Best medium/ large sized dog for a family?

Labs and retrievers can be great family pets. Labs in particular are, generally, very friendly and tolerant, eager to please, VERY food motivated (which is great for training, my old lab would do anything if he thought there was a bit of cheese in it for him). They do need quite a lot of exercise though. They are high energy and do need to burn it off with lots of decent walks (with runs) and playtime: just a walk to the school gates for the school run or around the block isn’t enough.

Whatever  breed you choose, chances are very high that you can adopt one from a breed specific rescue. A search for the breed you want + rescue will show you options. Lots of lab and retriever rescues. 

save a dog life, and get the breed you want for your family! 

I have, and have had golden retrievers. I’m definitely partial to that breed of dog. They are always in a good mood and want to do what ever you are doing.

My first (Red) and my current(Bruce) were very laidback, easy going guys who were happy to chill on the couch and play fetch in the backyard, enjoyed gardening and playing with the cats.

Bruce, my current puppy, is only 9 months old, so he’s a little rough with the cats, but that’s because he’s a giant puppy. And the cats know how to handle an excited dog, who just wants to play.

My second golden, (Brick) we called him the sport model, he was definitely higher energy and a bit head strong. And incredibly smart! (That guy, learned new tricks so fast! )

He also was super friendly and loved everyone and everything.

All of them were best friends with everyone who the met.

My in-laws have always had labs, and I think everything i said about my goldens, can be said about their labs. All of them have been wonderful pets and family members.

I don’t think you could go wrong with either breed.

Congratulations! I’m very excited for you and your family

Lab! Never met a bad one in my life

I know everyone says to adopt and rescue. But I'm gonna say with young kids please shop, unless your able to vet the rescue.

I've gotten dogs with terrible baggage and they couldn't live with my cats. Idk where the aggression came from, but this dog was in a foster home with 3 German shepherds, and two pigs. By the time we got the dog he developed a awful resource aggression.

There’s a match me a breed questionnaire on /r/dogs you should look at, and it includes info on finding a responsible breeder. The difference between a well bred dog versus a poorly bred one is night and day. I think this is such a special moment in a kid’s life, that you may want to involve your kiddos more in the process. Have a night where you all sit down and watch Westminster breed judging, and discuss the dogs that catch your eye. Have each kiddo pick a breed to research further, and make a list of pros and cons. You can even go to dog shows and meet dogs and breeders in person, check the website infodog.com.

Big dog= big poop.

I think a lab sounds like it could be a good fit for your family, as long as you’re willing to give it enough exercise and activity. Labs are generally great family dogs and I bet your kiddos would have a lot of fun playing with him/her at the beach! 

Don't listen to anyone who tells you to go to a shelter and pick the dog that's been there the longest. If you go to a shelter they'll likely try to berate you into taking a pit bull which would be a terrible idea that would place your children, your cats, and everyone else in extreme danger. I'd look at breed-specific rescues for labs/goldens.

Labs and goldens are the best for kids.

Labs and Goldens are great! I hope you find a mix of the two at a local rescue.

https://www.petfinder.com/dog/misty-71720292/ny/white-plains/happy-dog-rescue-tn773/

Look at this baby!!

Golden retriever!

Go to a local rescue (in uk) explain your wants and needs. Have a home check. And be matched. Don’t go to the Romanian etc. go to a good local rescue. Got my last rescue from battersea and she’s perfect. Plus she came spayed chipped vaccinated and all the stater pack for £200 adoption fee.

Everyone recommends goldens, while yes they’re great and I have one as a service dog - they are also A LOT of work and A LOOOOOOOOOOOOOT of shedding. Are you prepared to have a third child you need to heavily clean up after? I’m talking vacuuming daily and brushing them heavily. Not to mention, they’re hunting dogs by nature, so they need a lot of activity to be truly healthy. I let mine heavily run about 1-2h per day to get his needs met. You have kids, get a low maintenance dog instead with a mellow temper like a lab (technically also a hunting dog and active but they’re lower maintenance), greyhounds, maybe even a schnauzer. Also google “low maintenance family dog” for other suggestions

Both breeds are excellent choices!

Just make sure you do puppy classes (good ones) for proper socialization and beginner levels of obedience and you can't go wrong!

I'd choose either Lab or Golden, and pick whatever one comes from the best health tested lines. You don't want a BYB golden, that's for sure!

I loved my black lab…Raven. Growing up with her was a true blessing. You might look at adopting a Leader Dog or Guide Dog who doesn’t quite qualify to be place with a person who is blind or visually impaired.

https://www.leaderdog.org/adopt-a-dog/

I'm a lifelong Lab fan. We got our first puppy last year though (had ended up with adult dogs before that), and that was a whole other experience. I'm not sure I would do it again lol. Around 14 months I swear a switch flipped, and even though he's still young and exuberant he settled down a lot. But a home with two boys near the beach sounds like heaven for a Lab! What we learned is that mental stimulation is just as important and tires them out as much as physical. A training session or a car ride would wipe him out more than a walk.

Acclimating to the cats was a little trickier than I anticipated, partially because one of our cats LOVED our previous senior lab and he had to learn he couldn't just rub all over an overly excited puppy. They get along better now that Henry is more of an adult. Make sure the cats have places to escape, and the gates with a little cat door built in were awesome once the puppy is big enough that they don't fit through too.

I went on a tangent about dog breeds/my dogs. But I also want to note it's okay not to rescue. But go through a reputable breeder and do your research and be ready to spend a pretty good penny.

Our first dog is a rescue and I flipping love her. But I'm not sure she was in a house before we got her. She once broke a window. It was a rough first 6 months. It wasn't her fault and she is settled in and amazing now.

We went with a breeder for the second one. We needed a more predictable temperment for the other dog and cats sake. Also I didn't think we could handle any more destruction.

The different collie breeds are wonderful family pets. I have a rough collie and a toddler. Best dog I ever had.

I went to the shelter everyday for a couple weeks and eventually matched with a very good boy that was an anatolian shepherd and smooth collie mix. I love having a dog with collie in the mix. He wanted to be around people and didn't need a ton of exercise, super chill. The rescue knows what the dog needs.

Being by the beach I would recommend a dog with a shorter coat that is easy to brush sand out of and faster to dry. A lab has a shorter coat but a golden you may find will be trailing sand all around your house after a day at the beach.

Also watch out for darker furred dogs in direct sunlight at the beach. They will overheat faster than their lighter furred counterparts.

Not to say you shouldn't get a long haired or dark dog, but just things to think about.

As a first time dog owner, maybe getting a older dog might be a good option. A one or two year old from a rescue that tests their dogs with kids, small animals and other dogs. The puppy months can be very difficult to deal with, my pup just turned a year old and we are just finally getting past his destructive stage. He is our first dog that we got as a puppy (we have had 4 rescued adults) and although I love him to death, I'm not sure I would get a puppy again.

Doberman, Grey Hound, German Shorthaired Pointer and the Great Dane are all wonderful breeds for first timers as long as you do the research on what each breed needs and health conditions they may have.

You can't go wrong with labs and golden retrievers. They're the most popular family dogs in America for a reason. They are big lovable doofuses. I have such a soft spot for them. Personally we decided to go with a GSD because I wanted an intelligent, active, loving dog smart and driven enough for advanced dog sports. I absolutely love her and she loves our kids, but she is definitely extremely attached to her primary owner (me). She will play with the kids but isn't so much a love bug snuggler like literally every golden retriever I've ever met. GSDs are almost cat-like with their affections. Soft-mouth dogs like retrievers are excellent for children almost by default.

If you go the puppy route, look into breeders working with international lines. American breeding lines for multiple breeds of dogs are kind of trash at this point. I would investigate English labrador lines if you really want a black lab.

The best dog my family has ever had is our GSD x Lab. She is so sweet, intelligent, good to everyone she has ever met, and easy to train. Totally food motivated and eager to please.

Warm or cool climate because if you don’t live somewhere to horribly hot I’d say a Newfoundland or something mixed with it. My current Service Dog in training is actually one of three Newfoundland mixes that me/my family have had. As children my sister and I grew up with a lab/Newfoundland and we currently have a pair of poodle/newfoundlands we have my girl that’s being trained as my second service dog and her liter mate brother who is very much my mamas boy he never leaves my mom’s side except for maybe storms when he decides to try and fit under her bed lol. But you can’t find bigger hearts anywhere. My girl really shows off the best of that nurturing side of Newfoundlands that’s one of the things that make her so good at her job she can take care of me when something like one of my seizures happens.

I am biased, but I absolutely adore German shepherds (and shelties, but they’re smaller). I’ve only had two, but I grew up with one and he was the most gentle soul I’ve ever met. I have another German shepherd now, who is also very sweet and is good with the other animals but I will warn you- they shed! In my experience they are very smart, quite gentle, and giant lovers!

Why not go to a shelter and look into adoption? A puppy may not be the best for someone who's never had a dog before. Shelters have all sorts of dogs needing homes that may be a perfect fit for your family

Most beaches don't allow dogs.

We've owned 2 full blooded chocolate labs...one was smart and was still learning tricks at 13 (she died at 14)...the other was the sweetest dumb dumb you'd ever want to meet (at 13 when he died he could only sit and shake hands). Now we have a black lab/Great Dane mix 128# of loving. All the neighbors know him as he also has to say hello to everyone he meets. The other dog we have is a lab/Pointer mix (65#). She is just a bundle of energy and loves running and playing with anyone she's comfortable with. All but one dog was a rescue dog and of those three, two were one year at adoption and the other was four years old. Anything with lab or retriever will always be a great family dog as well as being good watch dogs too.

Go to a shelter or if you DESPERATELY, MUST have a pUrEbReD dog, get it from a breed-specific rescue.

Please god do not buy a puppy.

Newfies! They're generally super sweet and great with both kids and smaller animals, they love water (they actually have webbed toes!), and they are happy both running around with active kids or just chilling on the couch with you. They're are very healthy for a giant breed generally. The biggest downside is they shed like crazy, but they're absolutely awesome dogs and sound like they'd be a good fit for your family.

Honestly? Go to your local shelter and ask which dog has been there the longest. Take it home and love the hell out of it. Sure there will be challenges but the return you get will be worth it. I'm sure I'll be Downvoted here. Don't care. Good luck and God Bless

Visit a shelter.

Lots of karge dogs there. Please look at the adult ones, their disposition is clear except they might nr stressed from being in constant noise in the kennel.

I have a great pyr/German shepherd mix and she adores kids, she's very gentle and sweet, and totally a couch potato. She can be pretty vocal at times so that's something to consider if you have close neighbors. Any large dog will need a lot of exercise, and eventually joint supplements as they age

I’ve had boxers, Boston terriers, Dobermans and bulldogs.

I’d recommend them all, for very different reasons.

But my all time fav, are my Dobermans; they’re super smart and I love having a dog I can work with mentally and physically. My bulldog is the laziest little lump, which I absolutely adore the other 50% of the time ♥️

PLEASE adopt from a rescue!

A mutt is always a good option!

Black labs will be hard for a new dog owner. They have a lot of health issues [because of their owners] and they don't live exactly the longest time. A lot of people like Goldies but contrary to popular belief, they're actually quite mean at times. I see a lot of people have luck with huskies around their children, but you have to have indestructible furniture and a 10 foot high fence and/or electric fence, and a high tolerance for animal instrumentals lol. Any dog you get will come with its own unique set of challenges. It's really a matter of what problems you want to deal with vs ones you don't. Although I got very lucky with my shepherd, as she doesn't seem to fit any of the stereotypes for her breed apart from her "herding" behavior.