UK's biggest dog: 18-stone Aksaray Malaklisi that eats whole chicken a day with diet costing owner £4k a year

Thought to be the UK’s biggest dog weighing in at a whopping 18-stone, this ‘gentle giant’ has a hearty appetite, consuming an entire chicken daily for dinner. Abu, a two-year-old Turkish Malakli, towers at an impressive 7 feet 2 inches on his hind legs, equivalent in weight to a baby elephant. In contrast to Labrador Molly who needed a search and rescue team to locate her when she went missing, Abu's massive size would certainly help him stand out in a crowd.

Owner Dylan Shaw, 33, proudly declares Abu to be the largest dog in the UK, and he believes Abu will gain even more weight in the coming year. Despite his immense size, Abu's diet is as remarkable as his stature. He eats a staggering 3kg of meat daily, including a whole chicken, three entire mackerel, two eggs, and raw meat dog food, incurring a daily cost of £11, adding up to just over £4,000 annually.

Despite being a potentially record breaking dog, Shaw said Abu is a gentle and affectionate companion who fancies himself a lap dog. He adores cuddling with Dylan's children, India, aged five, and Reuben, aged four, on the sofa.

Dylan, a dog trainer, from Redcar, Yorkshire, said: “Abu has been a pleasure to own, he’s a really good family dog and he’s great with kids. He has raw meat, raw dog food, and whole chickens as well – he gets one chicken per day.

“He's very energetic when he's out but in the house you don’t know he’s there until you trip over him. 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.

“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. 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."

Dylan says he’d always wanted a Turkish Malakli, but was waiting until he had enough space at home to look after one. 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.

He says he spent plenty of time socialising Abu with people and other dogs to make sure he was comfortable in all environments. The pair are regularly asked for pictures on walks and Dylan says some days they struggle to get 10 feet without being stopped.

Now, Abu is a foot taller when on all fours than Dylan expected, and nearly 30kgs heavier than he initially thought the pooch would be. Dylan said: "We get a lot of people taking pictures as we walk past - you see the flashes going off.

"Normally they ask how much for a ride, or say they wouldn't like to be picking up after him. There's a lot of horse related remarks. Currently he's outgrown any other dogs that came from the kennels I got him from.

“He’s grown a lot more than I'd expect him to grow, he’s quite large for the breed – he dwarfs Great Danes. 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. 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.”

Balthazar, a Blue Great Dane, who weighed 15 stone and was seven-foot tall and died in August this year, is the current record holder for the UK's biggest dog.