A dad had been slammed as ‘idiotic’ for provoking his American bulldog into protecting his newborn baby.

Massi, from Italy, mimed hitting his weeks-old daughter Sophie in an attempt to see how his dog Mino would react.

The act aggravated the dog who lunged at his owner prompting many viewers to voice their concern for the child’s safety.

In an online clip, Massi mimes hitting his baby daughter who is lying on a bed with Mino sitting beside her.

The dog becomes visibly concerned thinking the dad is harming the child and attempts to stop him by jumping and nipping.

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Massi, from Italy, mimed hitting his weeks-old daughter Sophie in an attempt to see how his dog Mino would react

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The act aggravated the dog who lunged at his owner however many voiced their concern for the child's safety

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Thousands are divided after dad Massi provoked his American bulldog to ‘protect’ his newborn baby. He mimed hitting his child causing the dog to lunge 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 dad’s actions.

‘Trying to elicit a response from your dog by pretending to threaten your baby for the purposes of content creation – this is not something I understand or encourage,’ he said.

‘Furthermore, the desire by many, often male, dog parents to foster ‘protective’ behaviours in their pets is often a human projection that (I feel) has its roots in toxic hyper-masculinity.’

The animal doctor added the reality is that most dogs are going to spend most of their life in a calm, happy family environment without the need to protect babies from assault.

The dog attempts to stop him by jumping and nipping. Sydney vet Dr Tim Montgomery said Massi's behaviour created unnecessary confusion and stress'

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The dog attempts to stop him by jumping and nipping. Sydney vet Dr Tim Montgomery said Massi’s behaviour created unnecessary confusion and stress’

‘Pet parents should stop placing this unreasonable expectation on their pets, as this kind of behaviour just creates unnecessary confusion and stress for dogs,’ he said.

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

‘This is how pitbulls get labelled as vicious dogs because ignorant people like this provoke them! It’s sickening honestly,’ one woman said.

‘Why even risk it?’ asked another.

‘The whole time I was scared in case the dog accidentally fell on the baby trying to protect it,’ a third wrote.

‘Mino is a good boy but don’t confuse him into having an accident and stepping on bambino,’ someone added.

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