There is a moment most owners of big dogs know well. You are at the park, a toddler runs straight at your seventy kilogram dog, and everyone around you holds their breath. Your dog just lowers its head and stands there, tail moving gently, waiting to see what happens next.
That steadiness is not luck. It was bred in, on purpose, over centuries. Here are seven gentle giants, what makes each of them calm, and the honest truth about what they need from you in return.
Key takeaways
- Calm temperaments in giant breeds trace back to their original jobs, whether that was guarding, hauling carts or pulling people out of freezing water.
- Most of these breeds need less exercise than people expect, but they need routine, company and something to think about.
- Big dogs mature slowly. The American Kennel Club notes that growth plates in large breeds can stay open until sixteen to eighteen months, so hard running on concrete should wait.
- Deep chested breeds carry a real risk of bloat. It is worth knowing the signs before you ever need them.
- Managing size on the lead is a training problem, not a strength problem. Reward loose lead walking early and often.
What we cover
1. Great Dane
Despite the name, the Great Dane is German. In the sixteenth century they were boarhounds, used by the nobility to hunt wild boar and guard estates, and in 1876 Germany named the breed its national dog. Boar hunting called for a dog that could idle quietly for hours and then produce one enormous burst of power, which is precisely the temperament you get today.
They stand around 71 to 81 cm at the shoulder and weigh 50 to 79 kg, but PetMD describes them as very gentle and quiet companions. Two decent walks a day suits them, and they are famously happy to spend the rest of the day being a rug.
Honest notes: they need room simply to stretch out, they are moderate shedders over an enormous surface area, and their lifespan is short at seven to ten years. Bloat is the big one. VCA lists the Great Dane first among susceptible breeds, with dogs over 45 kg carrying roughly a twenty percent lifetime risk.
Quick tip
- Learn the signs of bloat now, before you need them: a swollen or tight abdomen, unproductive retching, restlessness and drooling. It is a medical emergency, and knowing what you are looking at saves time you cannot afford to lose.
2. Newfoundland
The Newfoundland was built on the Canadian coast to work alongside fishermen and to pull drowning people out of the North Atlantic. Everything about them is engineered for it: webbed feet, huge lung capacity, powerful hindquarters and a heavy oily coat that sheds water.
Here is why that matters for temperament. A dog that swims into cold surf towards a panicking, thrashing stranger cannot be reactive or easily startled. Low arousal under real pressure was the job description, and it comes home with them. PetMD calls them calm at home, patient around children and good roommates to other dogs and cats.
At 45 to 68 kg they are not high energy, and swimming is the ideal outlet if you can offer it. The honest notes are the coat, which needs thorough brushing at least weekly and sheds year round, and the drool, which is legendary. A heavy double coat evolved for the North Atlantic also deserves careful management through an Australian summer.
Quick tip
- Swap one walk a week for a swim if you have safe access to water. Twenty minutes of swimming does more for a Newfoundland's body and mind than an hour on hot footpaths, and it is far kinder on growing joints.
3. Bernese Mountain Dog
The Bernese takes its name from the Swiss canton of Bern, where farmers and basket weavers used them to pull milk carts and wagons loaded well beyond the dog's own weight, and to move small groups of cattle. Their ancestors are thought to have come over the Alps with Roman soldiers around two thousand years ago.
Draft work in a village demands a very particular dog. It has to walk calmly beside people through traffic, livestock and strangers, and stop when told. Steadiness was the whole product. What you get now is a dog PetMD describes as affectionate, patient and calm, though easily talked into a game.
They weigh 32 to 52 kg and lean towards lounging indoors. The thick double coat wants brushing several times a week and sheds heavily year round. The most important note for Australian owners is heat: PetMD is explicit that Bernese Mountain Dogs should be kept inside during hot weather. Their lifespan is seven to ten years, and the breed is unfortunately prone to several cancers.
Quick tip
- In summer, shift both walks to the cool ends of the day and treat the middle of the day as indoor time. Our guide to paw care in hot weather has a simple footpath test worth knowing.
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4. Leonberger
The Leonberger has the most precise origin story on this list. Heinrich Essig, a councillor and dog dealer in the German town of Leonberg, bred his first litter in 1846, reportedly crossing a Newfoundland with a Saint Bernard and later adding Great Pyrenees. The lion like look was said to echo the rearing lion on Leonberg's coat of arms. Their owners went on to include the Tsar of Russia and the Prince of Wales.
Built deliberately from three calm working giants, the Leonberger is loyal, gentle with children, patient and confident. Males stand around 71 to 80 cm and can reach roughly 77 kg.
They are the most demanding breed here. PetMD recommends brisk exercise at least once every day, such as a long walk or hike, and notes they specifically prefer having a task, whether that is pulling, swimming or agility. A Leonberger with no job is the one most likely to become a handful. The dense coat sheds persistently and really does want daily brushing.
A giant breed with nothing to do does not become calm. It becomes creative, and you will not enjoy the results.
On why working giants still need a jobQuick tip
- Give your Leonberger a proper task rather than more distance. Scent work in the back garden, a weekly training class or carrying a light pack on a hike will settle this breed far better than an extra kilometre of footpath.
5. Saint Bernard
The Hospice of St Bernard was founded in 1050 high in the Alps to shelter pilgrims travelling to Rome, and by the 1600s the monks were training their dogs for avalanche rescue. The most famous of them, Barry, is credited with saving forty lives between 1800 and 1814.
Search work in an avalanche meant approaching injured, frightened strangers in chaos, often with no handler nearby. Tolerance and unflappability were selected for directly. PetMD describes the modern Saint Bernard's demeanour as mellow, and especially gentle around children.
At 54 to 82 kg and up to 76 cm tall, their exercise needs are genuinely modest, around a thirty minute walk a day. The catch is company. PetMD calls them people oriented dogs who can develop separation anxiety when left alone for long stretches, so routine matters more than distance. And yes, that magnificent head produces a great deal of drool. Expect eight to ten years, and know that the breed sits high on the bloat risk list.
One hospice dog, Barry, is credited with saving forty lives in the Alps between 1800 and 1814.
American Kennel Club, on the Saint BernardQuick tip
- Build alone time into the routine deliberately, even on days you are home. Ten quiet minutes behind a closed door, repeated often, keeps a Saint Bernard comfortable with your absence long before a full work day tests it.
6. Irish Wolfhound
Irish Wolfhounds hunted wolves, deer and boar in Ireland as far back as Roman times. When the last wolf in Ireland died in the 1780s the breed lost its purpose and very nearly vanished, appearing by 1836 in a published list of animals that had disappeared from Ireland. Captain George Augustus Graham began the revival in 1863, rebuilding size and substance with Deerhound and Great Dane crosses.
They are the tallest breed here, with males standing at least 81 cm. What makes them so calm indoors is classic sighthound wiring: everything is spent in a short explosive chase, and then the off switch flips completely. PetMD calls them gentle and calm, affectionate with most people, sensitive and eager to please.
They will adapt to almost any level of activity, which makes them easier to live with than their size suggests, and their wiry coat has the lightest grooming load of the seven. Two honest notes: the prey drive is real, so secure fencing is not optional, and their lifespan of six to eight years is the shortest on this list. If lifespan is weighing on your decision, our piece on how long dogs live is worth reading first.
Quick tip
- Do your recall training inside a fully fenced area and keep the lead on everywhere else. A sighthound in pursuit cannot hear you, and no amount of training fully overrides several thousand years of chase instinct.
7. Mastiff
Mastiff type dogs have guarded English property for more than two thousand years. One of the better stories has Sir Piers Legh, wounded at Agincourt in 1415, guarded on the battlefield by his female Mastiff, who went on to found the Lyme Hall line, the oldest Mastiff kennel in the world. The breed nearly disappeared through food rationing in both world wars and was rebuilt from dogs sent back from North America.
A property guardian's value is presence, not aggression. The job needed a dog that stays completely neutral until something genuinely changes, and PetMD describes the result as generally patient and calm, becoming alert only when they perceive a threat. They are also reserved around strangers, which is normal breed character rather than a fault, but it means early socialisation matters.
At 54 to 104 kg this is the heaviest breed here, and also the lowest energy. Most are happy with a neighbourhood walk and some nose work. The short coat is easy, but they are excessive droolers and the facial folds need regular cleaning. Lifespan is six to ten years.
Quick tip
- Use scent games as your main enrichment. Scatter a handful of food in the grass or hide treats around a room. Nose work tires a heavy dog thoroughly without putting a gram of extra load on the joints.
Managing size on the lead
Here is the thing about a calm temperament: it does not stop a 70 kg dog from pulling you off your feet if it has never been taught otherwise. With giant breeds, loose lead walking is not a refinement. It is the difference between walks you look forward to and walks you quietly dread.
Start earlier than feels necessary and reward more often than feels necessary. VCA's advice is to wait for any sign of a loose lead and reward it immediately, and to stand still or step away from whatever is interesting when your dog pulls. They also recommend a well fitted H style or Y style harness that leaves the shoulders free, and advise against slip, choke and prong collars, which work by causing discomfort. Be patient with yourself here too. VCA notes that most dogs take several months of regular practice to learn to walk on a loose lead.
Puppies need a gentler version of all this. The American Kennel Club points out that growth plates in large breeds can stay open until sixteen to eighteen months, and cautions against regimented running on concrete or asphalt during that time. Free play on grass, short walks and plenty of rest build a sounder adult than distance ever will.
If your big dog barks or lunges at other dogs on the lead, that is worth treating as its own project rather than a training failure. Our guide to making walks easier with a reactive dog is the place to start, and some owners find a gentle, non punishing deterrent like QuietPaws™ helps take the edge off the barking while the training does the real work. You will find the rest of our lead and training range in the training and behaviour collection.
