How to establish my children as pack leaders

Question
Hello,
I am a mother of a three year old girl, four year old boy, and 10 month old great Dane. We've had Daisy since 10 weeks of age. The children participate in her care by letting her out her crate, feeding and picking up after her. At the beginning we had issues with her jumping up on the kids. I taught them to turn around and ignore her behavior and until she sat. It didn't take long for her to learn that jumping was a no no. Daisy walks great on a leash when I take her on walks by myself. However, when we go on walks as a family, I have the children walk ahead and she is constantly pulling to trying to get ahead of them. She knows all the basic commands, yet only obeys when they are coming from me and not the children. I've tried having the kids stand in front of me for several weeks now while i give commands.. But no success. Another area of concern, is that she is always "on top of them"..not literally, but always seems to be following them and meddling in their play. Is this normal "play with me" puppy behavior or is she trying to be dominant over them? Other than this she is very well mannered, gently and sweet. Has never showed any signs of aggression. Could you suggest any other techniques which can I implement to establish the children as pack leaders? Haven't found to much literature on this subject. I thank you for your time and knowledge in advance!

Answer
Jamie,

If you have not worked on a consistent basis with Daisy and your children, she does not see them as higher in the pack in your home. I would suggest that you take her to an obedience class and allow your children time to work with her in class as well as at home. If you are giving commands, but your children are not, there is no reason for her to listen to them when they do tell her something...Your Dane is a puppy, and she wants to be with her family. If you do not want her following your children, simply put her in her crate, or away behind a gate. All she wants to do is be by her family. Great Danes are a family dog, and yes, some are underfoot quite a bit. I have three that are my constant shadow, so I have learned to not turn around and start walking, otherwise I will run into three goof balls standing directly behind me. The only way to establish your children as the leaders of the back is to allow them time to train with her one on one with her basic commands. Let your children be in charge of putting her food bowls down either in the morning or at night, but make sure they always have her sit BEFORE she gets her food. Anytime she is to get anything from the children, whether it is a hug, petting, getting to go outside, she needs to sit and wait.

Hope this helps!
Have a great one!