The victim of Palmerston's 15th dog attack in seven months has called for tougher council bylaws to prevent future assaults.

The Northern Territory grandmother, who wanted to give only her first name Diana, has undergone three hospital operations in the two weeks since being mauled by a neighbour's dog while walking her own.

Speaking to ABC Darwin on Monday, Diana described the terrifying moment the dog latched onto her arm and "shook it like a piece of meat".

"Then I fell and it dragged me onto the ground," she said.

"I was screaming and screaming. I picked up my hand and it was only just sort of attached."

Since arriving at hospital 12 days ago, she has had three operations and was set to undergo another on Wednesday.

But Diana believed the bylaws surrounding dog ownership were weak and did not hold owner's to account.

"If I was damaged like this with a car that person driving the car would probably lose their licence," she said.

"Dog owners can have another dog the next day."

Diana is preparing for her fourth surgery in two weeks to repair the damage to her hand. ( ABC News: Jesse Thompson )

CEO points to 'education programs'

Palmerston City Council CEO Luccio Cercarelli confirmed there was no bylaw that regulated what breed of dog people could buy.

He said the penalties for proven dog attacks ranged from infringement notices, to restrictions on registrations, to a court order instructing the dog be euthanased.

Since July 1 last year he said there had been "approximately 15 what you'd describe as an attack within the municipality".

But he dismissed the idea that the bylaws were biased towards dog owners.

"I don't think it's biased, it needs to provide natural justice to all involved," Mr Cercarelli said.

"Laws are structured such that natural justice is applied to all those involved in a particular incident."

He said the council undertook various educational programs for dog owners.

The dog that attacked Dianne has been turned over to council, and it was investigating the incident.

Mr Cercarelli said it would be finalised in five to 10 days.

However, Member for Blain Terry Mills agreed with Diana, stating there should be stronger by-laws to deal with dogs that attack people.

"There certainly needs to be tougher measures to deal with dogs at large in public spaces and owners held to account," he said.

Dogs a 'victim of their environment'

Jess Moore-Jones from RSPCA Darwin said a dog's up-bringing and training was a better indicator for whether it would attack people than its breed.

She said it was important owners learnt to read the warning signs their dogs displayed when stressed.

"The other thing to be clear in is that dogs are a victim of their environment which is almost always something that we have created for them," she said.