Whether it’s introducing a new foster to your immediate family, or whether you’re introducing your existing foster to visiting relatives, you need a plan if children are involved.
The first thing to look at is how both the dog and the child are responding to each other when at a distance. The dog should be on a leash and/or behind a baby gate, and the child should also be instructed, and helped, to remain at a distance.
With both dogs and kids, you will want to evaluate their body language. Do either seem nervous? Over-the-top excited?
Before allowing anyone to greet, you want both parties to be relatively calm and able to follow instructions. This may mean going for a walk together to keep everyone moving before up-close introductions are allowed. Or it could mean that the dog remains on the other side of a baby gate for a while. Feel free to give the dog a stuffed Kong to help them relax, or toss them treats.
If either dog or child is nervous, DO NOT LET THEM GREET! Let both the child and the dog coexist in separate areas for however long it takes.
When both the child and the dog are relatively calm, you can look at allowing direct interaction. If there is more than one child, introduce each one separately.
Consider having the child sit on a chair so that their face is not at direct level with the dog.
Don't force the interaction (like luring the dog to the child). Let the dog approach at their own pace if they are uncomfortable. Much to the disappointment of the child, this might mean no greeting happens.
Keep the dog on a leash to easily be able to redirect the dog as needed. Bring out your treats and reward lots for the dog keeping most of their focus on you. Every 3-5 seconds, call the dog to move away from the child to prevent excitement from building up too much with both the child and the dog. You can release back to “say hi” if both child and dog are still able to be calm and want to interact.
The goal is not to magnetize your dog to children or magnetize the child to dogs. In both cases, you want quick, calm greetings and moving on.
If the dog and children will be living under the same roof, you will need to set up some ground rules for both the dog and the child for more long-term interactions.
Because dogs and children both take a lot of work, you will need to use management to prevent unwanted interactions until routines come into place. This may mean utilizing baby gates, crates, and xpens to separate the dog from the child while both are learning how to coexist. Most xpens can be taken apart and used as a long gate to divide a room into two, or extra-wide baby gates can be used.
You can set up a comfy dog bed and some bones in the dog’s area to teach them how to relax even if physically separated at times. Remember to take out any bedding and toys if the dog is to be left unsupervised.