Raised my kids with dobermans, best nanny dogs ever. No one got near those kids and at the lake my dobies would swim with the kids and never leave their sides. But, shedding is an issue. You are severely limited to choices if you don't want to deal with hair, dogs either shed or they don't, The down side to no shedding is a lot of grooming. Big dogs need a lot of exercise, especially if you have small kids around, you don't want 80lbs of energy bursting out on small kids. If you don't feel you have the time to run a dog for an hour a day, pick something small that won't require a lot of extra time. Exhausted dogs don't chew things up, bark unnecessarily, or get hyper. I've owned Doberman's for 37 years, a high energy extremely intelligent breed. Because I am a lover of the outdoors, hiking my dogs everyday isn't a chore. And because my dogs run 3-4 miles daily, I've never had one that was hyper, chewed anything up ( not even a shoe) or barked too much. Dogs that have proper training & exercise are a joy to own. Do your due diligence in researching the breed that meets your expectations are requirements. Good luck!
