The one rule

Never leave a baby and a pet alone together — not for a second, not even a pet you trust completely. Everything else on this site is secondary to this.

Breeds & size

Breed is a starting point.
Size decides the consequences.

Pick your dog below for an honest read on what that breed usually needs around an infant — how much structure, whether it belongs in the room, and the one thing to watch. Then stop reading and watch your own dog, because that is the part that actually predicts anything.

A young retriever lying on a wooden floor by a doorway
The label on the paperwork is a guess. This dog is the evidence.

Choose a breed and you will get an ease grade out of ten, whether that dog belongs in the room with the baby, what it is generally like, and the specific thing to watch for.

8–9 · usually the easiest 6–7 · fine with real structure 4–5 · needs the most management
What the grade is, and what it is not It is an ease grade, not a safety score: roughly how much structure and management a typical dog of that breed needs around an infant. Nothing scores 10, because 10 would mean safe unsupervised and no dog is. The grades come from what each type was bred to do — guarding, herding, hunting, sitting on a lap — and from how much tolerance of handling that work selected for. They are tendencies across thousands of dogs, not a prediction about yours. A 9 that resource-guards is more dangerous than a 5 that does not.
See every breed at a glance
BreedGradeIn the room?Read
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel9In the room with youGentle
Golden Retriever9In the room with youGentle
Labrador Retriever9In the room with youPlayful
Bernese Mountain Dog8Gate the nurseryGentle
Bichon Frise8In the room with youPlayful
Boston Terrier8In the room with youPlayful
Bulldog (English)8In the room with youGentle
Collie (Rough)8In the room with youGentle
French Bulldog8In the room with youPlayful
Havanese8In the room with youPlayful
Labradoodle / Goldendoodle8In the room with youPlayful
Newfoundland8Gate the nurseryGentle
Poodle (Standard)8In the room with youGentle
Pug8In the room with youGentle
Staffordshire Bull Terrier8Only with you between themPlayful
American Staffordshire Terrier / bully type7Only with you between themPlayful
Basset Hound7Only with you between themGentle
Beagle7Only with you between themPlayful
Boxer7Only with you between themPlayful
Brittany7Only with you between themPlayful
Cocker Spaniel7Only with you between themPlayful
English Springer Spaniel7Only with you between themPlayful
Great Dane7Gate the nurseryGentle
Mastiff7Gate the nurseryProtective
Poodle (Miniature or Toy)7In the room with youPlayful
Shetland Sheepdog7Only with you between themProtective
Shih Tzu7In the room with youGentle
Vizsla7Only with you between themPlayful
Australian Shepherd6Only with you between themDriven
Border Collie6Only with you between themDriven
Doberman Pinscher6Only with you between themProtective
German Shepherd6Only with you between themProtective
German Shorthaired Pointer6Only with you between themDriven
Maltese6Only with you between themPlayful
Miniature Schnauzer6Only with you between themProtective
Mixed breed or unknown history6Only with you between themVaries
Pembroke Welsh Corgi6Only with you between themProtective
Pomeranian6Only with you between themPlayful
Rottweiler6Only with you between themProtective
Weimaraner6Gate the nurseryDriven
Yorkshire Terrier6Only with you between themPlayful
Australian Cattle Dog5Gate the nurseryDriven
Cane Corso5Gate the nurseryProtective
Chihuahua5Only with you between themStandoffish
Dachshund5Only with you between themProtective
Jack Russell Terrier5Only with you between themDriven
Rhodesian Ridgeback5Gate the nurseryProtective
Shiba Inu5Only with you between themStandoffish
Siberian Husky5Gate the nurseryDriven
Akita4Gate the nurseryStandoffish
Alaskan Malamute4Gate the nurseryDriven
Belgian Malinois4Gate the nurseryDriven

Every dog is an individual

That grade is a tendency across thousands of dogs. This is the dog it cannot see: yours, on a particular day, in a particular room, with a particular amount of sleep behind it. Breed identification by eye is unreliable even among professionals — what predicts a safe household is this dog, this preparation, this management.

A retriever lying settled on the floor
A settled dog with somewhere to retreat
A small chihuahua lying on a couch
Small dogs are not automatically safer
The head of a very large short-coated dog
Size changes the consequences, not the rules
A dog with its head turned away
Turning away is a request for space
A dog resting on the floor
Rest is not the same as relaxed
A dog outdoors on a walk
Exercise protects the routine that protects everyone
A small terrier being offered a treat
Take a small dog’s warning as seriously as a big one’s
A dog looking directly at the camera
Watch this dog, not the breed page

Does the size of the dog matter?

Yes — but not the way people assume. Size has far more influence on how bad an injury is than on whether a bite happens. Small dogs bite more often; large dogs do more damage. Neither fact makes any size of dog safe to leave alone with a baby.

A small chihuahua lying on a couch

Small dogs

Under ~25 lb / 11 kg

The most commonly underestimated group. Small dogs are statistically more likely to bite — partly because their warnings get ignored, tolerated or found amusing in a way a large dog’s never would be.

The critical point: a newborn’s skull, face and neck are fragile enough that a small dog can cause permanent injury. “He’s only little” is not a safety argument where an infant is concerned.

A medium-sized brown dog resting on a sofa

Medium dogs

~25–60 lb / 11–27 kg

Strong enough to cause serious injury, light enough that owners still handle them casually. This group tends to get the least deliberate management, because they feel neither fragile nor intimidating.

Watch for: accidental knocks. A 40 lb dog turning fast in a hallway flattens a toddler learning to stand — an injury with no bite involved at all.

A large retriever lying settled on the floor indoors

Large dogs

~60–100 lb / 27–45 kg

Research on bite severity found dogs in the 66–100 lb range had both the highest bite risk and the highest average tissue damage per bite — the combination that makes this group the one to manage most tightly.

Two separate risks: the bite, and the accident. A jump, a body-check on the stairs or a paw on a chest needs no aggression at all.

A giant dog lying across a sofa

Giant dogs

Over ~100 lb / 45 kg

Often the gentlest temperaments on the list — and the ones where temperament matters least, because physics does the damage. A tail at head height, a lean, a dog lying down in the wrong place.

Manage on consequence, not intent. There is no version of a 70 kg dog in a nursery that is worth the risk, however soft it is.

Most of this is preventable with preparation.

The same few patterns keep repeating — and they are patterns you can plan around.

Start preparing Learn the warning signs