When I see people leaving their babies with dogs, I think it's madness. I remember when my daughter was very young (5?) she was at a neighbor's house. The neighbor was baby sitting for a dog, an elderly dog that was gentle and 'never had bitten anyone'. That dog went after my daughter when she was running down the hall. Bit her on the face!! Fortunately, a couple of stitches in the eyebrow fixed the problem. No scar, but what a scare.
No matter how gentle the dog, people have to be careful, particularly around children.
However, cats do scratch and bite :))