Even with a high number of attacks, bad owners were not necessarily to blame for their dogs attacking people and other animals, Ms Jones said.
"Dogs might attack if they are not being used to having small children around; or they are bored; over heating; threatened; or if they simply have a toothache and a child touches them in the wrong way. There are quite a lot of reasons," she said.
"People say it's down to bad owners but there are many reasons for an attack."
Ms Jones expected a reduction in the number of dog attacks in the coming years.
"The good news is that more people are actually getting their dogs trained now. Years ago, they wouldn't have dreamed of getting in a trainer to train the dog before the dog had problems but now people are more inclined to do that," she said.
Nationally there were 14,901 claims made for dog related injuries across New Zealand in 2014 - a drop of 94 from 2013.
ACC spokeswoman Stephanie Melville said most claims were for minor injuries.
"The three most common injuries are laceration, soft tissue injury and dental injury, for example, when Fido jumps up excitedly and hits your chin or mouth," she said.
"Given we're a country of animal lovers with a doggy population of approximately 700,000 and around 29 per cent of us being dog-owning homes, it can be a case of the minority, dogs and dog owners, giving the majority a bad rap."
New Zealand Kennel Club president Clyde Rogers said New Zealanders were becoming more aware of dog related injuries.
"I don't know that there has been a change [in the number of attacks] but there is certainly growing awareness of dog attacks and that is partially due to a growing dog population, growing awareness and more media coverage so it is a self-perpetuating story," he said. "As a result, people tend to be a lot more aware of the issue of dogs and the potential risks related to them."
When there were attacks, mixed-breed dogs were the most likely culprits, he said.
"Having said that, any dog can potentially bite. It is about environment and training."
Mr Rogers said local government needed to be doing more to ensure dog owners trained their dogs.