Most dogs love children.
However, there are some breeds of dogs that do not care for children and will even try to bite them with little cause.
Either type of dog, one who loves children or one who doesn't, needs to be trained to be gentle around them whether you have a child in your home or not.
Your dog is your responsibility, and no one wants to see a child get bitten or knocked over due to a violent or over-enthusiastic dog.
If you do not have a child, ask a friend or relative if you can have their child's help in training your dog.
To begin, have the child stand in the middle of the room.
Make sure that they are not afraid of your dog, and it's important that you have him on a leash.
Have the dog walk over.
He will likely start to sniff.
If he starts to pull or act like he wants to jump, sharply pull on his leash and make him back away and sit down.
Do not let him back up until he is entirely calm and submissive.
Then try again.
Once your dog goes to the child, sniffs, and sits down or backs away, praise him and give him a treat.
You want him to associate being with a child as being something enjoyable.
Then have the child throw a ball or play around as he normally would, with your dog still on the leash.
Make him go into the sit command and be calm and submissive.
Dogs can be easily excited by the sights and sounds of children playing, but you want your dog to be calm whenever he sees kids acting like kids.
With training, your dog will be able to play gently with children, but remember to never leave your dog unsupervised with any child.