If you are convinced you're ready for a barking addition to your family, lets talk about breeds that get along EXCELLENTLY with children. These are breeds that ranked the absolute highest on their reliability with kids..

There are the more obvious breeds, the Labradors and the Golden Retrievers...these are the most sought after (and most common) of dogs for families to get. They have an awesome world-wide rep for being great with small children, and other small animals.

Mountain dogs are fantastic with kids as well...some common breeds are: the Bernese Mountain dog, Great Pyrenees, Newfoundland, Saint Bernard etc. In a family setting they are protective, loyal, loving, and HUGE! If you don't have room for one of these, they aren't the dog for you. I recommend a mountain dog for anyone with a lot of property, and a lot of love to give (have you ever seen a child ride a Newfoundland, it's awesome)

Members of the Poodle family are good additions to families as well however TOY poodles are not recommended for those with young children. A standard Poodle is an intelligent, playful dog that has minimal shedding...they also make good guard dogs, which is nice when considering a family pet

Rough and Smooth coated Collies make amazing family pets; they are highly intelligent, noble dogs that are friendly with other pets as well. Be careful though! Border Collies are just as beautiful as Lassie was, but they are best suited for older children.

If you're looking for a smaller breed dog Pugs and Beagles got top scores on their mannerisms with children...if you live in an apartment or a smaller house this might be the dog for you! This doesn't mean they don't need plenty of exercise though, if stuck in the house for too long your Beagle will let out his infamous yelp.

Some other, less common breeds that would be good family dogs are: American Foxhounds, Bloodhounds, English Setters, Great Danes, Harriers, mini Australian Shepherds, and Samoyed's. For a complete listing of more obscure breeds, and ratings on a 1-5 scale please go to this link: