radiologist for evaluation. anything could be going on from a hairline fracture to a congenital spinal deformity to a muscle pull.

if your vet is at a loss, find another vet with better problem solving skills.

Just want to add you may want to muzzle her while feeling the area. She may bite out of reaction to a touch that causes severe pain. Nothing to worry about behaviorally, it's just a natural reaction to pain. Being prepared with a muzzle will mean one less thing to worry about!

Do you have an orthopedic (did I get that right?) vet anywhere near you who you can take her to?

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Just want to add you may want to muzzle her while feeling the area. She may bite out of reaction to a touch that causes severe pain. Nothing to worry about behaviorally, it's just a natural reaction to pain. Being prepared with a muzzle will mean one less thing to worry about!

Do you have an orthopedic (did I get that right?) vet anywhere near you who you can take her to?

Two good suggestions. While she's at the vet's for that day, if that vet comes up empty, then I would definitely second these ideas. Since it's not her genitals, butt, or tail, then I too would want to look very closely at her spine.

Each incident was far enough apart that wishful thinking was that it was something that would just go away. Its been two days now without it happening and she has another week to go before her day at the Vet. This is not a cronic pain where she is in ongoing discomfort so I will wait for the visit to the Vet. Of course if it starts happening with increased frequency or last longer than it has I will take her in for them to do a complete exam. By the way, the last episode is what prompted my call to the Vet to discuss this, the Vet has not examined her for this yet. I will do everything I can to find out the cause but hopefully its something like the random pains I get for no good reason and it will also just go away.

Now that I think of it, she was emaciated when she went to animal control. Other than the short walks I took her on 3 to 4 times a week she stayed in a run the entire 2 months she was there. Could it be that coming to my home with increased activity, walks twice a day and stuff going on with the pup that she slightly pulled something?

I had a problem with my miniature Doberman pincher very similiar behaviour, it was a abcess just under the tail above her genital area, you could not see it with the visible eye she acted just like you describe this yelping
at odd times, for a few days, before we noticed the swelling, which then erupted,and looked like a large pimple, we took her to the vet, he gave her an antibiotic, and cleaned it, she got another one some months later,but at least we knew why she
would cry and cringe when we picked her up and held her,
any pressure in the area would set her off.If it is this
it is not serious but very disturbing for the dog, hope
you find out soon <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> Hers was caused thru a diet that was to processed, she was fed to many table tit bits, we stopped
doing this, and it helped.

I took her to the vet yesterday. After a good exam he feels that it is caused by the injections for her heartworm treatment. It is causing the muscles to spasm and cramp. He checked the anal glands and everything around her rump, everything appeared normal. The muscles where the injections were given were two knots and hard as rocks. We are giving her two asprins a day now and massaging the muscles in addition to warm damp cloths several times a day. Last night she seemed to have some relief.

I believe I said that the condition was not a constant situation and from the severe pain standpoint it isn't. However, in talking with the Vet it became obvious that other factors indicated that while not severe all the time the pain and discomfort is pretty constant with her.

Going forward focusing on this being the cause we are trying to relieve the discomfort now and in time the effects of the shots will go away on their own.

Thank you and everyone that gave advise, as always it is greatly appreciated.