A man used his bare hands to capture a four-foot alligator that an alert dog noticed outside a US business.

Employee Jeff Colucy was with his dog in the parking lot of a Columbus, Ohio company that makes office fixtures when the dog went on alert, focused on the alligator hunkered down in a puddle, The Columbus Dispatch reported.

Police brought in reptile wrangler Chris Law, who captured the gator by grabbing it at the tail with his bare hands.

He said he did not have his usual reptile rescue gear because he was about to leave on vacation.

Mr Law said people often buy alligators as pets, then dump them when they get too big.