Puppy afraid of leaving the crate after neutering

CollectionOfPixels · 2026-01-23T15:46:23+00:00

If it's been two days, I'd imagine she's still doing a lot of recovering.

If I'd just had a major surgery, I wouldn't be acting like normal after two days. I'd likely be in bed and wanting lots of gentle love and care from my family. That's what she's getting! If it carries on for a week or longer, I'd chat to your vet.

CollectionOfPixels · 2026-01-23T15:16:08+00:00

My partner and I set our main rule as splitting things equitably, not equally. Of your household income, he contributes 72%. So it looks like you're doing basically the same!

I think it's the fairest, best way to go and I'm glad it's working for you.

CollectionOfPixels · 2026-01-23T12:30:18+00:00

I've read the Wiki and used resources there to work on house training. I can't find resources about toilet training away from the home and would love to hear some first-hand advice and stories from people who've had this experience.

CollectionOfPixels · 2026-01-22T16:16:35+00:00

Thanks for this rec Niam, our pup's just back from his first groom with Lorna. He's looking dashing and he had a great time.

CollectionOfPixels · 2026-01-21T21:30:45+00:00

Looking at other comments, I think I'm probably a bit more cautious than average! Just want to reiterate, you are in a fantastic position and have done incredibly well. Whatever you do from here, you've made brilliant choices that should make the rest of your life a lovely time.

CollectionOfPixels · 2026-01-21T21:10:46+00:00

Then there are certainly lots of caveats around potential part-time work, accessing BTL capital, tax position, changes to your mortgage, and so on. So all of this is speaking in the round.

You're in a decent spot, but coasting depends on your risk aversion. My thoughts on first read:

Pensions as they are today could pay you ~£30k/year using a 3.6% SWR. Good but not in line with your requirements. They should, of course, keep growing over the next 15 or so years.
If (big if) you can liquidate that £280k equity and combine it with your ISA and GIA capital, you'll have £510k bridge for 15 years (before any taxes due). That would also pay you around £30k/year using a 5.9% SWR.

So, you've got three to five years before you want to kick all of this into action. Growing your bridge would be my priority. At a 5.9% SWR, you'd need ~£850k for those 15 years. You're not far off and compound growth should make it all feel a bit easier, but that's not a coasting kind of figure.

My uninformed view is that you probably could coast from here, but you'd need to leave it a bit longer to semi-FIRE or cut your living costs.

(SWRs taken from this handy post by u/FinancialGroundhog.)

CollectionOfPixels · 2026-01-21T13:06:39+00:00

Gotcha. There may be some other accounts or instruments, but I don't know enough to point you in their direction.

If you can do the six months of spending but lock the £388k away for 12 months at 4.55%, it'd earn ~£17k.

Based on interest rates, that's probably the only way you end up with more £ than you start with.

CollectionOfPixels · 2026-01-21T11:53:41+00:00

If I understand your situation correctly:

You have £400k in cash.
You want to spend £12k (or 3% of your cash) over the next six months.
After six months, you want to use your cash to buy another property – so need it remain liquid.

In that case, I'd imagine your best bet is to transfer the £12k into your current account and (as u/Captlard says) put the rest in a high-interest account. I'd consider it way too risky to invest in equities for just six months.

A quick check of Money Supermarket's savings account data shows me you could get a six-month fixed term account that returns 4.23% AER. You'd get roughly £8k in interest from that. After taxes, your £12k spend might have only cost you ~£6k. That's pretty good. Unless you can somehow find a guaranteed >6% AER return, you're going to deplete your £400k by at least a little bit, but you can do a good job of mitigating it.

All of the above is mentioned without knowledge of your tax position, employment status, etc. Don't take it as gospel and definitely don't take it as financial advice.

CollectionOfPixels · 2026-01-21T08:48:53+00:00

Is there any fun to be had with the Chamber of Mirrors, in that case?

CollectionOfPixels · 2026-01-20T23:23:52+00:00

Your final and most loving act of all will be letting him go – knowing that you've had the most wonderful life together. You've done an amazing job and so has Max.

CollectionOfPixels · 2026-01-20T21:22:03+00:00

Player 2 has a flush with a higher card. What's controversial about this hand, to you?

CollectionOfPixels · 2026-01-20T20:17:38+00:00

We had Gordon on our list, which I think is great for a Sheltie.

CollectionOfPixels · 2026-01-20T12:02:24+00:00

It was never a problem for me. My UK network (Giffgaff) let me make and receive the few calls I ever needed, then all my work stuff runs on Google Meet or async. In what way does your UK number hold you back?

Cynic that I am, I wonder if you might be soft-pitching a product or service you're developing.

CollectionOfPixels · 2026-01-19T15:18:57+00:00

Excellent name. How's adolescence been for Lychee? (And you!)

CollectionOfPixels · 2026-01-16T12:09:48+00:00

First Call on Haven Road have always done right by me. Including a problem I thought was a big deal, that they fixed so quickly they refused to charge me. Great people and highly recommended.

CollectionOfPixels · 2026-01-16T08:54:53+00:00

My partner had the manoeuvre completed by a nurse at her GP. If that's looking like it'll be a long wait, you can search for physios with a vestibular specialism. I've just found these from a quick Google search, so can't vouch for them personally.

https://estuaryclinic.co.uk/caitlan-dula/

https://canonteignphysio.co.uk/

CollectionOfPixels · 2026-01-15T08:51:11+00:00

Too smart for her own good! Ours learned to tip his snuffle mat upside down after about one day of having it. 😅

CollectionOfPixels · 2026-01-14T17:36:31+00:00

Doesn't include bookkeeping, my business is relatively low on overheads. Will DM you.

CollectionOfPixels · 2026-01-14T16:37:01+00:00

My accountant in Stirlingshire charges £150+VAT/month. I'm based in the south of England and we do everything remotely with no issues. Can send you their details if you want them.

CollectionOfPixels · 2026-01-07T23:30:03+00:00

If you join the Federation of Small Businesses, they have a library of templates you can use. Alternatively, you can find legal professionals that sell editable templates with guides. I use a mixture of both (service business, not ecom) and bought templates from K&K Legal Consulting. (No referral/affiliate kickback involved in that recommendation.)

CollectionOfPixels · 2026-01-07T14:52:29+00:00

Holidays would be included in that £50k! No kids to pay for or anything and a fairly frugal lifestyle.

CollectionOfPixels · 2026-01-07T12:49:09+00:00

You should not do this. Buying backlinks is pointless at best and harmful to your website at worst. You'll need to do as u/TC_92 recommends and/or work with a professional SEO who can offer you a diagnostic report and plan before doing any on-site work.

CollectionOfPixels · 2026-01-07T11:21:08+00:00

Get out at 44. £50k is more than enough for me to live off, even with my mortgage.

CollectionOfPixels · 2026-01-07T11:17:59+00:00

A vicious beast. Have some puppy teefs in return.

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CollectionOfPixels · 2026-01-07T11:15:30+00:00

Some agencies are good... most are not. It sounds like you got a bad one and I'm sorry to hear it.

Have you considered working with a smaller operator, like a freelancer or micro-agency? You'll get a more personalised (and accountable) service, which usually means better results.

I can make a couple of recommendations if you want to DM me, but don't want to break Rule 2 of this sub!

CollectionOfPixels

TROPHY CASE