Introducing Kids to the Pack - Page 1

Hi,
I have a 20month old gsd, a 3 year old jack russell and a 6 year old rottweiler. My 2 nephews will be staying with me on weekends for the next few months on/off with thier mother(my sister).
I have no experience of kids and they have no experience of dogs, so can anyone suggest a plan for me.
So far, I have explained the rotti is old and shouldn't be approached without warning when she's asleep/doesn't see them.
The GSd is playful, big and boisterous and they main one who needs proper introduction. I gave the 6 year a toy that sqeeks and he squeeks it if the dogs gets too over playful...This makes the gs Max back away, I hope that's ok. All three dogs together are hard to manage at first but are quiet once socialised with visitors.
My dogs are just not used to kids and I don't want to put anyone in a situation due to my lack of knowledge.
Any help appreciated.
Rox

Introduce them and then tell the kids to leave them be.
If they can remain calm and well behaved they will all get to know each other as time goes on.
One day at a time.

How old are the nephews? I would start the kids in the trainer role after a bit but as soon as you can. Make it a game, arm them with tasty treats and show them how to properly command a dog, to sit, then heal, stay, etc. This puts them in the role of leader, and not a fellow pack pup. I don't like the idea of the squeaky being used to keep a dog away. I think I would rather empower the child. And it is so much better then saying NO all the time, or having to separate everybody or crate every dog.

Always be there with the dogs and young/inexperienced kids together, never leave them unsupervised. Good luck.

hi, thank you for the replies.
Yes, I agree the sqeeky toy was not my brightest idea. My nephews are 6 and 12. The 12 yo is grand but the 6 yo has learning difficulties and finds it difficult to folloow insttructions. I will go more on the trainer route with them, would teaching them 'touch' with a treat in their hands be the first thing to do, so as to get the kids used to giving treats.
I use 'touch' with a treat in my hand, with my hand closed so the dogs wont snatch it out and nip me.

Personally would have them all go for a nice long hike with the pups, if your dogs walk well on leash the kids can help walk them.  Agree that you should have the kids doing some basic obedience. You can also have them feed the dogs as long as its done in a safe way.  We don't have kids ourselves but when they come to visit, we usually have the dogs meet everyone out front of the house.  We also let them stay out front for a bit and throw the ball etc. We work with the dogs at that time making sure that when the kids tell them to drop the ball/toy they do so immediately. Starts the respect going right away.  Then the kids/adults go indoors with the dogs coming in last.  We take up any toys/bones etc that might be lying around the house prior to having them over. 
Good luck!
Amy

Break them in slowly, try a few visits just during the day so you can see how they with the dogs and vice versa. I would try and do it one dog at a time unless you have other people around you as the children may get scared by 3 dogs trying to jump on them xx

My youngest also has a learning disablilty. This is the child you need to empower the most. It may take longer but it is necessary because emotionally speaking the dog and child are closest to the same age. Only, now the dog can overwhelm the child. Eventually, as the child ages the balance will change but until that time, patience and supervision is your job.

Yes, start with teaching them how to feed treats to a dog without fear. That is a great place to start. Good luck.

Our three year old nephew hadn't seen a dog before Senta (young female GSD) so we put her in a down stay and had our nephew meet her. He's a super curious little boy so we did a comparison game- we used a tape measure and measured his ears, tongue, feet, etc. and then measured the same things on Senta. He found the differences fascinating and the time spent doing a focused activity helped to settle both dog and boy. During the measuring activity, we also explained the rules of dog interaction to the little boy. Although Senta loves children (only time she will wag her tail), she is always watched like a hawk during every second of their interaction. I'll note that our nephew's parents are very supportive- any breakage of the "dog interaction rules" results in a time-out for both of them. A time-out is the most awful thing in the world for the little boy. :)