The child, 8, was walking to school with her mother and two sisters on Wecker Drive near Ritson Road South at 7:30 a.m. when she was attacked by a Golden lab-type dog, Durham police Sergeant Paul McCurbin said.

The child's mother attempted to fend off the dog, which repeatedly bit the child, he said.

The little girl sustained bites to her face and arm, he said. She was rushed to hospital in Oshawa.

"It looks like she's going to require surgery," Sgt. McCurbin said.

A woman who lives near the site of the attack, on Wecker east of Ritson, said she'd seen a large dog running free at the time of the attack.

"It was a big dog -- a very heavyset lab," said the resident, who didn't want her name used.

She said it's a rarity to see dogs running loose in the neighbourhood, a mix of duplexes and townhouses near Lake Ontario and the Pumphouse Marsh conservation area.

"I have never seen a dog running loose in this neighbourhood," she said.

"Normally people have their dogs on a leash."

Durham police caught the dog with the assistance of animal control workers. The dog will be quarantined for 10 days. The animal's owner was located and charges are possible, Sgt. McCurbin said.

Oshawa Animal Services Manager Kathy Duncan said it's not known how old the dog is.

"It's my understanding the dog was running at large," she said.