Kinny the dog is now skinny the slimmer thanks to a strict diet.

The overweight pooch piled on the pounds after her owner Jayne Clements began rewarding her hard work by tipping her a treat.

But she has been working out and dieting, earning her the title of slimming pet of the year.

As a working dog she should have been fit as a fiddle, acting as the ears for Jayne who is deaf and in a wheelchair.

The diligent pet lets Jayne know when someone is knocking at the front door and lets her know when her partner Les Scrivens is calling her.

Kinny will also jump to attention if a smoke alarm sounds.

She has become a lifeline for Jayne, 43, from Worthing, who started to show her thanks over the years by giving Kinny the odd treat.

But the odd treat became one too many and Kinny soon ballooned in weight.

The corgi/Alsatian/terrier cross, supplied by the Buckinghamshire-based charity Hearing Dog For The Deaf, would get a quick snack every time she carried out her duty.

The eager-to-please pooch worked so hard, her waistline expanded to the point of endangering her health.

Jayne said: "Sometimes she would pester me for food. I would give her treats when she did things for me and she would give me a nice look so it was tempting to give her treats.

"When we were eating she would nudge my arm for something."

Eventually Kinny's weight reached a peak of 2st 6lbs, a hefty size for a small pooch.

Les, 65, said: "Every time Kinny did something she would get a treat and she got fat. She was quite porky."

Staff from Hearing Dogs For The Deaf warned the couple during a visit that Kinny had to shape up.

Kinny was taken to Grove Lodge vets in Worthing in February this year, where Jo Raine, head of veterinary healthcare at the clinic, offered guidance on Kinny's diet programme.

Within four months of Kinny starting the special dog food diet, the portly pooch shed 20 per cent of her body weight, slimming down to just over 2st.

The clinic was so impressed with the pet's achievements it entered her into Hills Regional Pet Slimmer of the Year Awards in November, which she won.

Kinny will go through to the national finals in the New Year.

She won her owners £250 travel vouchers and £150 Boots vouchers at the ceremony in Maidstone, Kent.

Jayne said: "We have to be tough with her and if we can do it, anyone can. You have just got to find a way round hurdles.

"It is very, very hard but we say no to her and she goes to her basket. She has got more energy now and everyone comments on how much skinnier she is."

Jo Raine said: "I was so pleased for them both. They really deserved to win after all their hard work to reach Kinny's goal weight and to keep her there."