Does your dog need to shed holiday pounds?

The festive season has come and gone, leaving us with a heady mix of fun, food and frolic and a host of resolutions for the new year. As is the case with every year, health and fitness features on most resolution lists. While we take care of our health, it is very easy for us to forget about the health of our four-legged pets.

A responsible pet parent always takes care to feed the pet the right meal, but the festive time does allow for many a slip in the diet plan. As we don't want our dogs to feel left out, most parent slide a piece of the festive goodies their dog's way. Yes, while we realise that certain food groups are not meant for our canine family members, we do indulge them every once in a while.

So what to do if your pet has gained a few pounds? Most pet parents feel that just putting their dogs back to their old diet is enough. Unfortunately, it is not. The food groups that the dog has consumed during this festive season have to be neutralised, the same way we would do for ourselves.

So, how does one get their doggy back to a healthier diet? In addition to a healthier diet, it is imperative to help them reverse any detrimental effects the diets could have manifested in their bodies.

Ishmeet Singh Chandiok, Founder, Harley's Corner (India's first Ready-to-Eat Wet Dog food brand), shares are a few tips to neutralise the effects of 'diet cheats' doggies went through during the festive season:

• Cut out all food items that contain sugar – even products with a low glycaemic index eg: no white bread, no white rice, no maida, etc. Having allowed your pooch to partake in a few sweets has already taken your dog's sugar levels high, so this will help bring it under control much faster

• Add Olive Oil to your dog's food – 1 capful, twice a week to the food will help strengthen the roots of their coat. This will help prevent any hair fall in the event you overdid the sugary treats.

• Add fish to your dog's diet – use white, flaky fish like basa, pomfret, tilapia, etc. This will give your dog natural Omega oils.

• Give your dog cooled curd – curd as a probiotic is a great digestive system cooler. A bowl of curd once a day for a week will help settle any disturbances in the digestive tract of your dog.

Exercise: Besides these tips, do remember to exercise your dog a little more. It is easy for dogs to put on weight and as we all know, shedding those extra pounds is a nightmare.