My daughter has a dog and three kids. They got the dog before they had the two youngest. The dog is extremely protective of all the kids, but especially the younger ones. She somehow knows that although they are about her size, they are children, immature, and in need of protection. My guess is that the dogs are tame, and recognized the child as one of their own and in need of protection. I am not a dog fancier, either, but sometimes they truly are humanity's best friend.
About 25 years ago, we are at my brothers house. He and I were wrestling with his dog, a German Shepherd, Retriever, Rottweiler mix. In other words, one really big, strong dog.
As we threw the dog across the room, my 2 year old daughter walked in the room. The dog immediately stopped and sat down.
We were pretty shocked and sent my daughter out of the rom so we could rile the dog up again. She walked in and the exact same thing happened. The dog just stopped cold.
I’m in no way a dog lover. But if I knew I could have one like that dog, I’d at least think about it.