I’m glad my thoughts were helpful, and I’m EXTRA happy that you are so confident and motivated to work with Nugget! The thing is, you’re not a bad person, and you’re not a bad pet owner. You just don’t know 100% how to work with and train your dog, and you know, most people don’t! I was totally clueless about my first dog, but he himself and a CRAZY amount of reading and research over years helped me turn myself around as a negligent trainer and we both benefited from it. I’m so happy and proud of you for consulting a professional and for realizing that your boyfriend just has vastly different opinions about your dog and training methods! A lot of people would give up on Nugget. There are about 20 Nuggets in my local dog warden shelter right now and some have been there for months. Nugget is lucky to have a mama who loves him and realizes that both of you have some learning to do together! Don’t give up on him 🙂 You guys are about to start a journey that will lead to an even more loving and happy relationship between you two. Read everything you can find on positive reinforcement dog training (a quick google search will turn up loads of good stuff)! And even though he’s cheesy and I don’t agree with all his methods (the “SSSH!” thing got laughed away by my dog) watch Cesar Milan’s TV show for inspiration and motivation- he really shows that with persistence and consistency you can train ANY non-violent dog. 🙂

I don’t know for sure, and I don’t want to just pass judgment on a total stranger, but it SEEMS to me like your boyfriend might be using your dog as a method of trying to control you. By saying “no man will ever want to deal with that dog” he is keeping you from leaving him by making you think you have to choose between your dog and a loving relationship. NOT TRUE. My boyfriend has never had any pets before, and we recently adopted a second dog together (I had my first dog, a Jindo, before I met the bf). Mochi, the new dog (Belgian shepherd/Newfoundland mix, about 110 lbs of HAPPYHAPPYHAPPYGOGOGO and zero training) frustrates my bf sometimes because he wants to climb on the bed, the couch, the people, and licks nonstop and just always NEEDS to be in your face! My bf got really agitated with Mochi once, and he smacked him on the back. Not hard, but enough that Mochi visibly shrank down and looked upset. He’s a very gentle dog, a true omega, so he didn’t bite or anything, but it was obvious that he felt hurt and sensed my bf’s aggression. I knew my bf was under a lot of stress at work and had just snapped for a moment- but that didn’t make it okay. So later that night I talked to him about it, and I told him that while I understood he was frustrated, it’s never okay to hit an animal and I’m not going to tolerate it if he does it again. He will not be welcome at my house any more. So now I’m putting my bf through dog training bootcamp LOL. 🙂 And the reason this situation is not tragic, is because my bf loves me and likes my dogs, and he recognized that what he did was not okay on any level and he is willing to learn other methods. He has not done it again and I sincerely believe that he won’t in the future. The fact that he was willing to acknowledge his mistake, where it came from within himself, how it hurt those around him, and instantly commit to change shows that my bf is a truly compassionate person and he is working WITH me (and my dogs haha) in this relationship. I don’t want to sound prideful or arrogant, but at risk of such I would advise that if your boyfriend is unwilling to consider your feelings- especially how much you love Nugget- and isn’t willing to learn with you and improve your life together, you should consider leaving him. Not because he’s an inherently bad person- he probably isn’t. But because if that’s the type of relationship you want, you CAN have that, just maybe not with him. There ARE men out there who will love you AND Nugget and will work with you both. Don’t let your bf scare you about that- he just doesn’t want you to leave. It also seems like he might be testing his ability to control you by seeing if he can pressure you into giving up your dog. Don’t do it. (Disclaimer, that may not be true- I admit I am suspicious after having been abused- it’s just my opinion.)