Calm Dog Breeds: Calm, Quiet or Just Lazy?

Calm, low energy and quiet: what is the difference?

They are three separate traits, and most lists of calm dogs blur them together.

• Low energy is how much exercise a dog needs. It tells you how long the walk is, and nothing else.
• Calm is how a dog behaves at home: whether it settles when nothing is happening and how quickly it comes back down after something exciting. This is temperament, and it varies a lot within a breed.
• Quiet is about barking. It follows what the breed was bred to do. Scent hounds and guardian breeds were bred to use their voice, which is why some of the most relaxed dogs are also the loudest.

Work out which one you actually need. Someone in a unit with thin walls needs quiet. Someone who works long days needs low energy and calm. A family with young children needs a dog that stays steady when the house gets loud. One list cannot answer all three, so this guide labels each breed by what its standard really says.

Which dog breeds are genuinely calm?

These breeds are described in calm terms in their own Dogs Australia breed standards. The temperament words are quoted from each standard, checked 9 November 2026; the last column is what to ask about before you adopt one.

A breed standard describes the ideal dog of the breed, not a guarantee about any individual. Many rescue dogs are crosses, so judge the dog in front of you.

Notice who is on this list. Most of the genuinely calm breeds are sighthounds or large and giant dogs. That runs against the common assumption that a calm dog should be small, and it is one reason big, gentle dogs can wait longer in rescue than they should.

Which breeds only look calm?

Some breeds turn up on calm lists because they are big and slow, or small and sleepy. Their own standards tell a different story.

• Bullmastiff. Big and often still, but its standard describes a dog that is “high spirited, alert and faithful”.
• Pyrenean Mountain Dog. “Quietly confident”, but also “a natural guard dog protecting shepherd and sheep” (standard). Guarding usually means barking.
• St Bernard. “Friendly by nature”, with a temperament described as “calm to lively; watchful” (standard). It can go either way.
• Chow Chow. Low key at home, but “loyal yet aloof” (standard). Reserved is not the same as easygoing.
• Shih Tzu. Small and cuddly, but the standard says “intelligent, active and alert” and “friendly and independent”.

None of these are bad dogs. They are just not the settled, easygoing dog most people mean when they search for a calm breed.

Why flat-faced breeds are not the calm answer

Pugs and French Bulldogs often appear on lists of calm or lazy dogs. Their own standards describe something else: the Pug is “even tempered, happy and lively” (standard) and the French Bulldog “vivacious, deeply affectionate, intelligent” (standard).

What makes many of them seem calm is physical. The RSPCA Knowledgebase explains that flat-faced breeds have a reduced capacity to cool down by panting, and lists breed among the heatstroke risk factors because purebred dogs are more likely to have exaggerated features that make it harder to keep a normal body temperature. A dog that slows down because it cannot breathe and cool well in the heat is not a calm dog; it is a dog with a limit. In an Australian summer that limit needs careful management. They can be loving companions, but low effort is the wrong reason to choose one.

Calm dogs by size

• Small. Harder than people expect, because many small breeds were developed as alert companions or watchdogs. The Cavalier is the most common calm small breed, and a senior small dog from a rescue is often the calmest small dog you can find.
• Medium. The Whippet and the Basset Hound are the classic answers. The Whippet tends to be quiet; the Basset is calm but vocal.
• Large and giant. This is where calm is easiest to find: the Greyhound, Newfoundland, Bernese Mountain Dog and Irish Wolfhound all have gentle temperaments in their standards. The costs are food, vet bills, space and heat, so be honest about all four.

For unit living specifically, the best apartment dogs guide covers barking, strata rules and why a Greyhound often beats a toy breed.

The least calm breeds for most homes

At the other end are the working breeds that make Australian farms run. The Australian Kelpie standard describes a dog that is “extremely alert, eager and highly intelligent” with “an almost inexhaustible energy”. The Border Collie standard describes “an instinctive tendency to work”. Both are superb dogs for an active owner with time to train, and both are a hard match for someone who wants a dog that settles on the couch. Kelpie and Border Collie crosses are common in rescue, so check the listing's energy notes.

Why an adult rescue dog is the surest calm dog

Breed shifts the odds. Age and the individual dog decide the result. A puppy of the calmest breed above will still chew, mouth, zoom around the house and struggle to settle, and adolescence brings its own restless stage. If calm is the trait you care about most, a puppy is the riskiest way to get it.

An adult or senior dog is different, because calmness shows up every day and a foster carer can tell you about it. Does the dog settle in the evening? What does it do when the doorbell rings? How long can it be left? How does it behave after a walk? That is an observation, not a guess from a breed average. It is also why the breed label on a rescue dog matters less than adopters expect: a mixed-breed adult that a foster describes as settled is a safer bet than a purebred puppy from any breed on a calm list.

The RSPCA Knowledgebase suggests thinking about your time, space, budget and lifestyle before choosing any pet, and its guide on where to get a new companion animal starts with shelters and rescues. Older dogs in particular are often the calmest dogs listed. The senior dog adoption guide covers what to expect, the costs, and Seniors for Seniors programs.

Questions to ask a rescue about calmness

• How does the dog react to visitors, the doorbell and other dogs walking past?
• Does it settle by itself in the evening, or does it need a job?
• How long has it been left alone in foster care, and what happened?
• How much exercise does it need before it is relaxed?
• Does it bark, and at what?

Not sure what suits you yet? The what dog breed am I quiz and the adoption readiness check take a few minutes, and the low maintenance dog breeds guide covers grooming and workload.

Find a calm dog near you

• Sydney: low energy dogs, senior dogs and apartment-friendly dogs for adoption
• Melbourne: low energy dogs, senior dogs and apartment-friendly dogs for adoption
• Brisbane: low energy dogs, senior dogs and apartment-friendly dogs for adoption
• Perth: low energy dogs, senior dogs and apartment-friendly dogs for adoption
• Adelaide: low energy dogs, senior dogs and apartment-friendly dogs for adoption

Each listing comes from the rescue or pound that has the dog, and most include notes on energy, other pets and children. Apply through the rescue, and ask the calmness questions above. Choosing between two busy northern breeds instead? See Husky vs Malamute.