Is one dog breed really friendlier than others? It probably depends on what you mean by friendly in the first place. Some dog owners think the word is used to describe certain breeds as unfriendly and create prejudices. Still even if you do think this labeling is wrong the American Kennel Association really does say that some breeds are friendlier then others.
Of course this is a complex matter. Like humans dogs have individual personalities and their behavior may have nothing to do with their breed. Also a dog may be selectively friendly.
Some breeds that are friendly towards adults dislike children or other pets. Dogs that are abused when young also don’t tend to be that friendly , a problem encountered all the time by Dog Rescue organization that are trying to find homes for traumatized animals. So of course all this means you could own a ,friendly breed, but still end up with an unpredictable dog that could not be so friendly in certain situation.
However in general the American Kennel Association cites the following breeds to have more of a gentle disposition than others and also to be friendlier to strangers. These breeds are the Brittany Spaniel, the Labrador Retriever, the Bichon Frise, the Cavalier King Spaniel, the Chinese Crested Spaniel, the English Setter, the Golden Retriever, the Bull and Dog, the Bearded Collie, the Bedlington Terrier, the Bloodhound, the Irish Setter, the Newfoundland, the Old English Sheepdog, the Otterhound, the Siberian Husky, the Vizla, the Alaskan Malumite, the Basset Hound.
If you want a dog that gets along with other animals then the association recommends that you own a Beagle, Bloodhound, Cavalier King Spaniel, Chinese Crested Spaniel, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia Duck Trolling Retriever, Samoyed, Labrador Retriever, American Foxhound English Cocker Spaniel, English Springer Spaniel, Field Spaniel, Golden Retriever, Bernese Mountain Dog, Bichon Frise, Boston Terrier, the Canaan Dog, the Bull Dog and the Bull Mastiff. These dogs are also less likely to get into trouble if you run them off leash in a park.
Notice that some people friendly dog breeds also cross over with the pet friendly breeds. Good examples are the Cavalier King Spaniel and the Chinese Crested Spaniel. However many of these dog breeds have either one trait or another and you ,can’t have your cake and eat it too., This means you have to prioritize.
It is easier to train a dog to be friendly to strangers then it is to change its behavior to be friendly to other pets. This is because instincts that dogs have towards other animals are of the hard-wired variety. However you can successfully train a dog that is from a breed that is not known to be that friendly to humans to be friendlier by taking him or her through a bout of obedience training.
Among the easiest dogs to train are the Bichon Frise, the Bernese Mountain Dog, the Canaan Dog, the English Spaniel, the Havanese, the Irish Spaniel, the Nova Scotia Duck Trolling Retriever and the Toy Fox Terrier.