Dog in pain while pooping

Good evening, we have a 3 year old dog who has been in pain when he poops for approximately 2 months. The pain is only when he initially starts pushing feces out. He will yip/whine/cry only at the beginning , bark at his behind, squat again, poop, move to another location and squats and poop more without making any noise. He had his anal glands expressed 2 months ago.  Has a floating knee cap and has narrowing in his spine. So far in an attempt to get a diagnosis, he's had an anal exam every 7-10 days that comes back normal. Anal glands check and they've been empty since he had them expressed. He had an X-ray that shows a very mild case of lumbosacral. He has been on Miralax to soften his stools, Gabapentin, and Prednisone.  He has seen some improvement with both Gabapentin and Prednisone both taken separately and together but not 100% relieve, with the exception of day 5 of Prednisone. He acts totally fine, eats and drinks fine, doesn't throw up or have any any diarrhea.   Any thoughts on what could be the issue?

Hi - Certainly, squatting in a good position to push a stool out can put pressure on the hips and spine and be uncomfortable in animals, particularly in those with pre-existing orthopaedic problems in these areas.  Too hard a stool can perpetuate this because the dog would have to squat for longer - an assessment of the hardness of the stool will let you know whether more water / products / dietary change might be helpful.  I hear that the anus appears to be normal on palpation.  Sometimes fragments of bone or other hard materials are inappropriately ingested which can make a poo uncomfortable to pop out.  Furthermore there's always the concern that cancer or cysts can pop up anywhere and interfere with any process, including that one.  Nerves and muscles can become damaged in that area, leading to pouching and a less than straightforward route through the rectum.  Foreign bodies are sometimes a concern.  Furthermore, anticipation of pain can be as bad as the pain itself and worsen a situation.  So what to do?  I think it's worth talking to your vet and perhaps a specialist, about which of these have definitely been ruled out, which can still be tested for in more detail and what is most likely in your dogs' case.  It could be that further tests or better diet or a review of the pain relief or better imaging or a mixture of all of these things, might help.  It could be that your vet is satisfied that they know the most likely cause and is already doing the best that they can offer. A good follow-up question to that is whether a specialist could offer more advice.  Unfortunately problems like this can sometimes be multi-factoral and complex;  obviously at three years old, there may be a lot of quality gained from improving matters.  Please do let us know how your boy gets on.

desiree1234  Hi-did you ever find out what was wrong with your dog?  My poor dog is experiencing the similar symptoms and has had an ultrasound, xray, anal gland expression, acupuncture, pain meds, stool softeners and an MRI. We’re waiting for the MRI results, but other tests have shown nothing.  Hope your pup has found relief.  Please let me know if you’ve gotten a diagnosis.

Hi. My boy is having the same issues were waiting for an MRI scan. Did you ever find out what the issue is? Thank you. 😊