Dad slammed after provoking American Bulldog into protecting baby: ‘This is risky behaviour’

A dad has been branded an ‘idiot’ for pushing his American bulldog to protect his newborn baby.

Massi, from Italy, pretended to hit his week-old daughter Sophie in a bid to see how his dog Mino would react.

The act aggravated the dog lunging at its owner, prompting many viewers to express concern for the child’s safety.

In an online clip, Massi mimes hitting his daughter, who is lying on the bed with Mino sitting next to her.

The dog is visibly worried because he thinks the father is hurting the child and tries to stop him by jumping and biting.

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Thousands of people are divided after father Massi dared his American bulldog to ‘protect’ his newborn baby. He pretended to hit his child, causing the dog to come at him

“Mino defends his little sister like a real big brother,” Massi captioned the clip.

Sydney veterinarian Dr Tim Montgomery, who is passionate about animal behaviour, told FEMAIL he does not condone the father’s actions.

“Trying to provoke a response from your dog by pretending to threaten your baby for the purpose of creating content – ​​this is not something I understand or encourage,” he said.

“Additionally, the desire of many, often male, dog parents to promote ‘protective’ behavior in their pets is often a human projection that (in my opinion) has its roots in toxic hyper-masculinity.”

The vet added that the reality is that most dogs will spend most of their lives in a quiet, happy family environment without the need to protect babies from abuse.

The dog tries to stop him by jumping and biting. Veterinarian Dr. Sydney’s Tim Montgomery said Massi’s behavior caused unnecessary confusion and stress.

“Pet parents need to stop placing these unreasonable expectations on their pets because this type of behavior only causes unnecessary confusion and stress for dogs,” he said.

Massi’s video was viewed a whopping 204 million times and while some applauded Mino’s ‘loyalty’, others found Massi’s behavior ‘dangerous’.

“This is how pit bulls are labeled as mean dogs because ignorant people like these provoke them! It’s honestly sickening,” one woman said.

“Why would you even risk it?” asked another.

“The whole time I was scared in case the dog accidentally fell on the baby while trying to protect him,” a third wrote.

“Mino is a good boy, but don’t let him get confused by having an accident and getting on the bambino,” someone added.