Their bark will haunt a child for years and watching them at play is reminiscent of Roman coliseum blood battles.  At 120 lbs on the small side they easily dwarf most other dogs.  It is a little strange to see a dog with its paws on top of a 6 foot fence peering down at you, but not uncommon.  Great Danes make excellent scare dogs because of their imposing presence, most would be intruders will be happy to continue on to an easier target and avoid the dog that looks like it could eat them for an afternoon snack.

Despite the Great Danes imposing appearance and ferocious look they are quite possibly the gentlest of the Canine line.  With the exception of the bull in a china shop quality they are excellent house or apartment dogs.  And, aside from the fact that they may trample small children in their effort to show them how much they love them, they are excellent with kids, tough kids that is.   

Barking is fairly infrequent, though what my family refers to as talking is common, think Scooby.  Biting is pretty much nonexistent and when it does occur it is usually playful mouthing that looks much more ferocious than it really is.  Aggression is uncommon and the only time I have seen any true aggression it is directed at someone who may pose a real or imagined threat to the Great Dane or its people.

Danes usually play well with other animals but they were bread to hunt and corner other animals and hold them there until people could arrive and finish the hunt.  So, excessively yappy small beast should be forewarned, instinct may prevail and lead to a possibly destructive chase, that will probably end in a pee puddle on the floor when the yappy beast is corner and scared witless.

Anyone considering adding a Dane to the family should realize that they are adding a member to the family and should treat the dog accordingly.  These beast are altruistically loyal, I have seen them try to climb trees for their people, didn’t end well.  They will fit well into a family and do best when they are able to be as close as possible to the family.