These Are The Calmest Dog Breeds For Epic Snuggling

If you want to adopt a calm dog, since you don’t have the energy to keep up with a super hyper pup, you might be wondering where to start.

There are some dog breeds out there that are naturally on the calmer side.

But The Dodo spoke with Iris Ulbrich, a behavior consultant and owner at Trust Your Dog in Los Angeles, to find out why a dog’s personality is the biggest indicator of whether or not he’s chill.

There are definitely some dog breeds that tend to be calmer than others — on average.

However, it’s really important to understand that any dog of any breed has the capability to be calm because it’s his personality that’s most important (and similarly, there are lots of individual pups from “calm” breeds who are totally hyper).

“Speaking as a behaviorist, and my opinion is solely based on my personal experience to date, I do believe that a puppy is a completely blank slate, and it is up to the human to enable the dog to become the best version of himself possible,” Ulbrich told The Dodo.

In other words, a pup’s experiences can also affect his temperament — regardless of what his genetics are.

With that in mind, there are some breeds that tend to be a bit more naturally calm:

“[These breeds] usually have calm demeanors, don’t need too much physical exercise and are kind-tempered,” Ulbrich said.

But that’s not a guarantee. Again, every pup is unique, and you shouldn’t limit your search to these breeds!

Those dog breeds listed aren’t the only ones who are capable of being calm.

“It is definitely possible to find a calm dog in almost all breeds,” Ulbrich said. 

While certain breeds do tend to have certain characteristics, just remember you can’t — and shouldn’t — make breed your main focus, especially since any dog has the potential to be a calm dog.

“Unless the dog comes from bad breeding, was traumatized, not socialized or taken away from the litter too soon, we shouldn’t automatically assume their breed brands them a certain way,” Ulbrich explained.

If you want to be certain about your new pup’s personality, your best bet is a trusted shelter or rescue network, where adoption counselors can talk to you about the individual personality of each pup. And if you go for an adult dog, you might have more luck since you’ll know that their personality is pretty set (compared to a puppy, whose personality may change as he gets older). 

If you already have a pup who’s a little too hyper sometimes, there’s plenty you can do.

“There are great exercises tailored to helping a dog calm down,” Ulbrich said. “Training needs to be tailored to the individual dog, not necessarily to the breed.”

If your dog is easily excitable, the first thing you have to do is figure out what’s making him so amped up.

Your dog could have a number of triggers that make him excited, like other people, other animals, new sounds and smells or even his favorite toy.

“Once we understand why a dog is potentially too excited or adventurous, we can eliminate and manage triggers as best as possible and combine that with implementing a healthy routine, impulse control and trigger control training, strong stays, mat work, scent work even,” Ulbrich explained.

So, with a little training, any dog breed can be considered a calm dog breed!

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