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A woman has been attacked by a dobermann while house-sitting at Coopers Beach in the Far North.
Mangonui police said the woman was attacked by the dog on its owners' property in Berghan Rd - where she was house-sitting - when she went to tend it at the weekend.
The woman, understood to be in her fifties, needed treatment from a doctor and police referred the incident to the Far North District Council's dog control officer.
Council spokeswoman Alison Lees said yesterday that the property owners, who are overseas, had arranged for a separate woman minder to look after their dog during their absence.
When the dog minder wanted last weekend off, the house-sitter took over her duties but was attacked by the dobermann when she went to feed it in its caged enclosure.
She suffered puncture wounds to both her arms and a tear on one of them.
The woman was treated locally by a doctor and had stitches, but did not need to go to hospital, Ms Lees said.
"We're assessing the situation. It's unusual because the dog was on its own property, it was registered and it was in an enclosed area.
"We intend to talk to the owners when they get back in two or three weeks."
