No one would ever say a 3 yr old
deliberately provoked a dog, and of course it's not the child's fault.
I'm reminded of a recent case. Couple had a nice Lab. They had a baby - dog was wonderful with the child.
Parents left the then 18 month old baby with the dog and went into another room. Heard screaming. Ran in, and dog had seriously bitten the child's shoulder.
Couple took dog to vet to be euthanized immediately. After the dog was dead, the vet noticed a pen sticking out of the dog's ear.
This is not the case of a bad dog, or of a child provoking the dog.
The dog just reacted to the sudden and excruciating pain of having a pen shoved in it's ear, just as we would.
Again, no dog should ever be left alone with a small child.