With almost 200 different breeds recognised by the American Kennel Club and over 300 breeds known worldwide, it can be tricky to know which breed will suit your family and which dogs are safe to keep with children.
Any dog that is going to live in a family with children, should be gentle and calm and either intelligent, or have a willingness to be trained.
Choosing a stubborn or aggressive dog breed is a recipe for disaster in a family home. Your family dog needs to be well trained so that they are able to take commands from your children, and should be playful yet gentle.
Here are six of the best choices for a family dog.
This breed will need two half hour walks each day, and some games at home which makes them a perfect family dog as most children love to play football or fetch in the garden with their four-legged best friend.
This dog typically isn’t protective and is friendly with everyone, strangers included. They are intelligent and easy to train due to their eager nature to please their owners.
Golden Retrievers get on well with other animals too, so would suit a family that already has a few pets.
While this breed isn’t typically a great family dog for young children, for older more active children, they are a great choice. This breed needs plenty of exercise, a minimum of 90 minutes per day. This can be achieved though walks run and even games of hide-and-seek or fetch with your kids.
This dog is very intelligent, but they need to keep busy with games, walks and even guarding the house. They require a very strict training schedule to ensure that they don’t become destructive, which could be great if you have older children who want a level of responsibility.
They have a lot of personality packed into their tiny bodies, and they are very quick learners.
If your household is quite a busy one, this breed might be well suited to you as they are quite low maintenance.
Other than being groomed once or twice a week, they don’t tend to bark much and only need around 20 minutes of exercise per day.
They do get bored very easily and will need a lot of attention, so if you have a large family with plenty of people who would like to teach them tricks and play brain games, they are unlikely to go short on attention.
Border Collies are very affectionate, but due to their playful and bouncy nature, they may be better suited to families with older children.
They are very eager to please which makes training them quite easy, but they do need to be with a family where there is always someone around as they can be prone to separation anxiety.
This breed does need plenty of exercise which therefore suits them to a more active family with a moderately sized back yard.
They are gentle and loving around children; they are fun and energetic and love to play.
Poodles come in three different sizes too; miniature, toy and standard so there is a perfect size for every family.
They are also hypoallergenic, which means they are less like to trigger allergic reactions in people or children that suffer with allergies. This would make them really well suited to a family who is desperate for a dog, but has a family member with mild allergies.
Summary
It’s always important to remember that while some breeds are typically known for being better family pets that others, you can always pick a wild card that simply isn’t suited to family life. You should also never leave your children alone with any dog, regardless of how well trained they are.
What is even more important that choosing a dog that makes an ideal family dog, is teaching your children how to interact appropriately with your new pet. Make sure they are calm and gentle with the dog, and allow him plenty of his own space when he wants to rest.
Thomas Woods is the founder of Perfect Dog Breeds, a website which aims to educate people about the benefits of keeping dogs, and the many different breeds that are available worldwide.
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Gallery: 6 best dog breeds for kids and families
These dog breeds make perfect furry companions for kids because of their temperaments and intelligence.
Golden Retrievers have a relaxed and cheerful temperament, and are friendly with everyone, including strangers.
A Belgian Malinois needs plenty of exercise, and is more suitable with older, more active kids.
The English Cocker Spaniel is eager to please, and therefore easy to train. But they need their humans to be around as this breed is prone to separation anxiety.
Border Collies are among the liveliest and most active dogs in the world.
A pug playing with a toy. This breed is playful and loving.
Poodles are gentle, loving and energetic.
