You can play around with the d_init file to restrict number of children and overall population. I'll usually stop the population at around 100 with a max of 40 children to reach the 140 dwarf limit so King shows up, unless I'm doing a mega-project causing a lot of random casualties and requiring a lot of uristpower.
Incidentally wardogs suck, trade with elves for Giant creatures or capture/tame/raise them yourself, from surface or caves. A dodge-me trap with a pit of Giant Black Mambas is cool.
