muscle contractions

Question
My 3 year old Australian Shepherd has developed a muscle twitch on her back. I can see the muscle contract under her coat. It starts when she lays down she will turn and bite her skin as it contracts. Usually it last a few seconds, about 3 contractions and then they stop. What can cause this?

Answer
One of our agility dogs who has muscle/back issues that crop up on occasion has a similar reaction when touched in that area if she is in pain. Consequently, I wonder if it is a pain reaction in your dog since it seems to happen only when she lies down.

Regular veterinarians are good at making our sick dogs well, but when it comes to diagnosing muscle/structural problems, most of them are at a loss, except in the instance of the most obvious, and usually just prescribe rest and pain meds (without finding the cause). Here we use a veterinary chiropractor if one of our dogs has specific issues such as these. A good one is worth his/her weight in gold! http://www.avcadoctors.com/search_for_avca_certified_doctor

Watch your dog closely to see if she is doing the following as anything less is indicative of physical problems:

Full body shake from head all the way to tail
Full yawn
Full stretch, both fore and aft
Ability to turn head fully right and left (should be able to touch side easily with nose