The Best Large Dog Breeds For Families With Small Children

     Adopting a pet is something you'll look back on as one of the best decisions you've ever made for your family, especially if you have small children. There are many puppies and adult dogs out there which need homes, but this is a choice which deserves careful consideration - this animal will be a part of your family for years to come and if you have kids, you need to take their needs and their personalities into account.

When properly trained and socialized, any dog can be a wonderful pet, whether you're talking about large breeds or the smallest of dogs. By the same token, any dog can become a problem child or even aggressive if they haven't been trained or socialized well. Before you bring your new dog home, you need to teach your children how to treat their new pets - and at least at first, you should never leave them unsupervised together. All this basic caution aside, some dogs tend to be a better fit for families with small children and some of these dogs are large breeds.

A large dog isn't the right choice for every family. They need more space, more food and of course, they generally need more exercise than a smaller dog would. However, the large breeds below all make excellent family pets and will more than repay you for caring for them with their loyalty, affection and companionship for the whole family.

Collie

It's hard to look at a Collie and not immediately think of Lassie and while not every Collie is necessarily a wonder dog on the caliber of this canine star of TV and film, Collies are one of the best large breeds for kids. They're highly intelligent and easy to train as well as being exceptionally gentle and patient with children. They're not the biggest dogs around, but they can get up to 75 pounds and will need some room to run as well as regular walks.

Golden Retriever

Confident, gentle and friendly almost to a fault, golden retrievers are one of the most popular breeds of dog in the US as well as one of the most popular of the large breeds. They're great with small children and love just about everyone (which means that they're not the best guard dogs). They learn tricks readily, are extremely affectionate and love spending time with their human families.

German Shepherd

Although they're often trained as guard dogs, German Shepherds are great family pets too. They're highly loyal and intelligent and form very close bonds with their families, becoming very protective of them. They do need appropriate training, but when they're well-trained, these dogs are a great fit for families and a perfect companion for children.

Great Dane

There's no getting around the fact that Great Danes are big dogs - huge, in fact. This is one of the very largest of the large breeds, but these dogs truly merit the title of gentle giants who are great with even small children. They're friendly, calm and loving, despite their enormous size. They need a lot of room for exercise, but if you have a large, fenced in yard, you may want to think about adopting one of these loving, loyal dogs.

Read more about large dogs and children. Check out my favorite pet store, Friendly Paws Pet Supplies, for a wide selection of dog beds.

Read more about large dogs and children at http://blog.friendlypawspetsupplies.com/best-large-breeds-dog-families-with-small-children/. Check out my favorite pet store, Friendly Paws Pet Supplies at http://www.friendlypawspetsupplies.com, for a wide selection of dog beds.