Labrador Retriever

Bred to carry shot birds without marking them, a Labrador takes a biscuit from a small hand clumsily rather than sharply. At 25 to 36 kg it is solid enough that a toddler leaning on it is no worry. The catch is adolescence: an untrained young Lab can bowl a child over in its delight at seeing them, so puppy classes in the first two years matter more than the pedigree.