WWYD? Dog owners advice needed

[nothingisnothing]

Please can you advise me on what you would do if this was your dog....
I have cats. My yard wall is so high that there is a cut out, just big enough for the cats, in my gate for them to get through.
One of the neighbours has a large dog, not sure of the breed. It's not a bull mastif or ridgeback but something along those lines.
Although he lives on the opposite side of the street, for some reason he walks it up the back street behind me. It's never on a lead.

Twice this week, whilst i've been in the yard, my oldest cat has come flying through the cut out followed by this dog's head. The dog is frantic, trying to push through and get the cat.
The cat, stupidly, is standing his ground and fighting back - i'm terrified the dog will catch hold of him and drag him out. The dog seems so intent that i do think it would rip cat to shreds if it got hold of him.
I'm also scared to interfere either by getting near or opening the gate because i'm pretty sure it would get me or barge in to get the cat.

On the 1st occasion, i shouted the cat in. I then heard the dog's owner shout the dog to come. It took a few shouts for the dog to respond and from the sound of the owners' voice he was stood at the top of the back street....some 20 meters away.
On the second occasion, i shouted over the wall to the owner to stop allowing his dog to go after my cat. He shouted back "why would i do that" and i said this is the 2nd time blah blah and that he's not in control of it if he's at the top of the street when his dog is here, at my gate.

Is this dog owner being irresponsible?
I understand that if a cat runs, dog will chase. But surely he should be more in control of the dog if he's going to walk it around residential areas where cats live?

Any advice is much appreciated.....thanks.

[pregnantpause]

Dogs are supposed to be kept on lead at all times. That's not to say we keep our dogs on leads, but dog owners know that if you are confident to let off lead, you need to be confident in recalling your dog. Any off lead dog reported to the dog warden is considered straying. Report the owner for allowing his dog to stray, he will get a visit and hopefully will learn that the control of his dog is his responsibility.

[nothingisnothing]

I'm also worried for incase my just-learning-to-crawl 8month old is there at the gate one day... The chances are very slight but it could happen.
I often see him walking the dog as i'm coming home from a run and i've wondered if i should approach him and just explain my worries, probably the law on dog control and hopefully come to a solution....
Or should i just go straight into reporting him? - the latter seems a bit harsh tbh or am i too soft haha?

[pregnantpause]

If you talk to him and he ignores you (which he probably will, given the why would I do that comment when challenged previously) he will know it is you reporting. If you report him, the dog warden will visit him, explain the law, and he will think it may be you, but he will be unsure, and second guessing everyone in the street. His potential paranoia is likely to increase his willingness to control his dog, lest someone report him again.

[LEMisdisappointed]

To be honest, id report him, the dog is not under control, it doesnt neccesarily have to be on a lead but it has to be under control. I say this as a dog owner.

[fubbsy]

YANBU you are correct that the dog is not under the man's control. I would go straight to reporting him. You have already spoken to him and he obviously doesn't care.

If it were my dog that had done that, I would have apologised profusely to you, not be pretending that nothing happened.

[D0oinMeCleanin]

There is no law that says dogs must be kept on leads at all times, nor is there a law that protects cats from dogs.

Animal on animal attacks, as unfortunate as they are, are not against the law.

It is unlawful to have your dog dangerously out of control. You could, I suppose, argue that his dog is dangerously out of control, but seeing as it is a cat and not a person the dog is chasing, not much is likely to come of it.

There might be a local by-law that says dogs must be kept leashed in your alley, there is on our streets. You could look into that, bearing in mind it will be your word against his.

A bull breed is highly unlikely to ever be able to catch a cat, if that makes you feel any better?

[LEMisdisappointed]

To be fair, doin is right, it is unlikely that the dog will catch the cat, but that is not the point. This person needs to keep his dog on a lead if he cannot control it and recall the animal if it chases someone's pet.

[nothingisnothing]

I think he may have ment the "why would i do that" as in why would he let the dog go after the cat rather than why would he stop.

But then again, I'd be the same as you fubbsy and would either avoid the back street altogether or at least have hold of the dog while walking past in the future.
And the fact that he's never offered any apology tells me that he's probably one of those dog owners who thinks its nature, so its fine for dogs to chase cats.
We're having a lot of dog attacks on animals - domestic and farm - at the moment in this area. Mostly by groups of youths of which i don't think this guy belongs.
I may have to follow him tonight whilst on my run lol.
Thanks everyone. I think i'll give the warden a call and see what they recommend

[nothingisnothing]

But surely Doin that it's wrong to allow your dog to chase?
I suppose my point is that my cat doesn't run into the house he stands at the cut out and fights the dog. He's well within reach of its jaws and the dog could get hold of him, injure him, or worse...drag him out. If any of this was to happen, the owner is 20 meters up the back street whilst my cat is being shredded by his dog!

[D0oinMeCleanin]

It's morally wrong, yes. I keep mine leashed where there could be cats about because he does chase strange cats, he'll even chase my own cat outside of the house.

Illegal? Possibly, as you could argue his dog is dangerously out of control, as I said, but whether anyone would listen will depend on what kind of person you speak to and how keen they are to do their jobs.

Cats are not stupid, your cat will be able to dodge the dog easily.

[OrangeFireandGoldashes]

The law states:

"A court could also decide that your dog is dangerously out of control if:

it injures someone?s animal
the owner of the animal thinks they could be injured if they tried to stop your dog attacking their animal"

Which sounds like part of the OP's concerns as expressed in the first post to me.

[mrslaughan]

have the hose handy and spray the dog in the face, when he sticks it through the gate.......... or throw a bucket of water at it.

I would think about reporting it to the dog warden.