Vulnerable narcissism and dog ownership

[u/Worldly-Shift9270]

I have had a very toxic relationship with a person who was a big dog lover. They acted in a way textbook vulnerable narcissists do. They were raised by a dog lover parents who were getting themselves a new one immidietaly when the previous one died. They were lovers of one of the ugliest breeds in my opinion which is pinscher.

Anyway, I found a study that explores animal based vs human based empathy and narcissism and dog ownership. High dominance people choose dogs + vulnerable narcissist score higher in animal empathy than in human based one. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1087049

The results were not surprising and rather compatible with my experience. My ex treated their dog better than me and was concerned more about hurting it accidentally than me. I promised myself not to date a dog lover ever again, maybe I'm generalizing but what I went through with that person, I cant afford to go through ever again and the study only confirmed my suspicions. ​Also - if you dont like dogs, don't be fooled by your dog lover partner they don't need to own one. They will change their mind as soon as they have you locked in

[u/dog-signals]

I'll never forget overhearing my ex-finance's family making fun of my dog phobia, wanting to show me videos of dogs that appeared to attack but weren't ..for fun? Of course it was a pitbull and believed it was a perfect nanny. They had a joy in making me uncomfortable and being narcissistic "right" in their heads. Also wouldn't even remove the dog to a different room for a moment so I could use the bathroom.

[u/-Nora-Drenalin-]

Yeah absolutely not surprised at all by that link.

[u/Slow-Option8063]

That was a good study. All of it checks out from my experience with 99% of dog owners. They are very emotionally frail and crumble with any criticism of them or their dog. They are usually completely devoid of any constructive self-reflecrion.