New dog attack leaves 11-year-old Melbourne boy badly mauled

Police outside the property where the boy was mauled days after a Mlebourne man was killed by his son's dog. Photo / News Corp Australia

An 11-year-old boy has been badly mauled in a dog attack days after a man was killed by his son's American Staffordshire Terrier.

Another dog attack has left an 11-year-old boy with serious facial injuries just days after Melbourne father Leo Biancofiore was mauled to death by his son's American Staffordshire Terrier.

The boy was badly mauled in the face by a Doberman cross in the northwestern Melbourne suburb of Cairnlea on Friday afternoon.

Emergency services were called to a property around 3.20pm and the boy was taken to Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital in a serious condition.

Victoria Police said it was believed the boy was at the house when he was bitten.

The Doberman cross was temporarily secured in the back yard before rangers planned to remove the animal and investigate the incident..

The dog's owner arrived back at the home and helped police and council workers remove the dog from the property

Just last Wednesday, a pet dog went into "complete kill mode" at a home at Mill Park in Melbourne's northeast.

A dog is removed from the property where the boy was mauled in the face at Spearfelt Court, Cairnlea in Melbuorne. Photo / News Corp Australia

Police and Council workers enter the property where the boy was mauled by a Doberman Cross in northwestern Melbourn. Photo / News Corp Australia

Leo Biancofiore (left) was mauled to death and his wife Donata Biancofiore injured when the pet dog of son Mark Biancofiore (right) went into attack mode. Photo / Supplied

Neighbours tried to help 61-year-old Leo Biancofiore as he tried to fend off his son's American Staffordshire Terrier.

During the 45-minute attack, his wife Donata Biancofiore was also bitten by the dog, named Junior, who apparently attacked "out of the blue".

When police arrived the attack was still underway and they fired gunshots as a distraction, but Mr Biancofiore died at the scene.

A neighbour said the dog had latched onto Mr Biancofiore's throat.

The victim's son later said the dog "loved" his father.

Mr Biancofiore is the fourth person killed by a purebred or mixed breed American Staffordshire Terrier in Australia this year.