Brookcove...will adding potassium - UPDATE

 LOL. Yes, potassium is necessary in the process that allows neurons to fire, and muscles to contract, among other things. So if he's truly deficient this might be something you'd notice. Remember, don't be fooled into thinking that "a little is a good thing, more is better" - if the result is that dramatic then you don't want to change anything until he's evened out. And then only if he's "backsliding."

 How do you know how much is "too" much or if your dog is lacking and needs more?

 This thread caught my eye as we had a big event with Teddi this past weekend and by Sunday I had no dog left. I know she was tired, all my dogs were but she was much more zonked than the other two. She has absolutely NO fat on her body to draw reserve from so I am thinking I need to do something to help her during competitions. She is fit physically, but still I know fatigue is involved. We do give our dogs "Go Dog" from Clean Run. They seem to like it. 

I am so perplexed with what I need to do for her. 

 This is something I just started playing with so remember I'm not an expert, consult with your vet, your mileage may vary, etc, etc.

I haven't really noticed a change in Teddy's stamina as I have yet to find his "bottom" in or out of condition. He comes from very tough lines of working dogs, and the work I do here is very mild compared to what his direct ancestors were bred to do.

Potassium, as I said, is an electrolyte necessary for processing fluids, so it's possible to play with it some to see what happens. It's not like calcium which is somewhat easy to throw off balance. Large (like crazy huge) amounts of potassium will lead to an imbalance of sodium and can affect the kidneys, so if your dog has ANY kidney problems (including any history of UTI issues) don't mess with this I wouldn't think.

As someone said, there's several foods (banana is probably most famous) that supply potassium, though it wasn't enough for Ted. He'd have to eat enough bananas to cause constipation!

What I'm looking for with this is the edge that will allow Ted to increase condition without adding more food, since we've hit the wall there.

Some competitive sheepdog trialers use a glycogen supplement (I think that's right) to address mental zonkness across a tough competitive weekend (some competitions go several days, in fact). Yup, in fact, this is the product I've heard discussed. http://www.k9boost.com/Vertex.htm

I feel ambivalent about this for a "sport" that's actually supposed to be selecting breeding stock (ie, sheepdog trialing). I feel it's a possibly cullworthy weakness if a working dog can't handle a few days of training pressure. That's between you and me and the wallpaper though. For companion sporting dogs, it's certainly a good looking product and no reason not to try it. I've heard many, many good things about it.

 Thanks for the information, especially the UTI issues which Teddi has had. I did email my vet, he thinks her food is fine, he want to check her heart and blood sugar. Can I say how hard it is not to panic when you read that! I still honestly think it is her lack of body fat. I just need to figure out what to do to get her through when she needs more for an event, yet she has to remain thin. 

I will check out the K9 boost products more. I think I have a friend who feeds it, however I will wait until we have a vet visit to be sure. 

UPDATE:

Brookcove...Have room on your farm for a hyper-spazzed bouncy 53# bunny-rabbit??

Talk about an 80% turn-around in energy level in just 6-7 days since starting the Potassium, along with close to 2.5 wks now of being on lamb/rice puppy food versus chicken based diet.

Again he's not hyper in the sense of bouncing off the walls; but I'd say his energy level is about right for his age, whereas before you'd have sworn he was around 5-7yrs of age.

He's alot more alert, responsive, and perky; and best of all, he doesn't seem to be in a *fog* anymore.

Drinking hasn't changed at all, if anything it might be a little less.