I picked Chase up from the trainers yesterday and he lost ALLOT of weight while he was there. He has always been a hard keeper and tough to keep the pounds on and I guess the extra work and energy really paid a toll on him. My question is, what is the best thing to feed him right now? In conversation yesterday, I was told by one person to give him raw chicken, bones and all. Another told me to give him ground beef.  His dry food is Nutra Nuggets with no corn since it upsets his tummy and It is the only dry food he will eat.  Your advise is greatly appreciated and welcomed, Andrea

Oh, and have to say the trainer did what they could to help with his weight and were really concerned. He just wouldnt eat while he was there. So in no way do I blame them. They are the best group of people I have ever met and realy care about their animals.

Yeah, some dogs don't eat well under stress. It happens.

Straight chicken, hamburger, fish, a spoonful of lard, Annamaet's impact suppliment... it all means extra high quality quality fat and (except for the lard obviously) protien. Any of these are really 'hot' so you want to start them in small doses for a couple weeks and then increase them slowly.

In the meantime make sure he's got a warm place to stay as many hours out of the day he can. That will help keep him from burning extra calories just trying to stay warm.

Ok, so he is eating really well and even looks like he is putting on some weight again, but now he is sick! He has a nasty deep seal like cough and cant even bark. I had to get up several times through the night because I thought he was vomitting. He had his bordatella vaccine before he went so I dont know what is going on. I think the stress got to him. He has an appointment this afternoon so we will see. Thanks again ya'll. Have a great day. Andrea

There are a lot of canine 'flus' that go around in dog circles just like the kids in school. You can certainly take him to the vet to rule out pnemonia and other treatable stuff, but if it's a virus then you'll be stuck just doing supportive care and waiting it out.

Coughing up pinkish stuff??? Yeesh... call me crazy but I'd be heading to the vet too!

We just got back from the vet and he has Bronchitis. The pinkish stuff was from the irritation from coughing. His lungs are clear and the chest xray was normal, but the bronchi and throat are a mess. He probubly inhaled an irritant during training. So he will be on rest, fluids and antibiotics for 10 days. Doc also said to give him canned puppy food for the high callories and protien content to put a few pounds on him. His weight today was 47.1 pounds so he needs a few groceries in him. Thanks for your comments and concerns, Andrea

Your poor dog! I am glad you went to the vet.

As for adding on pounds, I use full fat plain yogurt (Stonyfield farm sells big tubs of organic yogurt that my dogs love), which also helps with any... digestion issues... he might get from eating more than he usually does. Sardines are also a great source of protein & good fats. As long as you can stand the smell of their breath afterwards, of course!

Good luck!