Calm Dog Breeds: 20 Easygoing Companions

What "calm" actually means in a dog (and what it doesn't)

Calm ≠ low energy ≠ quiet

These three get mashed together constantly, and it does breeds — and adopters — a disservice.

• Calm describes temperament: how easily a dog settles, how quickly it de-escalates after excitement, how little it seems to need to be doing something. A calm dog can technically have decent stamina; it just doesn't run its own engine hot by default.
• Low energy describes exercise requirements: how much physical activity a dog needs to feel satisfied. Some low-energy breeds are calm. Some are just tired-looking and still find reasons to bark at the mail carrier.
• Quiet describes vocalization: barking, whining, that sort of thing. A dog can be dead calm in temperament and still sound the alarm every time a leaf moves.

Basset Hounds, for instance, are famously unbothered by most things and low-energy to boot — but they're not shy about using their voice. A Greyhound is low-energy and calm indoors, notoriously so, but can still get vocal in short bursts. Knowing which of the three you actually want (or need, given your living situation) matters more than the word "calm" on its own.

Puppy vs. adult temperament

Every breed description you read — including this one — describes the adult dog. Puppies of famously serene breeds are, without exception, still puppies: chewing, zooming, testing furniture structurally. A Great Dane puppy will flatten a coffee table before it settles into the loafing giant its breed is known for. Temperament tendencies according to AKC breed standards describe what the dog becomes, generally around one to three years old depending on breed size, not what arrives home at eight weeks. If a calm household is the goal and puppyhood chaos isn't in the budget, an adult rescue of a calm breed is often the more honest shortcut.

At-a-glance: calm dog breeds by lifestyle fit

Best for apartments

Dogs that don't need acreage and don't treat every hallway noise as a personal insult: Basset Hound, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, French Bulldog, Greyhound (yes, really — they're loafers indoors), and Shih Tzu.

Best for seniors or first-time owners

Predictable, low-drama, forgiving of a slower pace or a learning-curve owner: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Bichon Frise, Havanese, Basset Hound, and Pug.

Best for families with kids

Steady nerves, high tolerance for noise and chaos, generally patient — though as with all dogs, supervision with young children is non-negotiable regardless of breed: Golden Retriever, Bernese Mountain Dog, Newfoundland, Great Dane, and Labrador Retriever (adult, past the retriever puppy phase).

If none of these quite fit your situation, our guide on choosing a dog breed for your lifestyle walks through the tradeoffs in more depth.

18 of the calmest dog breeds

Basset Hound — Built low, moves slow, thinks nothing is urgent. Content to nap most of the day; happiest with a short amble rather than a run.

Great Dane — The gentle giant cliché exists for a reason. Adults are famously laid-back "loafers," though they need space commensurate with their size.

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel — Affectionate, adaptable, happy to be a lap ornament. One of the most consistently recommended calm companion breeds.

Bernese Mountain Dog — Steady and good-natured, though they carry a shorter typical lifespan than many breeds — worth knowing going in.

Greyhound — Sprinter, not a marathoner. Famously described by owners as "40 mph couch potatoes."

Newfoundland — Enormous, patient, historically bred to work calmly alongside fishermen. Drools more than it disturbs the peace.

Bichon Frise — Cheerful without being frantic, small enough for apartment life, generally easygoing with strangers.

Shih Tzu — Bred for centuries as a companion lapdog, not a working breed — the temperament reflects that history.

Pug — Sociable, low-key, more interested in being near you than doing anything in particular.

Havanese — Playful in short bursts, otherwise content to shadow their owner around the house.

French Bulldog — Low exercise needs and an easygoing disposition, though brachycephalic breathing means care with heat and exertion.

Golden Retriever — Energetic as a young dog, but the breed's hallmark is a friendly, biddable steadiness once past adolescence.

Labrador Retriever — Similar story to the Golden: boisterous youth, dependable adult temperament, provided exercise needs are actually met.

Clumber Spaniel — The most sedate of the spaniel family; dignified and deliberate rather than bouncy.

Saint Bernard — Patient and tolerant, historically valued for calm reliability in working conditions, not just size.

English Bulldog — Famously unbothered by most things; low exercise tolerance means naps are a feature, not a bug.

Maltese — Small, affectionate, and generally more interested in cuddling than causing a scene.

Bernedoodle — A newer, non-purebred mix, but one that's earned a reputation for the calm, family-friendly disposition of its Bernese parent, tempered by Poodle intelligence.

Individual temperament varies within every breed — genetics, early socialization, and training all play a role, and no breed guarantees a specific personality in every dog.

What makes a dog calm — nature, training, or both?

Both, and it's not an even split by breed. Some dogs are calm largely by design: generations of breeding for a working role that valued steadiness (guarding livestock overnight, sitting patiently at a hunter's side) baked a lower baseline arousal into the genetics. Others are calm mostly by circumstance — enough exercise, enough mental stimulation, consistent routines, and early exposure to normal household chaos so nothing feels alarming later.

Training can absolutely take an excitable dog several notches down: impulse control work, structured downtime, and simply not rewarding frantic behavior with attention all help. But training won't fully override a breed's underlying drive. A dog bred to herd, guard, or run all day will need those needs met somehow before "calm" becomes realistic, no matter how good the training.

Caring for a calm dog

Calm doesn't mean no needs. Even the mellowest breeds on this list need:

• Daily movement — a short walk or two, even for the true couch-loafers like Greyhounds or Bulldogs, to maintain joint health and weight.
• Mental stimulation — puzzle feeders, sniff walks, basic training games. A bored calm dog can develop anxious habits out of sheer under-stimulation.
• Routine — calm breeds tend to thrive on predictability; erratic schedules can unsettle even the steadiest temperament.
• Grooming appropriate to coat type — several breeds here (Bernese, Newfoundland, Havanese) need real coat maintenance despite their easy personalities.

None of this is a substitute for individual assessment. A breed description is a tendency, not a guarantee — meeting the actual dog, ideally as an adult, tells you more than any list ever will. If you'd like to see some of these temperaments in action rather than just read about them, a few calm regulars tend to turn up in our live rotation — worth a look if you're still deciding.