Exactly.

I completely accept that accidents happen, but I also think 8 times is totally inexcusable when this is mostly preventable.

This is a tricky subject.

I have no neighbours, so don't have to worry about my dogs killing any cats, thankfully. However, I think if I was in a situation where one of my dogs had killed a cat (or eight cats!) then I would at the very least just check out my back door before letting said dog into garden.

I have to say I am surprised that 8 cats have succumbed to one dog in its own garden, as cats are usually pretty dog savvy and often don't enter a garden where a dog lives.

Cats enter our garden at their peril , they have trees to jump up and escape but it drives my hounds wild , my trees have many claw marks from the dogs jumping up , there are a couple of cats who still like to risk it , I always check the garden for cats and shoo them away before I let the dogs out but when the weather is good and the doors to the garden are open for the dogs to come and go as they please then the cats that take the risk have to move fast , no damage in the last 3 yrs but it is possible I suppose, I dont think I would like it though if my dogs had killed 8 !

Goodness me, 8 cats! I thought cats were supposed to be clever.

We only have a few neighbours and I believe one of them has a cat but to my knowledge it has never been foolish enough to enter our garden.

There is a feral cat that hunts on the railway bank behind our garden and the dogs let us know it is there from time to time but again it has a good survival instinct.

It would never occur to me to check the garden for intruders before letting the dogs out.

Regardless of who's responsibility it should be to stop a cat being killed when it enters a garden........I personally would find it too distressing and would have to cat proof my garden, for my own sanity.

I can understand in a garden of many acres but I would not say that the majority of gardens give a dog room to "roam"- merely stretch their legs, perhaps get a bit of a run on, but not "roaming".
I agree that it is ultimately a management issue..but the one not doing the managing is the cat owner(s). The cats are certainly the ones "roaming" where they should not be.

OP is actually asking how to train the dog out of it or catproof the garden - which I think is above and beyond their responsibility as a dog owner, they have already made their garden secure enough to keep their dog in, it should be the cat owner(s)'s job to keep the cats out.

Why not put a lead on till the dog can be trained? Speak to a good 1 2 1 trainer in your area ?

Citrus scent along, the fence. Lemon balm plants in the garden. plus coleus canina, gernariums and pyrethrums. ram your garden with citrus smells anyway you can!

I think if it was one of my dogs I'd use a long lead/training lead.

I know cats enter at their own peril, as a cat owner I watch my 5 ...... luckily (as someone told me the other day) my cats are like little dogs and stay around our own garden, we have 4 trees in our garden which they climb and watch over other peoples gardens but they in general stay close.

Funnily enough we do have stray cats come into our garden, but I don't look for them when I open the door as none of our 4 dogs chase cats. Only last night we had a ''newbie'' helping himself to the cats dinner (well joining in TBH) our cats just carried on eating and when the dogs went out it did 'freeze' but they walked past it

But if any of my dogs killed a cat .... even one I would be very vigilant as it would really stress me to think they did that....let alone 8