Katie Strickland was attacked by a male Rhodesian ridgeback last Tuesday while playing outside her Ryan Road home about 7.30pm.

She was flown to the Royal Children's Hospital.

The dog was seized by Cardinia Shire rangers and has been put down.

Advanced life support paramedic Mike Jevons said he arrived at the home to find Katie being comforted by her mother. "The four-year-old suffered horrific head injuries. We cleaned and dressed the wounds to stop the bleeding.

"We administered pain relief through a nasal inhaler, before intensive care paramedics put a drip in her arm and gave her stronger pain relief, which made her more comfortable."

The eight-month-old dog was an unregistered animal owned by a friend of the girl's family who also lives at the home.

Cardinia Shire spokesman Paul Dunlop said council rangers seized the dog about 8.30pm on Tuesday and took the animal to the pound.

Mr Dunlop said no other dog attacks had been reported at the property and the Rhodesian ridgeback's owner had signed responsibility of it over to the council.

"There were three other dogs contained in a penned area in the yard. It was one of four dogs on the property at the time."

Alan Giachin, the council's manager of compliance services, said investigations into the circumstances of the attack were continuing.

"The council treats incidences of dog attacks very seriously and this type of incident – while very rare – is something we never want to see happen in Cardinia Shire.

"An incident of this nature is obviously traumatic for all parties involved."