‘I own the UK’s biggest dog - his diet costs £4k a year and he weighs the same as a baby elephant'
11.11.2023 - 17:47
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A dog owner believes his hound is the biggest in the UK - with the four legged friend weighing the same as a baby elephant. Two-year-old Abu, a Turkish Malakli, stands at 7ft 2in when on his hind legs and weighs just over 18 stone.
His owner Dylan Shaw, 33, feeds him 3kg of meat every day, including one whole chicken, three whole mackerel, two eggs, and raw meat dog food. Dylan estimates Abu’s diet costs him £11 a day - a little over £4k a year.
But Abu is set to become even bigger, and is expected to put on a few more stone in the next year. However, 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.
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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