Jack Russell keeps coming into my yard!

I know its not the little guy's fault..but yesterday was the second time that my neighbour from down the street has allowed her Jack Russell to come and roam around my front yard while she is walking her dog.

He is on a retractable leash (which is a BIG pet peeve of mine if people don't use them correctly!! ) and the first time, I was just sitting out on my porch alone...I was a bit irked as this woman allowed the little guy to lift his legs on my shrubs at the end of the yard (after he was about 15 ft away from her and roaming in my yard)...

However, yesterday was the last straw... I was sitting out there with Lovey (one of my cats) on our front steps as this dog raced crazily towards him. Lovey crouched and hid sem-behind me on the steps as I called out to the dog to stop and ran to step on his leash...(the dog is now almost reaching Lovey as he is at the bottom of my steps). The dog sidestepped me trying to get behind me and I am yelling "NO" at the dog and trying to catch his collar as I accidentally step on Lovey and he mrooows!
Lovey then runs past me into the house...

Meanwhile, the woman is slowly picking up her dog's poop on MY lawn! She is just standing there watching her dog torment my cat and then just nonchalantly says "sorry, I am just trying to pick up this poop"..

Firstly, your dog should not be allowed to poop on my lawn! run on my grass and torment my cat! Her attitude was what just infuriated me.
I was so freaked out and crazy angry at the time that I knew if I started speaking to her that I would just let her have it....So, I calmly took her dog back to her by the collar and walked inside the house to check on Lovey.
He was fine and forgot about the incident two minutes later (with a nice couple of treats and a cuddle) but I was still fuming.

As I was getting ready this a.m, I saw the same woman and dog out my window. Again, her dog was roaming around on my lawn...

How can I put it to this woman nicely that she is not allowed to do this?? I want to say it to her in a firm way so that she gets it and knows my anger about it but want her to comply at the same time....

Wouldn't she think twice after she saw how upset I was at her dog doing this in the first place? I am a dog lover and do not blame the dog here but the idiot owner...This is also a dog breed whose instinct is to CHASE and hunt small fast moving animals so her stupidity just amazes me. I can't imagine having such a lack of respect for my animal loving neighbours!!!!!!!

That's absolutely disgusting! She really thinks it's alright to let her dog defecate and urinate in your garden, and to frighten your pets? I'm astounded.

I would definitely say something to her, although I would find it difficult to stay polite, just ask her to keep her dog off your property.

I know that many dog owners are responsible with their animals, but the few that aren't really get to me. I was once out riding on a designated bridlepath, on a very young and nervous mare. I saw 2 alsatians running towards me, so I called out to their owner to ask her to call them back to her because my horse was nervous of dogs - I was perfectly polite and my request reasonable. She replied - 'oh it's alright, they won't hurt you'. I was just about to respond with 'I am sure they won't but my horse doesn't know that' when they started sniffing the young mare's belly - of course she went nuts - one of the dogs got kicked and I took a fall. Fortunately no injuries were as bad as they could have been. As I am running off after the terrified horse, she is screaming at me about how I could have killed her dog, and I'm thinking 'no you idiot, if anyone put your dogs, my horse, and me in danger, it's YOU' but I was too busy trying to catch the poor horse.

Thanks for your reply! Oooh! Yours is a situation where its life threatening to you as well as your horse! I would be livid...But its so hard to react appropriately when you are just concerned at that time for the welfare of your animal...

But the attitude is just what gets me..even if its a friendly dog off leash bouncing towards me and the owner gives out a "oh its ok, he's friendly!"..
I hate that. What if it was someone who was terrified of dogs or simply didn't like them??? Or like you, had a nervous dog or other animal???

Like I said, I love dogs but this woman is going to get it soon... if she doesn't "get it!"....

To be honest, the same thing might have happened to me. The neighborhood where I live is very rural and -ummm-very "loose" about pets. And believe it or not, humans and animals get along fine. Dogs are usually off-leash, they chase cats, and the poo normally ends up in the woods. Horses are in their pastures unless THEY get loose (DH and I once ran an escaped horse back to her home, she was having a blast out on a dirt road). Dogs peeing in someone else's yard is not considered a big deal, unless it is a yard where someone is obviously taking very good care of it. Most of the lawns are not exactly manicured. Maybe your area is different.

If the gal had a pooper scooper with her and you watched her dog do his business and didn't say anything, she probably figures you really don't mind that much and that she is doing the right thing.

I try to be considerate. If someone were to say to me "Hey, I'd rather you keep your dog off my lawn-it scares my cat and it is not good for the plants", I'd make a mental note of the house and avoid it in the future. If they were icky about it I'd think they were jerks but I would still stay away. I would say
try it.

Thanks for the reply..No, not rural.. Very urban but on a nice quiet tree-lined street.
The funny thing is that there is a HUGE field across the street from me that is an unofficial dog park...People from all over the neighbourhood come to walk and run and play their dogs out there so its odd that she would think my lawn is a better option for her pup to dump on and run around on...

No, my lawn isn't manicured..But I don't like the idea of dog pee dripping off my plant leaves unless its my own dog...! especially when there is such a huge space otherwise for her to take him to.. and I don't think its too much to ask that the dog doesn't terrorize the cats in their own space..(it would be different of course if they were on her property).

I am going to let her know nicely that I would appreciate if she keeps him off my lawn and see what her reaction is..

I have to confess to being guilty of letting dogs onto people's lawns. You can't always control where they poop & pee. However, I am very conscious of the fact that a lot of people don't like dogs on their lawns and I do control them.
As for letting the dog chase someone's cat? Especially on their own property? OMG, I would've freaked out on her and scared even more crap out of that dog!! Wiggies got chased like that once and it really traumatised him. The owner was as is usual in these cases, a complete idiot.
That lady needs to be told in no uncertain terms that she's being disrespectful. She has no right to walk her dog on your lawn. If she gets uptight about, tough - you're certainly not alone in your neighbourhood, I'll guarantee it.

The first thing I'd do is ask politely but firmly to curb her dog. It's good she cleaned up his mess, though. When I lived in the city, many people didn't even do that. Ick.

You can also put up a small sign saying, "Please curb dog," "No dogs on grass," or one with a dog doing its duty with a line through it (No Pooping).

Another idea is to get a short decorative fence to act as an attractive barrier.

I had a simular thing happen but my poor old Ozzie was attacked and killed by the dog right in front of me.
The idiot owner was riding his bike and had his dog with no leash. 5 mins later realised that his dog was no longer with him, turned around and came back and asked if we had seen him.
By then my cat was dead and his dog had taken the bolt.
no appology he just took off looking for his dog.
I was so distraught. My Ozzie was 11 and was taking a lazy cat nap in the sun on my front door step. Rest his poor old soul.

Oh my goodness...I am so very sorry. How horrible! And how cruel of that man!

This is exactly what was running through my head as I was panicking seeing the dog running for Lovey.. He was on a leash but the woman either didn't know how to work the lead or was entirely clueless as it was out at full length and there was lots of room for the dog to have gotten to Lovey...

All I could picture was the dog getting Lovey in his mouth and shaking him.. (granted he is a small dog but a powerful one that is bred to go after game!)....This is what floored me...She must KNOW that her dog likes to chase small animals and she SAW my animal there! I got the feeling that she either doesn't like cats (or see them as real pets) or that she thought it was fun for her dog...
Why else would you have such little respect for your animal neighbours or their owners??

Again, I am so sorry..This is my biggest fear. RIP Ozzie.

He was my only pet for a long time . It was 6 years ago that poor aussie lost his life . My dog was trying to get out and have a go at the other dog. when he saw ozzie he had a good sniff and laid beside him. He was lost for weeks without his partner in crime. Ozzie was about 6 yrs older than my dog boof(who loves cats) and thay were the best of mates.