We got a non aggressive dog breed but I could tell the first week she was going to be aggressive based on her behavior. I’m hindsight, I sometimes wish I had returned her to the shelter and got one of her siblings, she was 10 weeks. However, we kept her, did training (not enough) and exposed her to everything we could. She’s not too bad, just very protective and actually gets along with most dogs and people. She’s never bit anyone but showed aggression around toys at the dog park so we stopped going. Again, protective but not aggressive. Anyways, I would recommend getting to know the puppy for a week or so before committing. We didn’t have the opportunity to spend time with her litter at all but I think that would have helped us select a more laid back dog.

Anonymous wrote:If you look at the obedience champions, they are almost all goldens. So easy to train and so easy going they actually can’t be seeing eye dogs (because they won’t over rule their owner even when they should). I’ve never had a flat coated but they seem very similar except that they need more excercise. Any of the soft mouthed hunting dogs are gong to be relatively safe because they are bred not to bite down and also to be very responsive to their human. I had a spaniel that was never trained as a hunting dog who found a dead bird and brought it over to me without disturbing a feather on the bird (I was unhappy with this but it was impressive!).

Agree with PPs that beagles (but runners), pugs (but can’t breathe) are also super sweet.
Springers also great but can be a bit nippy and very mischevious. Not as nippy as cockers though.
I think newfies are also very sweet but sooooo big.

I had an Elkhound who brought me a pheasant after I hit it with m car. Amazing! But not the type of dog that OP is looking for.

Our Flatcoat Retriever was extremely gentle and kind, but he liked to wander. He was good about not challenging the fence, though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Cocker spaniel.

Cocker spaniels are actually known to be prone to rage syndrome.

https://caninecoaching.co.uk/rage-syndrome/

I posted in another thread that a cocker spaniel bit my dad to the point that he required surgery on his hand.

Anonymous wrote:lagotto romagnolo

I had never heard of this dog until now. Incredibly cute! Right up there with Finnish Lapphunds cute.

Anonymous wrote:Cavaliers were literally bred to be cuddlers.

+1. Cavalier King Charles Spaniels were specifically bred to be lap dogs. We have a vet friend who says this is the best breed for a family dog.

If you look at the obedience champions, they are almost all goldens. So easy to train and so easy going they actually can’t be seeing eye dogs (because they won’t over rule their owner even when they should). I’ve never had a flat coated but they seem very similar except that they need more excercise. Any of the soft mouthed hunting dogs are gong to be relatively safe because they are bred not to bite down and also to be very responsive to their human. I had a spaniel that was never trained as a hunting dog who found a dead bird and brought it over to me without disturbing a feather on the bird (I was unhappy with this but it was impressive!).

Agree with PPs that beagles (but runners), pugs (but can’t breathe) are also super sweet.
Springers also great but can be a bit nippy and very mischevious. Not as nippy as cockers though.
I think newfies are also very sweet but sooooo big.

Anonymous wrote:Dachshunds and Beagles.

Dachshunds I think are the #1 biter. We have one and it cannot be around other dogs.

Beagle would be my top choice. Such gentle dogs!

Anonymous wrote:I have a Bernese mountain dog. He’s a sweetheart and way too tired to be aggressive. He doesn’t have the energy to bite anyone…

They're kind of ragey.

A Dutch questionnaire based study carried out on four hundred and four Bernese Mountain Dogs showed twenty percent had showed intermittent attacks towards their owners.

http://www.best-behaviour.com/rage-syndrome.html

I have a Bernese mountain dog. He’s a sweetheart and way too tired to be aggressive. He doesn’t have the energy to bite anyone…

Ill scream from the rooftops- Flat Coated retrievers. They are so human-focused and eager to please. The standard of the breed is penalize any dog that shows aggressiveness.

There are some drawbacks to the breed- high risk of cancer, relatively short life span, and VERY high energy needs. They also need lots of obedience training in the beginning and can be mouthy. We trained our FCR to get a wubbie or one of her toys when excited. For example, when people come over. It allows her to engage her excitement into the item vs the person.

When shes outside she is a nutso (running, playing, zoomies, etc.) but inside she is calm. She is in whatever room we are in 99% of the time.

We crate trained until 2 years old and then slowly relaxed. She has safe spaces in both our bedroom and the main living area. She is amazing with our toddler. She actually disengaged from him until he was taller than she was. It was really interesting because she wanted to be near him but wouldnt engage in play with him. Now hes almost 4 and they run together, fetch, she play bows with him, etc.

Dachshund

Anonymous wrote: Cocker spaniel.

I had a cocker spaniel growing up and it bit multiple people (none of them did anything to provoke the dog).

We have 2 recue dogs that are lovely and are about as non-aggressive as you can get. Our older dog lays down immediately and shows her belly when meeting a new dog. I would suggest going to some adoption events and meeting the dogs- you can tell pretty quickly when you find a sweet non-aggressive one. You can also ask the people who work at the rescues to point you in the right direction....

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Cocker spaniel.

Cocker spaniels are actually known to be prone to rage syndrome.

https://caninecoaching.co.uk/rage-syndrome/

Both myself and my son were bit and injured by different cocker spaniels, unprovoked.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Golden. Well, most goldens except around food. Some tend to be food reactive.
If you and your DH are not into some power dominance crap, goldens are the best dogs ever.

Thanks. What do you mean about me and DH and being into power dominance? We aren't but I'm confused

Goldens are high strung as puppies. My Dh had dogs and liked to "wrestle" with the puppy! Moron. So, the puppy would start growling, and DH would try to "dominate" him. That is a separate issue from the food reactivity issue, which can be worked on early.
Anyway, the puppy would get all snarly with DH, and then DH would get all aggressive(not physically) with the puppy! I realized that my DH is a moron who had dogs but knew nothing about training and behaving around the dog. It is true that owners are always to blame. It took me a while to get rid of this habit that he created in an otherwise wonderful dog.
Guess what pack animals do? Assert their dominance, no? All that was needed was turning my back on the dog and not giving him a time of the day. Not that any of it would have happened in the first place if I didn't marry a person who is an idiot around dogs.

This is weird and your DH messed up the dog. I have had 4 different goldens over my 43 years of life and never had that occur ever. Even when our final golden was overruled buy our snippy cocker spaniel. Does your DH try to annoy and provoke negative reactions from your DCs as well?

No, DH is awesome with the kids. In fact, so calm and goes with the flow even when they were difficult teens. They are in college now. I am more "high-strung" with the kids. I realized that for DH and his family of origin owning a dog meant not doing anything with dogs other than that "fighting playfully" behavior. So, in fact, they never did anything with dogs at all other than that.
I am from Europe and I was like, what the heck are you doing? He was, I know dogs, this is how you make the dog behave...er, no. that is how you get a dog that is nuts.
The dog behaves perfectly now but is still an anxious dog. If we ever get another dog, DH will be absent from any engagement with the dog for the first year or so.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Golden. Well, most goldens except around food. Some tend to be food reactive.
If you and your DH are not into some power dominance crap, goldens are the best dogs ever.

Thanks. What do you mean about me and DH and being into power dominance? We aren't but I'm confused

Goldens are high strung as puppies. My Dh had dogs and liked to "wrestle" with the puppy! Moron. So, the puppy would start growling, and DH would try to "dominate" him. That is a separate issue from the food reactivity issue, which can be worked on early.
Anyway, the puppy would get all snarly with DH, and then DH would get all aggressive(not physically) with the puppy! I realized that my DH is a moron who had dogs but knew nothing about training and behaving around the dog. It is true that owners are always to blame. It took me a while to get rid of this habit that he created in an otherwise wonderful dog.
Guess what pack animals do? Assert their dominance, no? All that was needed was turning my back on the dog and not giving him a time of the day. Not that any of it would have happened in the first place if I didn't marry a person who is an idiot around dogs.

We have a golden puppy and he is THE MOST chill puppy I’ve ever met in my life. Yes, he does get the zoomed, and does love to play. But he is WORLDS calmer than our previous mixed breed dog as a puppy. So I would say choose your breeder carefully if you are going that route.

Who is your breeder? Thx!