Dog bites TV anchor on air

This week Max the dog made headlines in the US when he was rescued from an icy pond by a fire fighter.

The three-year-old Argentinian mastiff had been chasing a coyote on a freezing reservoir when he fell through a patch of thin ice and was forced to paddle for his life for 20 minutes.

Now Max is in the news again after biting anchor Kyle Dyer during an interview on Colorado's 9NEWS morning program.

Dyer was leaning close to Max in the process of wrapping up her interview with the dog and his owner when he suddenly opened his mouth and bit her.

She was immediately taken to Denver Health Medical Center to receive treatment.

The hospital released a statement saying she was "currently in fair condition and is being evaluated by the trauma team."

"She is awake and visiting with family who asked that we thank the community for their immediate outpouring of support," the hospital added.

Dyer's co-anchor, Gary Shapiro, posted on his Facebook page that she had been bitten on the lip and was talking when she was taken to hospital.

"So you may have seen Kyle get bit by the dog in the 7am hour," Shapiro wrote.

"All we know for sure is that he got her on the lip, and she's being treated for the injury at the hospital."

Max's owner will now be cited for the bite, not controlling the dog and not having Max vaccinated for rabies.