A brave boxer dog is recovering from bites it suffered while protecting a toddler from a tiger snake in their Melbourne backyard, his owners have said.

Mack, a three-year-old boxer, was critically injured in the attack last week, owner Jo Shaw told the TODAY Show this morning.

Ms Shaw said she called Mack and her daughter Carmen inside, and found Mack "frothing and paralysed" in the yard when he failed to respond.

Three-year-old boxer Mack and Jo Shaw's two children. (Jo Shaw/GoFundMe)

"I walked around the backyard because they thought it sounded like poison, and then I saw just near the trampoline a 2.5-foot long tiger snake," Ms Shaw said.

Ms Shaw said Mack is now doing well after spending a week in vet care.

Vet staff found a number of snake bites on his body, she said.

Her partner Leigh said Carmen and Mack were happy to be reunited.

Ms Shaw comforts ailing Mack; the tiger snake that attacked Mack lies dead in his owner's yard. (Jo Shaw/GoFundMe)

"Mack's been with us since Carmen was a newborn so he's sort of grown up with her as well, and they love each other more than anything," he said.

The couple said Carmen did not understand what had happened, and suspect she would have tried to pick the snake up if Mack hadn't attacked it first.

Over the past week, a GoFundMe campaign for Mack raised the $6000 needed to cover his vet bills.

The Shaws had initially put a classic car up for sale in an attempt to fund his treatment, but friends and supporters had suggested they launch a fundraiser.