Meet the UK's biggest dog - an 18 stone 'gentle giant' who eats an entire chicken for dinner every day.<br /><br />Two-year-old Abu, a Turkish Malakli, stands at 7ft 2in when on his hind legs and weighs just over 18 stone - the same as a baby elephant.<br /><br />Owner Dylan Shaw, 33, believes this makes him the UK's biggest dog - and he's expected to put on a few more stone in the next year.<br /><br />The huge hound wolfs down 3kg of meat a day, including one whole chicken, three whole mackerel, two eggs, and raw meat dog food every day.<br /><br />Dylan says Abu's diet costs him £11 a day - a little over £4k a year.<br /><br />But, despite his size, Abu is a "gentle giant" who thinks he is a lap dog - and loves snuggling with Dylan's kids India, five, and Reuben, four, on the sofa. <br /><br />Dylan, a dog trainer, from Redcar, Yorks., said: “Abu has been a pleasure to own, he’s a really good family dog and he’s great with kids. <br /><br />“He has raw meat, raw dog food, and whole chickens as well – he gets one chicken per day. <br /><br />“He's very energetic when he's out but in the house you don’t know he’s there until you trip over him. <br /><br />“When he’s stood on all fours his shoulders come above my hips – I'm five foot 11, and he makes me look like a child stood next to him. <br /><br />“He thinks he's a lot smaller than he is, he tries to sit on your lap and crushes you but he’s a big softy really, he cries when he gets told off.<br /><br />"They don't fully mature until three so he's still got a year of growing to do - it's ridiculous, I don't know what I'm going to end up with - he's already outgrown my expectations."<br /><br />Dylan says he’d always wanted a Turkish Malakli, but was waiting until he had enough space at home to look after one. <br /><br />Abu was imported from Turkey in November 2021 at just four months old – but Dylan says he was already bigger than his other dog, Luna, a Doberman, when he arrived. <br /><br />He says he spent plenty of time socialising Abu with people and other dogs to make sure he was comfortable in all environments. <br /><br />The pair are regularly asked for pictures on walks and Dylan says some days they struggle to get 10 feet without being stopped. <br /><br />Now, Abu is a foot taller when on all fours than Dylan expected, and nearly 30kgs heavier than he thought the pooch would be. <br /><br />Dylan said: "We get a lot of people taking pictures as we walk past - you see the flashes going off.<br /><br />"Normally they ask how much for a ride, or say they wouldn't like to be picking up after him.<br /><br />"There's a lot of horse related remarks.<br /><br />“Currently he's outgrown any other dogs that came from the kennels I got him from.<br /><br />“He’s grown a lot more than I'd expect him to grow, he’s quite large for the breed – he dwarfs Great Danes. <br /><br />“A couple of months ago I took him into my kids' school for ‘take a pet to school day’ and all the kids loved him. <br /><br />“He's lovely, I wouldn’t change him for the world. I don’t get anyone who's scared of him, I have more problems with the Doberman.” <br /><br />Balthazar, a Blue Great Dane, who weighed 15 stone and was seven-foot tall and passed away in August this year, is the current record holder for the UK's biggest dog.<br /><br />Abu's diet costs Dylan £11 per day - £4,015 a year.<br /><br />Breakfast - one and a half kilos of raw meat dog food, two whole mackerel and an egg.<br /><br />Dinner - one and a half kilos of raw meat dog food, kibble, an egg and a whole chicken.
