My OH's sister has a very energetic dog. He barks if anyone walks past the house, jumps up at people to say hello, and will just run out into the road unless you're quick with the lead. Don't get me wrong the dog is very friendly, just excitable.
They'll ask us to have the dog for a few hours because the dog barks at and jumps up at visitors and it scares some people (again, dog is harmless but they have dog-phobic friends) almost every week. Usually OH just takes him for a walk, but other times we have him at our house if they have certain guests or tradesmen that are there a while. We only live a few minutes walk away.
We have to have him because it's "not fair to keep him shut in the garden for that long, and sometimes he'll just keep barking". My problem is I have cats. And if we have to have their dog it means my cats have to be shut upstairs, or they're locked outside for several hours which stresses me out as they never go out for very long normally. When the cats are allowed back in the house/garden again they creep around as they can smell that a dog has been there.
I discussed it with OH who agrees with me about my reasons for putting an end to it but has expressed concern about offending his sister. I have a good relationship with her too - more like a friend than a relative. I just feel they should be training their dog to not jump up at people or get him used to being in the garden.
AIBU? And how do I go about raising the issue diplomatically?