My boyfriend is adamant on buying a dangerous dog breed?

[Anonymous]

My boyfriend and I want to buy a dog, and I suggested one that's easy to train and adjust to, like golden retrievers and labradors. But he's insistent on buying a "dangerous" dog, such as a doberman or a pitbull. I'm not in favour of his choices, not because they're aggressive or anything, but because they're incredibly challenging for first time owners. He then said that it's "for my protection", which is stupid since he's literally calling me a child. I'm 22 and so is he, and yet he thinks I need a ferocious dog to protect myself. I'm honestly irritated by his overprotection of me.

[NamerOfStars]

A few weeks ago, one of my coworkers was attacked by a customer's pit bull. She wasn't even in their yard, just on the sidewalk approaching the house; the customer opened the door, the dog shot out and attacked her. The police were called in, and thought they were going to have to shoot it, but the owner managed to calm it down enough to bring it inside. Luckily, it was mostly content with savaging her shoe, and didn't do much damage to her, but that was a matter of LUCK, more than anything else. Pitbulls were, and are, bred to be aggressive, and to ignore pain- much larger and stronger breeds will break off an attack if you cause enough pain; pits will just keep going.

Now, this doesn't mean that they're bad dogs, but as you say, they call for a skilled, experienced owner, who's versed in canine psychology. Otherwise, you might get attacked, or an innocent neighbor, and you might be liable, legally as well as morally. It's also a LOT harder to find housing with a more dangerous breed; don't neglect the importance of that if you're renting.

[AviatorTom]

Dangerous dog breeds get a bad rap. The breed is not dangerous, breeders who breed dogs to fight and be dangerous, and owners who don't properly train their dog... they are the problem.

Having said that, you are perfectly correct is talking about the kind of dog you would like to have, and your boyfriend should respect that. He should also realize that any dog will be protective of their owner. A family dog like a golden retriever will protect the family members from harm just as much as a pit bull, possibly better because of their size.

[HelpfulWoman]

sounds a bit of a red flag! he's making different excuses now so you'll give in and very dodgy.
also unless he's going to afford/pay for actual training, it should be an easy no!

[Jessica405]

A lab will protect you just as well. Your guy sounds like a kid that wants a big toy to make up for his own inadequacies.

[Agape93]

Those aren't dangerous breeds. They just have bad reputations, because so many shitty owners mistreat and don't train them

[Asker]

That might be true tbh, but my main concern is his baby- fication of me

[Agape93]

Those aren't good protection choices for first time owners. I have Rottweilers. Smart, strong and protective, but they're stubborn as fuck lol a good starting protective breed, would probably be something like an English mastiff

[verylovelyguy]

he wants to feel manly by having a fierce, powerful dog. let him do it

[laly520]

red flag