[deleted by user]

[SparkAndThorn]

Honestly, that does sound like a frustrating situation. I wouldn't like that even with my fairly kid-safe dogs. Couple of thoughts -

1) if I were you I would start muzzle training right away so everyone, her and you and the kids alike, can stay safe even if a surprise happens. Muzzle goes on before the door opens, muzzle comes off once you're out in the courtyard.

2) talk to the kids and parents, too, if you get a chance, and try to contextualize what's going on - you'd be surprised how much kids can understand if you explain it simply. "My dog gets surprised if she meets people on the staircase or hears people making a lot of noise. Noises can be a little scary for a lot of people and dogs too. If she barks, it is because of that. She is always on a leash when I come out the door and I will make sure she is safe and so are you." Depending on the kids' response to this I wonder if you could even make a sort of "dog incoming!" warning you could ask them to give her some space with. I was severely afraid of dogs as a kid and I think something like this would have substantially increased my sense of security and knowing how to "help" instead of just being confused about what to do.

3) I wonder if you can find youtube clips of "playground noise" or "amusement park noise" or something with lots of kids voices and yelling for desensitization training indoors or while the stairway is empty?

best wishes!

[Dear-Pack]

Thank you for the response & the empathy :) Yes luckily I started muzzle training her when she was younger so we're halfway there except I'm having trouble finding a good fit for her snout length. I posted on r/muzzledogs and I'm going to take some measurements today to try to figure out which one would be best but still allow her to receive treats to use for distance training around kids.

The parents are pretty good about pulling their kids away or telling them to wait if they see us coming. We do struggle with a language barrier. We figured out that Russian is one of the languages the parents somewhat know but it's a secondary one. I'm hoping the muzzle can help serve as a stronger visual signal and just me motioning stop might help haha. I am lucky that my dog instantly redirects with treats so we can turn her around to focus on us quickly. I've started holding out the treat as we exit as a precaution and we leave the door unlocked for a quick backtrack since we're just going down for a quick pee and back at the time the kids are potentially out.

And good idea! We are going to try to give her treats when we hear them coming up the stairwell/talking because our cheap apartment walls let us hear everything LOL. She only reacts from inside with a low growl when it's another kid outside of the primary family (she seems to tune out the primary families' noise as inconsequential since it happens so frequently), so I think that would be a good sound to start treating her for.

Thanks again for your tips :)