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A 13-year-old girl is in Middlemore Hospital and a woman is in Waikato Hospital following separate attacks by mastiff dogs.

A 13-year-old girl is in hospital after a second vicious attack by a mastiff dog in Waikato within hours.

Waikato District Council says animal control officers were called to a Waiuku property around midnight on Tuesday when the dog attacked the girl living there.

"As a result, the victim has sustained serious facial and cranial puncture wounds and was undergoing surgery this morning," the council said in a statement.

The girl was recovering in Middlemore Hospital in Auckland.

Only one of two dogs at the property attacked the girl, but both have been impounded pending further investigations by council staff.

Earlier on Tuesday a Hamilton woman was attacked by her own mastiff cross.

The dog was impounded after a passer-by saw the dog attacking the woman and jumped a fence to fight it off her.

Police say the owner was taken to Waikato Hospital with serious injuries.

Hamilton City Council said the dog had been classified as "menacing" in 2010.

But under dog control legislation, the decision to destroy the dog lies with the owner, unless the council obtains a court order giving it the power to do so.

"If the owner gives her permission, we can destroy the animal," said the city's safety manager Kelvin Powell.

"However at this point, we haven't been able to speak to her."

He said the fact that the victim is the dog's owner makes the situation a delicate one.