A horrific four-dog attack on 7-year-old Japanese girl Sakurako Uehara in Murupara this week has drawn calls for dangerous breeds to be banned.
Sakurako was bitten more than 100 times. She remains in Middlemore Hospital and faces years of surgery.
National Dog database figures from 2012 showed Hawke's Bay had 21,788 registered dogs.
Of those, 445 were classified as menacing and 22 were classified as dangerous.
Popular breeds included border collies, huntaways, labradors, fox terriers, and jack russells.
Napier City Council animal control officer and animal welfare inspector Liisa Kipper said the biggest issue officers dealt with was complacent owners who did not properly secure their properties to stop dogs rushing out at passersby.
Dogs often exhibited small signs of dominant behaviour which could escalate in time to an attack if not checked early.
"Things like stepping on the dog owner's foot or leaning on them and some people think 'oh the dog's just coming for a cuddle'."
People did not know how to read a dog's body language and often encroached on a dog's personal space, she said.
Animal officers were promoting an "ask first" approach to schools and preschools - teaching children to get permission from a dog's owner before patting it.
"If the dog's by itself leave it alone."
If a dog did start to attack, it was best to get into a turtle-like position, because movement and screaming set off the dog's "prey drive".
Small-dog attacks were just as frequent as those from larger dogs, she said.
"We've had a little dog go up and bite an elderly gentleman on the back of his leg which tipped him over backwards and [he] fractured his shoulder.
"He's 70 years old and now he's stuffed."
In the wake of the Murupara attack Local Government Minister Paula Bennett said she was considering whether dog control regulations needed to improve.
However, New Zealand Institute of Animal Control Officers president Les Dalton said new laws banning specific breeds would not be effective, as many dangerous breeds had been widely cross-bred, such as "jowly" bull terrier crosses.
"There's a lot of undesirable dogs that aren't the best with humans and haven't been socialised with dogs and certainly not children."
Many of the "macho" breeds were typically found in lower socio-economic North Island areas, and owned by groups of young men who had not cared for the animals.
Mr Dalton reminded dog owners to never leave small children alone with dogs, no matter what the breed.
The 1996 Dog Control Act was tightened in 2003 after 7-year-old Carolina Anderson suffered a horrific attack in an Auckland park, needing years of reconstructive surgery.
Dog owners must now register, microchip and fence their animals. They must also muzzle dogs in public if they've been classified as menacing or dangerous.
It is illegal to import American pitbull terrier, dogo argentino, Brazilian fila, and Japanese tosa breeds. Dog owners can be jailed for three years or fined up to $20,000 if their dog is involved in an attack causing serious injury, or fined $300 for not registering or microchipping a dog.APNZ
