The Ten Top Breeds for Families

From The Reader's Digest Illustrated Book of Dogs

Stanley Coren is well known for his series of best-selling books on dogs, including his recent volume, Why We Love the Dogs We Do. A psychologist and a professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia who has won a number of awards for his research, Coren is the proud owner of a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Wizard, a Flat-Coated Retriever named Odin and an orange cat called Loki. In addition to writing books about dog behaviour, he is an instructor with the Vancouver Dog Obedience Training Club and has helped raise funds for animal shelters. He appeared recently in the pages of Reader's Digest (April 2000, page 80) as a consultant for our story "Good Dog Guide."

       This month we asked Coren to recommend for our readers the ten best breeds for families. His general rules of thumb are:

1. When in doubt, go for smaller, less active dogs; a two year old and a big, bouncy field dog are not a good combination.

2. Stay clear of the herding dogs and more protective breeds if you have younger children (under age 5). They can nip at things that move awkwardly.

The ten breeds he would recommend for families are:

• Beagle
• Bulldog (French)
• Cairn Terrier
• Cocker Spaniel (English)
• Golden Retriever
• King Charles Spaniel
• Labrador Retriever
• Old English Sheepdog
• Poodle
• Pug

For breed information and descriptions, click on any of the breeds above.