A five-year-old girl has had part of her nose bitten off in a “horrific” attack by a large dog in western Sydney, police have said.

The girl was bitten by the animal in the front yard of her home on Bombala Street, in Pendle Hill, at about 7:30pm.

A police spokesman said the breed of dog was believed to be a Bull Arab crossed with a Great Dane and it was not owned by the family, but belonged to a guest visiting the house.

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“It’s a beast of a thing,” he added.

He said the injuries to her face were very serious, with a section of her nose taken off in the attack, but did not comment on whether she would be left without a nose.

The girl was taken to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead for treatment and police said her injuries were considered to be non-life threatening.

Parramatta Police Inspector Robert Toyton described the incident as “horrendous”.

“The five-year-old girl has suffered significant injuries to her nose and also another deep laceration to her face,” Insp Toyton said.

“The trauma that that poor girl received is quite horrendous.”

Police have launched a joint investigation with Holroyd City Council.

“The dog has been seized by the council and police and we will determine what will happen with the animal in the coming days,” Insp Toyton said.

He said the incident was very traumatic for the family.

“The message from police is that when children are around animals you need to be aware that animals can be unpredictable at times, in particular when there is food around,” Insp Toyton said.

He said from what police understood there may have been some food around the animal which may have “contributed to the attack”.

“What will happen in the coming days is an evaluation into what happened with the dog, but I don’t want to speculate on what the outcome of that will be,” he said.