Woman not picking up dog poo & insulting me

[Mia184]

I was outside running a short while ago when I saw a woman walking a dog ahead of me. The dog pooped and the woman didn't pick it up. I live im Germany where dog poop has to be picked up.
When I passed her I slowed down and asked her to pick up the dog poop. She said she wouldn't since plastic takes thousands of years to decompose whereas dog poop is gone in 2 weeks. I suggested she should use papers - there are bins along this perticular walk where she could then drop it. She told me to shut the fuck up. I then called her an ugly bitch and ran on.
Do you mumsnetters have an idea on how I can handle the situation better if or when I encounter her again and ideally make her pick the dog poop up (though I don't think she will do that)?

I can see from both sides once I was picking down to collect the doggie doo when a man came out of his house and said I hope you are going to pick that up like a responsible citizen I had a bag in my hand :/
Another woman does the same circuit as me and never picks up after her dog and just stares at me as if she doesn't care less. I am a cowardly wimp so haven't said anything but it is gross!

Why did you feel the need to ask her to pick up up?

Nobody likes being told what to do. She wasn't ever going to pick it up, even if you asked her to. That's why she left it there.

Biodegradable poo bags cost more than the non-degradable sort, and are not so easy to find in pet shops. Fortunately they can be bought on Amazon. I think it should be illegal to use the non-degradable sort.

I don’t really think you should be going out with the attitude that you’re going to police the streets tbh. How could you do it nicely/ calmly?

I once heard a story of a cyclist who saw someone watch their dog do a big poop and walk away. The cyclist, having a plastic bag or wrapper or something on him bent down, picked it up and shouted after the walker "Excuse me! You dropped this". Of course the dog walker held their hand out to take what he was offering and he slapped the steaming pile of dog shit into their open, ungloved palm.

I love that story and could happily do that too if I ever caught the person who lets their large dog take a dump every single day outside the school gates (which the janitor does NOT clean up before over 100 children arrive!)
For this reason I always have a nappy bag in my handbag.

Whatever she said to you I don't see how it was helpful to use that response to her.
Perhaps if you want to follow this up you should inform the enforcement authorities that there is a problem with compliance in the area.

Way back when the girls were still so small that loading them into the car was a two hand job, doing up seatbelts etc, AlpacaDog dropped one while I was wrangling a wriggly toddler in. Immediately a passer by started having a go at me for leaving it. It was patently obvious that I had my hands full of toddler and would not be physically capable of dealing with ddogs poo until they were both safely strapped in. I said this, and asked her for suggestions on how to do three things simultaneously. She just went red and walked on.

There's a big difference between the UK and Germany and it is not unusual to call someone out for flouting rules.

Dog registration is mandatory, as is cleaning up after your dog. If you can take a photo of the dog and the woman then I would give her the 'Ich werde Sie anzeigen' and see how she responds.

Obviously more likely to work if you live in a smaller town/village than a large city.

I think you were absolutely right to call her up on it

Surely they have biodegradable poo bags in Germany?

Unfortunately dog owner tend to be unpleasant people like the woman you encountered.
Nothing like a sweeping statement.

Unfortunately dog owner tend to be unpleasant people like the woman you encountered.

The plastic is probably not strong enough to carry shopping.

Biodegradable poo bags are available in pet shops and supermarkets in UK.I can get 100 for £1 in Morrisons. BTW it is ok/legal to put poo in a regular council bin where a poo bin is not available.

which has always made me wonder why all bags aren't made of the same stuff as dog poo bags?

Sorry, paste fail. This is what I was referring to above.

I once watched a man let his dig shit on my front. As he walked off I popped out with a freezer bag. Scooped up the turd and ran after him. Shoved the bag in
His hand and said. 'you left this on my front,,'

On your front??

i have just been for a Pokemon walk down our local woods and saw at least 10 poo bags dangling from various trees
just WTF is wrong with dog owners why bag it and decorate a bloody tree with shit

I have heard some people say they hang it to collect on the way back!!!! Where I walk there are lots of dog owners and I have NEVER seen anyone not pick up after their dog. Once my dog did 3 poos in one walk which was unheard of at that point. I had no more bags so used a stick to flick it into the gutter. Then when I got home I got a bag, drove back and collected it. That's how dedicated some of us are!

See I usually go for the passive aggressive approach - in a loud voice "oh dear, did you forget your poo bags? Don't worry, I've got a spare one, here you go...", and wave it in their face until they get the message.

It has occasionally backfired and got me a face full of swearing, but I still do it.

Can't stand dirty fuckers who leave dog shit about and give dog owners a bad name and get dogs banned from places

Grrrrr. People who bag it and then hang it in a tree really piss me off. The never come back for it, it's utter bullshit that they do. They hang there for years afterwards.

I walk a dog and I made a mistake the first few times of not taking enough bags. I had SIX bags with me both times yet this proved not to be enough. So when the dog did the deed and I was bagless, no doubt it would look to onlookers like I was negligent and couldn't be bothered to pick it up whereas it could not be further from the truth as I'd already picked up a ton. I take loads now but just making the point that sometimes the judgement you make on a person or the assumption is not accurate as you don't know the facts. Calling her an ugly bitch was really nasty.

OP was asking for ideas on how she could have handled this better; I'm sure she realises what she said wasn't handling it that well.

Passive aggression is a good idea. Have a couple of extra poo bags in your pocket so you're prepared for the next time this happens. Hand one to the dirty human, 'Oh it looks as if you've forgotten to bring a bag. Here, use one of mine.' If they refuse, opt for the not so passive route, scoop up the shit yourself in a bag, follow them home and post the shit through their door (with or without the bag - up to you),

Still, I think she deserved your insult ...

When I was young our family home backed onto a public walk way before the fields began. It was always overgrown and we were discouraged from walking that way because it was popular with dog walkers and in particular one elderly gentleman who instead of picking up his dog's poo, would simply pull out a clump of long grass and cover it up!

Now as an adult I wouldn't dream of leaving my dog's poo in a public area! Even if I have to bag it and carry it home due to lack of bins that is better than leaving it.

I recently decided to take up running with my dog and on the very first week I had that awful moment when you just know you have stood in something! It was sickening to clean up and made me even more angry. When I am walking I am constantly looking down to make sure I don't tread in anything, but when running you don't have time to react to it.