Great Danes love chew toys and were breed to chase and corner animals of all sizes so it does not seem like they would really do too well with kids but thankfully they do play well.

I have two Danes and two kids and no serious injuries related to either category. The Great Danes will scare the crap out of the occasional kid but it is normally unintentional. And on occasion one of the Danes will corner a small child and wait for the hunter to come finish the job, depending on the child I usually discourage this type of behavior.

Trampling is by far the most common incident related to children and is always unintentional. It is usually a misguided attempt to show love and is closely related to the bull in a china shop syndrome of which Danes are gifted. Trampling can usually be remedied with a hug and by reassuring the child that they are not lunch.

Be forewarned Great Danes and crybaby children do not play well. Black eyes, busted knees, and attacks from the killer Dane tale are common. By the way the Great Dane is the only canine that inherited the stegosaurus attack tail. Kids watch your heads, adults watch the soft spot located about midway.

A reminder to children. Great danes are not miniature horses, they are not related to cows, and while they will tolerate being ridden, it will ruin their backs and decrease their already short life expectancy.

As a reassurance to parents I will let you know that my ferocious looking, blue, male, Great Dane that slightly resembles Lucifer and scares the crap out of grown men will tolerate anything thrown at him so far. I have seen him ridden, chased, chase, hit, his teeth poked at, wrestled with, tail pulled, and to top all I have witnessed a 3 year old grab him by the balls. I thought for sure it was over despite the fact that this was a pretty tough kid but the Dane barley noticed, possibly even appreciated.

I have been pleased with the family dynamics of my kids and Great Danes and even more pleased to see these gentle beasts act protective of my family. Not overly protective but enough so to scare off most danger and reassure a concerned father. When the smaller children show up (under about 3 and possibly not so tough) I do keep a close eye or keep them away. Fighting, aka. Playing Danes can be dangerous to anything around people, furniture, cars, etc.

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