A young child was taken to hospital last night after being bitten on the face by a family dog at her home in northern New South Wales.

The two-year-old girl was on the verandah of the property in Sawtell, south of Coffs Harbour, when the dog bit her and caused cuts near her eye and cheek.

She was treated on the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics before being taken to Coffs Harbour Health Campus with non-life threatening injuries.

A two-year-old girl was taken to hospital after her family dog bit her on the face at her home in Sawtell, near Coffs Harbour in northern NSW (Supplied). (Supplied)

Detective Inspector Darren Jameson of the NSW Police said the dog is believed to have been familiar with the child.

“It is my understanding that it is a family dog,” he said.

“It’s a dog that has been at the house for some time, it’s not a young dog, it’s an old dog.”

The dog that attacked is believed to be an old family dog that was familiar with the girl (Supplied). (Supplied)

NSW Police officers are now working with local council to investigate the matter.

The incident comes after a spate of dog attacks around the country in recent days, with a 12-month-old baby girl mauled to death in northern NSW by a Rottweiler last week.

Baby Kamillah Boney was tragically killed while visiting her grandmother, who was moving home in Inverell, and being pushed in a pram by her mother.

It is understood the two-year-old was on the verandah of the Sawtell family home when the dog attacked her (Supplied). (Supplied)

That attack was followed by another incident involving a 10-year-old girl being mauled by a South African Boerboel in the Melbourne suburb of Berwick over the weekend, leaving her with serious injuries including bite wounds and deep cuts.

In a third serious dog attack in less than a week, a three-year-old boy was also bitten by a Great Dane while riding a bicycle in the NSW suburb of Mayfield, near Newcastle.

The boy was with his mother and older sister when the large dog ran out of an open gate, lunged towards him and bit his neck and ear.