Isabelle Dinoire, 38, said she has been making good progress, and thanked doctors for their work.
"Since my operation, I have a face, like everyone ... I will be able to resume a normal life," the French divorcee and mother of two said, speaking with some difficulty at a packed press conference at Amiens hospital in northern France.
She appeared with fine scar lines running from her nose over her cheekbones down to her jaw, and appeared to have trouble closing her mouth.
Ms Dinoire received a triangular-shaped graft, comprising the nose, lips and chin from a brain-dead donor, to replace parts of her face after she was mauled by her pet Labrador in June.
She said she fell into a deep sleep after taking medication to help her deal with personal problems.
"When I woke up, I tried to light a cigarette and I couldn't understand why it didn't stay between my lips. Then I saw the pool of blood and the dog next to me," she said.
"I went to look in the mirror and was horrified, I couldn't believe what I saw, especially as I didn't feel any pain."
Ms Dinoire spent six weeks in hospital and said the attack changed her life, leaving her "afraid to go outdoors, afraid of other people's stares... of what they were thinking".
For weeks, she could only open her mouth a few millimetres, which meant she could only take her food in liquid form.
Six months later she accepted the opportunity of a transplant gratefully.
"Now I can open my mouth and eat. I have recently begun to get feeling in my lips, nose and mouth. Of course, I still have to carry on with kinesitherapy and work to reactivate all the muscles, and obviously I have to carry on taking immunosuppressors," she said.
Three days after the transplant surgery, she was able to go out into the streets of Lyon, something she said has given her great courage.
"Since leaving hospital, I intend to resume my family life and then a professional activity. In fact, I want to resume normal life."
Ms Dinoire paid tribute to the family of the female donor which consented to the graft and to the surgical team that carried out the operation. She also appealed to the media for restraint.
"I now understand the position of all people who have a handicap, of whatever kind it is. I hope that my operation will enable other people to live again," she said.
Ms Dinoire has resumed chain-smoking, which concerns her doctors as it could heighten chances of her tissue rejecting the transplant, however they said they are confident this will not happen.
Doctors say there are five more face transplant candidates now lined up, with permission being sought from health authorities.
The November 27 operation was led by Bernard Devauchelle, a professor of facial surgery at a hospital in Amiens in northern France.
Face transplants are considered one of the toughest surgical tasks, as they combine micro-surgery to connect nerves and blood vessels, a high risk of rejection by the recipient's immune system and a major psychological challenge to the patient, given that the face is the most individual of organs.