The 25-year-old man who confessed to attempting to burgle a Mount Maunganui property before being bitten by a police dog was sentenced to 21 months' jail.

John Robert Bennett pleaded guilty to a burglary charge in Tauranga District Court yesterday and asked to be sentenced at the same time.

John Robert Bennettin Tauranga District Court.

After taking into account his early guilty plea and the victim impact statement from the home owner Bennett attempted to burgle, Judge Peter Rollo sentenced him to 21 months' jail.

Police say Bennett was caught by a police dog after he attempted to rob a Marine Parade home while the owners slept upstairs on January 21.

Jim Morrell and his wife were sleeping when Bennett used a claw hammer to break a latch off one of the downstairs windows.

Bennett was in the process of loading up a Holden parked in the garage full of household items when he was interrupted.

Jim went to investigate a noise and heard the garage door open before seeing a man in his backyard.

'He took off and jumped a 6ft fence I have out the back of my house and he went straight over it and hid in Pohutukawa trees. Five minutes later we were on the phone with police and they told us to keep an eye on him.”

Police dogs were brought in to help locate the alleged offender who was found hiding in the dunes opposite Sutherland Street.

Detective Sergeant Darryl Brazier earlier told SunLive the offender was located by police running from the Mount address at around midnight.

'As a result of his actions he was apprehended by a police dog and spent some time in hospital.

'All the property he was in the process of stealing was recovered.”

The accused suffered puncture wounds to the main artery of his arm and was taken to Tauranga Hospital for treatment.

Jim sat in the back of the court room as Bennett was dealt with the courts.

Bennett's lawyer Amy Baker, who was acting on behalf of the public defendant, says Bennett felt remorseful when he heard the victim impact statement and accepted the sentencing the judge handed to him.

Judge Rollo warned Bennett that this is his third burglary conviction and if he came before the courts again he would face a higher jail term.

'What you are doing is wrong. You must stop,” he told Bennett.