Hi Jody,
Not sure if I answered your other post before, but I have done a fair amount of research on the best dog breeds for kids and other pets, and had a short list we chose from. Like you, I have owned various dog breeds, large and small, and found the larger ones a bit more trustworthy with small children. We have a four year old high energy boy, a two 1/2 year old little girl, a 17 month old toddler and I am expecting number four in January. We needed a dog that would be okay with my son's high energy level - meaning, a dog that would not feed off of it (like a boxer or a lab), but would be calm and tolerant. We live in the suburbs, close to Toronto, and I wanted a dog that would be cool with walking the little ones to preschool, but not needing a ton of exercise on top of that (like an Aussie or a beagle).
We chose a Saint Bernard, although a Bullmastiff would have been our first choice if they were a less dominant breed (the rule for dominant breeds is that you should only aquire one when the youngest child in the house is able to give it commands. There are many dogs that are the exception to this rule, but with three little ones we didn't want to take a chance).
We needed a dog with a STABLE, CALM tempermant, and our Saint has not let us down. He does drool, not incessantly, just when drinking, waiting for a treat or had a good romp. But, I will not down play the drool. It does not bother me because I keep one cloth for him and one for the baby in my pockets at all times. I think once you bond with your puppy, things like drool do not bother you , in the same way there are habits our kids have that would drive us nuts if they were not our kids.
Anyways, if you want a BIG dog, a Saint is great, but there are quite a few smaller large dogs that would suit your purpose, depending on the energy level you are looking at, the maintenance you want to put in, the money you want to spend, etc.
