English Mastiffs are amazing kid-friendly dogs. I have two English Mastiffs and they were wonderful with both of my siblings. They might be huge dogs, but they are insanely lovable. They love attention and are huge teddy bears. They are said to be the "gentle giants" of dog breeds and are known to die of a broken heart, once they stop getting the attention they need. Luckily, with kids, they love animals and love giving attention. My mastiffs were the perfect match for my little brother and sister growing up.

Pit Bulls are pretty sweet to kids and pugs are like kids themselves. I grew up with labs and retrievers too and I can definitely say they are human-friendly (not just for kids) and great companions. I think poodles are pretty lovable and if you can dress them up too.

It really depends on the individual dog, but labs and goldens are generally good kid-friendly dogs. I'm biased because goldens are one of my "heart" breeds, but they make good dogs for just about anyone because they're super versatile. They're content to cuddle and be lap dogs, but they do well in stuff like agility if you're more active. They're generally bright and biddable, which makes teaching them obedience and tricks fun and easy. All of the goldens I've had, including my current pup, have had a strong drive to please.

That said, I believe that just about any breed can be a good family dog and do just fine with kids with the proper supervision, training, and effort.

I grew up with a Golden retriever which has never been a problem to be around with. I also strongly believe in the training that has been given to a specific Dog for it to be Obedient and Safe around Children. I have a Pug around my Nephew and it never troubles him. But you can't just trust on a specific Breed to be let around Children and I give a lot of importance to get them well trained before letting them around small Kids. Good Luck Choosing.

My first dog was a Pomeranian and he was the most friendly dog I ever had. I had another Pomeranian afterwards when my son was young as they are friendly to kids and quite harmless (It's easier to take care of them too!). Now I have a pug and he's a pure delight. I prefer to have small dogs but I also had German Shepherds twice when my son was just a year old. Both the German Shepherds were very loving towards my son and took special care that they don't hurt me. Unfortunately my German Shepherds died within a year.

I had a little jack russell when I was growing up, they don't get too big and they're quite weak, mine was scared of like everything so there was no chance of it going crazy in a bad way.

It was good to play with and wouldn't bite you or anything, lovely little thing.

I'd say that's pretty kid-friendly.

When I was younger, I had a Beagle that was extremely loyal and loving. Most importantly, it never bit me, nor anybody else she came into contact with. I think any dog can be trained to behave well and it's not necessarily breed specific. You just need to show it some tender loving care.

Yorkshire terriers seem to be very kid-friendly. But there's a catch - they are very fragile, so I'd say kids are not so dog-friendly in this case.

In my opnion, boxer breeds are one of the most kid friendly dogs you can have. Given they behave like a puppy even after reaching adulthood, are very playful and lovely. The only issue with them are the genetic vulnerability to heart diseases (boxer cardiomyophathy).

I grew up with German Shepherds. The first German Shepherd we had died before I was 10. He was through a retired police dog program and was great for us as babies. Then, when we were older 12 - 22 we got a regular German Shepherd as a rescue. He was neurotic, wild, fun and good to run about with. Which was great through adolescence.

I'm a huge fan of adopting shelter dogs too. My last two the German Shepherd and my current on, a Yorkie Terrier Mix, were both Shelter dogs and both turned out to be amazing in their own ways.

I wouldn't necessarily look for a specific breed but traits that I want to see.

• Stable temperament - not easily scared. Drop a loud object and watch how the dog reacts. If a puppy, I'd want to see a [url]volhard score[/url] and would aim for a pup with mostly 4's if I had kids. As it is, my current dog is mostly 5's and my last dog was mostly 2's. They are both good pets and were/are well trained but not the best kids pets.
• Not physically sensitive. Some breeds are more sensitive than others. One way to test is to poke at the dog yourself. I'd pull it's tail (lightly), handle the paws, pinch a fold of skin, maybe tug gently on a handful of hair, mess with his ears, and poke my fingers in her mouth. Watch the body language. If the dog moves away or ignores it, that's good. I'd just make sure he had a place to retreat from the kids. If the dog was growling or getting snappy, I wouldn't trust her around kids.
• Low prey drive. You don't want a dog that will chase running children and try to pull them down. They might be only playing but a kid could get hurt.
• Small enough for the parent to control the dog easily (this will vary depending on the parent) but large enough not to be easily injured by accident (like if a child trips and lands on the dog).

Havanese tend to be great with kids. They are extremely friendly in general though because of their natural tendency to want to be around people 24/7. If your children want to have an extremely affectionate dog, this is a great breed. Otherwise, the children may get annoyed if they aren't interested in giving the dog a ton of attention.

Well first off I would have to say that any dog would be great for a kid to grow up with, but if I had to choose one to be specifically kid-friendly I would say that a black lab would be my first choice, and it is the first thing that came to my mind. It perhaps has to do with my own personal experience, but oh well. I also know a friend who has a lot of kids who swears that the answer is a pug, so that is a good one too. I am a little curious about what [USER=157]@xoJessica[/USER] says about German Shepherds, that is an interesting one.

English Bulldogs are great with kids, although they do have a lot of health problems unfortunately.