An unfenced garden divided only by good intentions is not divided at all — to a running child and a chasing dog, the whole space reads as one exciting field. You cannot rely on barriers you do not have, so safety has to come from design and behaviour instead: zones both the dog and the children understand, edges they can actually see, and play that is supervised by someone whose attention is not split with a barbecue or a phone.
Zone the garden by purpose, not by fencing
Walk the garden and assign each part a job. The shared play zone should be the most open, boring stretch you have — flat ground, good visibility from the house, away from the gate, the shed with its tools, any pond or water butt, and the compost corner. The dog's quiet zone is the opposite kind of place: shade, her outdoor bed or a mat, water, and a household rule that a dog who takes herself there is resting and is not followed. Children's separate play — bikes, water play, anything fast or splashy — belongs in a third area, ideally at the far side of the garden from the dog's quiet zone, so excitement has somewhere to happen that does not involve her at all.
Make the edges visible to both species
A boundary only works if it can be seen at running speed. Lay a path of stepping stones, a row of planters, a line of low solar lights or the edge of a rug on the patio — something continuous that marks where the shared zone ends. Then teach it deliberately.
Structure the play so excitement stays low
The safest shared games are turn-based and stationary: children standing in a loose circle rolling a ball gently to each other with the dog fetching the strays, hide-and-find with treats hidden in grass for her to sniff out while children watch, or simple trick practice where each child asks for a sit or a paw and rewards her. Avoid the games that reliably produce accidents — chasing, racing, tug played at full stretch by several children at once, and anything involving the dog jumping up at hands holding food. Keep sessions short, ten or fifteen minutes of shared play followed by a genuine break, because most garden incidents happen in the scruffy final minutes when children are tired and silly and the dog is over threshold.
Give supervision to one named adult
Supervision fails when it belongs to everyone in general. For each visit, one adult is the dog-and-children watcher, and that is their only job while shared play is happening — not grilling, not hosting drinks, not answering the door. That adult watches body language on both sides: a dog whose tail has gone stiff and high, who is showing the whites of her eyes or has stopped taking treats, needs play ended kindly and immediately; children who are shrieking, grabbing at her collar or competing for her attention need the game changed, not the dog corrected.
End well and review what the garden taught you
Finish shared play while it is still going well: call her in, give her a chew in her quiet zone, and let the children continue their own games where she can watch from rest rather than rejoin. Adjust the zones before the next visit: move the play area further from the tempting corner, add planters where the line was ignored, shorten sessions if the end was ragged. Putting the supervising adult's name, the zone rules and the session length in KinsLe using Care Teams ensures every visit starts with a responsible person assigned and the same garden rules, whoever is hosting.