My dog is about 50 pounds and is a total attention whore. The few times he has been around anyone under 3 feet, he freezes up and stares at me to save him. Why can't he play with the child? Does he even regard it as human?

Your child probably Tortures him?!?

If he hasn't been socialized with children before, they are totally foreign to your dog. Dogs do that with people of different sizes, races, facial hair, outfits (like big hats), etc.. You will have to work on socializing him with children, he will learn that they are "normal" beings too.

Maybe because they are usually loud and hyper, whereas adults don't tend to run at him and scream and laugh in his face. It's also possible that something happened to him involving a child at a young age and it has scarred him.Be happy he doesn't want to bite them out of fear, but be sure to know this could become the case.

My theory is that dogs are able to 'read' people, and know who they feel comfortable with. A toddler's mind is busy, with disconnected thoughts, short attention span, and surprise movements, so they are more difficult to 'read'.Generally, only those that are around children a lot have become trusting of them.

Sounds like he has had a bad experience with a toddler?

probably because he has been hurt or hit by a kid, or he is afraid of the noises. you need to pay serious attention to it tho & not allow him around any. Kids do things by nature that cause them to get bitten & its usually in the face.

What kind of contact has he had with children in the past? If they've done stuff like pulled his tail or something else he didn't like, I could understand his not wanting to be around them.If he usually has no contact at all with kids, he's probably not quite sure what those short two-legged creatures are. Maybe you need to work with a willing child (and parent) to set up an introduction. Make sure you're there since your dog trusts you and he believes you when you say it's all right. Good luck!

This is just a theory, but it could be that the dog identifies the child as a new baby in the "pack", and fears punnishment from the alpha dog (you) for playing with or harming the new baby.

my chi is the same way.. people have told me that some dogs are just "like that". Have you had the dog since he was a puppy? If not, there is a good chance that somewhere along the way a child was "abusive" towards him or he wasn't properly socialized. I would suggest you go to an obedience school with him to get him socialized. good luck!