Wishing you luck. I'm sure you and your dog will be fine.

One of the forum members, Dennis Jones, has posted before about teaching his GSDs cute tricks. He says it helps children not be so apprehensive when they see the dogs doing fun tricks.

Maybe as the kids (from inside) watch you teaching/doing tricks with your dog outside, it might help them, especially the little girl you mentioned. Just make sure you watch your dog around them at all times. You have to know your dog inside and out in order for him to be with a child, even with constant supervision. You never know the effect on a dog of a child screaming, in fear or for any reason. Just a note of caution, hope you don't mind.

On the note of keeping your dog cool...my husband once built one of our dogs a wood dog house, complete with the insulation used by homes, high R value, placed between the solid wood walls on the inside and the outside. It worked pretty well, with a doggie door at the opening and vents out of the roof of the house. Our dog stayed in there in the summer a lot, as well as the winter. And of course the dog house was always in the shade.