Does chicken skin hold enough beneficial nutrients to be worth the calories?

[greatwhitepaws]

Im putting Jackson on a diet. I didnt realize it, but he has gained about 10 pounds and Id like to get him back down in weight. Im going to limit the overall amount of food, but he eats a lot of chicken and a lot of chicken skin as well. I was going to start skinning the chicken like I had been doing in the beginning. Is there any reason he needs the chicken skin, since he gets fats from fish, pork, and red meat throughout the week?

[ToBScholarly]

I am not a nutritional expert, nor do I play one on TV. My 2 cents is that I feed Reggie skin (even when he needed to lose weight) for 2 reasons:
1) I was too lazy to pull the skin off the chicken and
2) The skin helps "grease the wheels" so to speak. Otherwise his poop is way too bony and he has a difficult time passing it.

When Reggie needed to lose weight, I just cut back about 1/2 pound - 1 pound of meat a day.
Good luck!

[ShilohsGirlJen]

I would simply reduce. You can also add some green beans to add weight and reduce calories.

[greatwhitepaws]

He is actually ok with the reduced amount so far, he doesnt really mope or complain, just goes to sleep. Im feeding him 2.5 pounds a day instead of 3.5 (he gets A LOT of bone, due to poop issues hence the high weight of food) He doesnt look fat, but I took him to get weighed and he was almost 170, I almost fainted. he has been very active this summer, but I guess his metabolism must have slowed down more than I thought when he hit about 2 years old. I want to drop him by about 10 pounds and re-evaluate. Id really like to see him at 155, but that might be too thin, I'll have to see.

Here is a recent photo, does he look fat too you guys?

[ShilohsGirlJen]

He might be a little chubby in the cheeks but hard to tell. That is where we see it first in our girls. Can you feel his ribs with light pressure. Also do you have a decent vet that knows big dogs and can give you their opinopn of his best weight.

My vet at home says for Lowe between 105 and 109. The vet here says 102 is the best.

[ToBScholarly]

I think it is less about the number and more about the shape. Can you feel his hips? The last rib before the hips?

[Lora]

Hes gorgeous! and I love your profile picture!!

[greatwhitepaws]

I can feel his ribs with pressure, but not without pressure, his stomach is firm, his chest is 42.5", his waist is 35", and he is 40" from the base of his neck to butt (just got done measuring for a harness, I normally dont know this stuff offhand lol). I can grab some extra skin around his upper back, above his front legs, and around his neck area. When he was younger I couldnt grab any skin anywhere but his neck.

My vet has said that he was a perfect weight at 125, 135, and 155 as he has grown. He doesnt have another vet appointment for 4 weeks when we get his regularly scheduled heart worm test. The vet is used to big dogs, but not Pyr's. Pyr's just are not common around here. 170 would be big for a Newf, but it sounds way too big for a Pyr. I just dont no how he gained the weight, I didnt notice him getting fatter, he hasnt been eating more and has been hiking about 8 miles a week. Regardless, he gained 15 pounds since this winter and since switching to raw.

Here are another few shots that show him at different angles:

[Swissies4Me]

He is gorgeous. I'm not sure how old he is, but a lot of the big breeds fill out until they're 3, even 4 years old - that could maybe be where some of the weight came from?

[ToBScholarly]

Golly he is beautiful.
I have no idea about pyr measurements. He sure looks fine to me.
For Reggie, my benchmarks for his weight were 1) being able to feel his rib/hips 2) his agility (when he had trouble jumping into my low-to-the-ground car) and 3) when Kendra told me he resembled a coffee table.

Outside perspective is absolutely essential.

Thanks for sharing the pictures. They are stunning.

[greatwhitepaws]

Thanks all. He is 2.75 years old, he will be 3 in late late december. He regularly jumps 30+ inches from the ground into my truck without a problem and is quite agile, but Im sure he can lose 10 pounds and still be healthy. I just wish I had an optimal weight for him, its tough because he is more newfoundland shaped than Pyr shaped, probably because he is a mix of breeds, so it makes pinpointing an ideal weight pretty hard. What makes it more difficult is that I know there are places they are supposed to have some extra skin to grab, like around their necks. Im not sure where I shouldnt be able to grab extra skin. When his winter coat comes in, it will be even more difficult to judge his shape. My vet isnt a big help with where I should and shouldnt be able to find extra skin. She just basically does the rib and waistline check. I love my vet, she is the best I have ever found, but like I said Pyr's just are not popular around here, most people have never seen one before. My vet sees one or two, but they are working ranch dogs and dont get the same level of care that Jackson gets...plus Im a big anal / paranoid about his health.

[sam.i.am]

Oliver has held weight in his chest/neck while still being able to easily feel his hips and he lost more than 15 pounds and looks similar but is way more healthy at the lighter weight. It is harder to tell with pyrs and pyr mixes due to body shape and a dense coat, but his ribs should be easily palpable without real pressure and he should not have a chubby chest. Those are the spots that Oliver fills out first in.

[greatwhitepaws]

Maybe Jackson is the same as Oliver. His chest has grown and his neck has gotten a little bigger. I'll have him weighed in a month and re-evaluate where he is at. I would love to see Jackson lose 15 pounds, but 10 will at least make me feel better.

[ShilohsGirlJen]

In the second set of pics he looks great. If he is comfortable and able to hike like that, he may just be the right weight. My first girl Shiloh was 175 and was not fat while a little heavy for the joints. For a female Leo that is huge. With giants they always rec that they are kept lite.

[krb0471]

If you are interested in hiking with Basja and I, let me know- I have 3 day weekends thru out Sept. Are you anywhere near Hawk Mtn? Or more east than that?

eta- just looked at your site and saw you were near Scranton...I used to own a house in Jim Thorpe.

[Itsapyr]

Man I think he is gorgeous...That is big but he really doesn't look too heavy maybe thick in the chest and shoulders but he seems to be pretty tall. I wouldn't worry about the number as much as the shape. Just bring him down some at a time but I wouldn't obsess over it. Jasper only weighs 110 but he is a small male and not yet 2. Abby's Dad was 155 and a big pyr. I wish Chelle was on here because she is great with pyr shapes and would be able to tell you more.

[greatwhitepaws]

In the second set of pics he looks great. If he is comfortable and able to hike like that, he may just be the right weight. My first girl Shiloh was 175 and was not fat while a little heavy for the joints. For a female Leo that is huge. With giants they always rec that they are kept lite.

The joints are what I always worry about. So far he is about as agile and nimble as a fox.

If you are interested in hiking with Basja and I, let me know- I have 3 day weekends thru out Sept. Are you anywhere near Hawk Mtn? Or more east than that?

eta- just looked at your site and saw you were near Scranton...I used to own a house in Jim Thorpe.

Yes, we are West and slightly south of Scranton. If you are ever up our way let me know.

Man I think he is gorgeous...That is big but he really doesn't look too heavy maybe thick in the chest and shoulders but he seems to be pretty tall. I wouldn't worry about the number as much as the shape. Just bring him down some at a time but I wouldn't obsess over it. Jasper only weighs 110 but he is a small male and not yet 2. Abby's Dad was 155 and a big pyr. I wish Chelle was on here because she is great with pyr shapes and would be able to tell you more.

Jackson was only 107 pounds at 21 months. Once we rescued him he slowly gained weight and grew and then when he hit 2 he took off didnt really get taller (he is around 32" at the shoulder), but got longer and filled out. He was holding steady at 145 then his chest filled out a little bit and he went to 150 which I thought he looked exactly the same as he looked now. So Sam may be right about gaining weight in areas hard to spot.

[bren]

I don't have anything to add about weight, but I'll say that I think he looks great! And, you should post more pics

[greatwhitepaws]

Thanks. Honestly, I have so many photos I couldnt even begin to post them all. Here are a few funny ones though.

[ToBScholarly]

Have a fondness for headpieces do ya?