Kid-Friendly
Being gentle with children, sturdy enough to handle the heavy-handed pets and hugs they can dish out, and having a blasé attitude toward running, screaming children are all traits that make a kid-friendly dog. You may be surprised by who's on that list: Fierce-looking Boxers are considered good with children, as are American Staffordshire Terriers (which are considered Pit Bulls). Small, delicate, and potentially snappy dogs such as Chihuahuas aren't always so family-friendly.
**All dogs are individuals. Our ratings are generalizations, and they're not a guarantee of how any breed or individual dog will behave. Dogs from any breed can be good with children based on their past experiences, training on how to get along with kids, and personality. No matter what the breed or breed type, all dogs have strong jaws, sharp pointy teeth, and may bite in stressful circumstances. Young children and dogs of any breed should always be supervised by an adult and never left alone together, period.
Dog Breeds That Tend To Be Friendly With Children
Afghan Hound
Airedale Terrier
Akbash
American Bulldog
American English Coonhound
American Eskimo Dog
American Foxhound
American Hairless Terrier
American Leopard Hound
American Pit Bull Terrier
American Staffordshire Terrier
American Water Spaniel
Appenzeller Sennenhunde
Australian Shepherd
Barbet
Basenji
Basset Fauve de Bretagne
Basset Hound
Bavarian Mountain Scent Hound
Beagle
Bearded Collie
Bedlington Terrier
Belgian Malinois
Belgian Sheepdog
Bergamasco Sheepdog
Berger Picard
Bernese Mountain Dog
Bichon Frise
Biewer Terrier
Black and Tan Coonhound
Black Mouth Cur
Black Russian Terrier
Bloodhound
Bluetick Coonhound
Boerboel
Bohemian Shepherd
Bolognese
Borador
Border Collie
Border Terrier
Boston Terrier
Bouvier des Flandres
Boxer
Boykin Spaniel
Bracco Italiano
Braque du Bourbonnais
Briard
Brittany
Broholmer
Brussels Griffon
Bull Terrier
Bulldog
Bullmastiff
Cairn Terrier
Cardigan Welsh Corgi
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
Chihuahua
Chinese Crested
Chinook
Cirneco dell’Etna
Cockapoo
Collie
Coton de Tulear
Curly-Coated Retriever
Dachshund
Dalmatian
Dandie Dinmont Terrier
Danish-Swedish Farmdog
Deutscher Wachtelhund
Dogue de Bordeaux
Drentsche Patrijshond
Drever
Dutch Shepherd
English Cocker Spaniel
English Foxhound
English Setter
English Springer Spaniel
Entlebucher Mountain Dog
Estrela Mountain Dog
Eurasier
Field Spaniel
Finnish Lapphund
Finnish Spitz
Flat-Coated Retriever
Fox Terrier
French Bulldog
French Spaniel
German Longhaired Pointer
German Shepherd Dog
German Shorthaired Pointer
German Spitz
Glen of Imaal Terrier
Goldador
Golden Retriever
Goldendoodle
Great Dane
Great Pyrenees
Greater Swiss Mountain Dog
Greyhound
Hamiltonstovare
Hanoverian Scenthound
Harrier
Havanese
Hokkaido
Hovawart
Ibizan Hound
Icelandic Sheepdog
Irish Red And White Setter
Irish Setter
Irish Terrier
Irish Water Spaniel
Irish Wolfhound
Italian Greyhound
Jack Russell Terrier
Japanese Spitz
Kai Ken
Keeshond
Kerry Blue Terrier
King Shepherd
Labradoodle
Labrador Retriever
Lakeland Terrier
Leonberger
Lhasa Apso
Lowchen
Maltipoo
Mastiff
Neapolitan Mastiff
Newfoundland
Norfolk Terrier
Northern Inuit Dog
Norwegian Buhund
Norwegian Elkhound
Norwegian Lundehund
Norwich Terrier
Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever
Old English Sheepdog
Otterhound
Patterdale Terrier
Peekapoo
Pembroke Welsh Corgi
Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen
Pharaoh Hound
Pocket Beagle
Pointer
Polish Lowland Sheepdog
Poodle
Portuguese Podengo Pequeno
Portuguese Sheepdog
Portuguese Water Dog
Pug
Puggle
Puli
Pyrenean Mastiff
Pyrenean Shepherd
Rat Terrier
Redbone Coonhound
Rhodesian Ridgeback
Rottweiler
Saint Bernard
Saluki
Samoyed
Schipperke
Schnoodle
Scottish Deerhound
Scottish Terrier
Sealyham Terrier
Shetland Sheepdog
Shih Tzu
Shiloh Shepherd
Siberian Husky
Silken Windhound
Skye Terrier
Sloughi
Small Munsterlander Pointer
Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier
Spanish Mastiff
Spinone Italiano
Stabyhoun
Staffordshire Bull Terrier
Staffy Bull Bullmastiff
Standard Schnauzer
Sussex Spaniel
Swedish Lapphund
Swedish Vallhund
Tibetan Mastiff
Tibetan Spaniel
Tibetan Terrier
Toy Fox Terrier
Treeing Tennessee Brindle
Treeing Walker Coonhound
Vizsla
Weimaraner
Welsh Springer Spaniel
Welsh Terrier
West Highland White Terrier
Whippet
Wirehaired Pointing Griffon
Yorkipoo