If you made New Year health and fitness resolutions, have they survived the first few weeks of January?

This is a time of year that many people contemplate shedding a few pounds, but maybe this good intention should also be applied to our pets.

Obesity is ranked by vets as one of their top welfare concerns, but it’s a problem that is often not recognised by owners.

Overweight pets often have a shortened lifespan and they are more likely to develop debilitating illnesses such as diabetes and osteoarthritis.

All too often people give their pets human food such as cheese, but it’s worth remembering that about 30 grams of cheese for a cat is the equivalent of three chocolate bars for a human.

The pet food industry also has to take its fair share of blame given it actively markets calorie-filled, over-priced treats and supplements.

How can you tell if you dog or cat is overweight? The most simple method is to run both hands gently along your dog or cat’s torso, and if you can just about feel their ribs under their fur, then they should be a good weight.

This is slightly trickier if you have a very fluffy dog or cat, as is the other quick method of checking – when viewed from above you should be able to see your pet’s waistline.

As with overweight humans the answer is, of course, that if a pet takes sufficient exercise and has a calorie-controlled diet then he or she will have a healthy body weight.

Although prevention is better than cure, if your pet has piled on the pounds they should never be put on a crash diet or have food withheld.

This can lead to a potentially life threatening condition called hepatic lipidosis where fat is broken down too rapidly and overwhelms the liver.

It can be difficult to manage an individual cat’s weight in multi-cat households.

Ideally the overweight cat should be fed in a separate room, and any food left over by the other cats removed, but this is easier said than done.

An alternative is to place food inside a cardboard box with a hole cut into the side that is too small for the overweight cat to fit into.

If they rip open the box to get to the food at least they have used up some calories in the process.

It is easier to control food and exercise regimes with dogs, and it’s fair to say that active owners generally have healthier dogs; and scientific studies have, over the years, shown that overweight owners tend to have porkier pets.

Researchers in Sweden also found that there is a correlation between owners, their dogs and type two diabetes - they discovered that owning a dog with diabetes was associated with a 38% increased risk of having diabetes compared with owning a healthy hound.

Bandit, pictured, is a little rounder than he should be but he’s gradually slimming down and developing a svelte outline.

He’s enjoying a more active exercise regime and strict feeding programme, and, at only two years old, he can now look forward to many years of having healthy joints.

Bandit is a medium sized bull breed cross, and is the friendliest dog you could ever wish to meet but he can sometimes be a little over-enthusiastic and bouncy.

His new owners will need to help him understand boundaries, and keep all four feet on the ground no matter how excited he is or how much he wants to demonstrate his affection.

We think he’d be at his happiest as the only dog in a home, but he has lived with an old dog in the past and so this could be explored again in the future.

Because of his substantial build, we can’t rehome him with children in case he accidentally knocks them over in his eagerness, and he can be ‘over friendly’ with other dogs and so he will need to wear his specially designed muzzle in public to allay any fears (an over friendly dog can sometimes be mistaken for an aggressive dog).