This is Holly the dog, who tips the scales at more than eight stone.

The seven-year-old Rottweiler is more than 50 per cent heavier than she should be, which has earned her a place on animal charity PDSA’s pet slimming competition.

Her owners Paul and Pamela Rymer, who have had her since she was five weeks old, said she had always been a big dog.

Pamela, 43, said: “She loves her food and used to eat the leftovers from our dinner she never turns her nose up at anything.”

Now the couple, of Furness Dene, Monk Bretton, have put her on a special diet and have already seen the pounds drop off. They hope losing some extra weight will also ease arthritis in one of her back legs.