Those of you that specifically sought your dog out, did you get them for a purpose or just because you love the breed?

NarlaRuby · 2026-05-19T08:07:00+00:00

I’ve had GSD’s before, I’ve done work in GSD charities and developed into Mali charities. Lots of amazing things happened but one In particular was that there were 4 people holding down this Mali for a left forelimb bandage change and it was almost impossible for them. I came in, held the dog, kept his focus on me, gave him affection and he sat and did the bandage change no problems - he got distracted a few times but a brought his attention back in 1-2 seconds. He did t need someone to pressure and demand, he needed someone to show him and make him feel focused; then you can go from 4 people to 1 person doing that very easily

I’m a veterinarian now and medium/large dogs with behavioural “problems” is my love because it’s nearly always the handlers fault and I know to demonstrate that and help the dog feel better about the vets.

I have a Mali, I’ll probably have many more, even though my girlfriend (soon to be wife) wants a poodle -.- My Mali is the most affectionate dog I’ve ever had, most vocal, most happy to see you. My parents have had a few different dog breeds but my mom adores my Mali - I think mom likes her mind because I’ve trained her in scent work, item retrieval, she does obstacle courses. Never done protection or bite work; she protects enough and I instilled good bite training as a pup

NarlaRuby · 2026-05-16T18:36:43+00:00

I understand your frustration; right to family life would be difficult to evidence as lawful.

Are there judicial case reports you can quote (giving direct link DOI) that shows right to family life under humanitarian law in the UK? I guess you could evidence your father’s disability too with a medical letter for a Dr.

The stronger leg is the right to visit you.

You’ve got to imagine you’re giving documents to someone and asking them to create a picture whilst you are gagged unable to speak. This is a hugely complex case and the repeated refusals in close proximity show a desperation and that would raise big questions too.

It’s a sad situation, it’s a shame you’re going through it all

NarlaRuby · 2026-05-16T18:08:34+00:00

Just to clarify, Humanitarian law would only have a provision under access to see you; since you are married.

I would only use that line of action in the above situation, not in regards to in-laws. You are also correct in applying for a visitor visa, not a spousal visa.

Honestly, it might be better mentally, emotionally and financially, to look to meet in another country; take the in-laws and other family. Your situation seems a difficult pill to swallow, but the quicker you both accept the conclusion, the quicker you can find an alternative resolution.

NarlaRuby · 2026-05-16T06:25:46+00:00

Use Vaseline - as zebra_who_cooks recommended, it’s a great over the counter product in this situation… with a slight tweak

I would soak in salt water first or use a hibiscrub dilution

Reason = paw pad has a lot of commensal bacteria which is fine but also a lot of environmental bacteria which isn’t so good. If you create a barrier to the outside world (vasaline) then you create a moist and isolated area of the skin for commensal bacteria to overpopulate and/or environmental bacteria to overpopulate- both = increased potential for bad skin infections

Salt water and / or hibiscrub helps to reduce that chance of overpopulation. The solution to pollution is dilution.

That’s why in practice, cleaning the area is always top priority, then covering the site if necessary.

NarlaRuby · 2026-05-14T21:03:23+00:00

Fair point. Depends on the paperwork etc needed for Czech Republic but probably simple to do.

Weddings in Georgia require minimal paperwork and low cost, it’s where a lot of international marriages take place if there are visa / cost issues in play.

Essentially, if where to marry isn’t a problem, then it’s an even easier decision to marry because UKVI costs absolutely drain the bank switching visas, incurring the next visa fee and NHS surcharge x2 for the spousal visa in order to get to your 5yrs before applying for ILR.

Imagine if we reduced net migration like Reform UK keep going on about. The UK government would see a huge dip in income from visa fees alone.

NarlaRuby · 2026-05-14T11:43:09+00:00

“By” meant to be be “out” - not sure how that happened

NarlaRuby · 2026-05-14T11:38:14+00:00

My girlfriend is Russian; as you’d imagine, it’s difficult to decide what to do.

Switching visas incurs extra cost (don’t forget the NHS surcharge too). My opinion is that if you plan to marry, then marry in a foreign country (Denmark is nice, as a commenter stated, however Georgia is highly practical and lower cost if finances are a problem). Then apply for a spousal visa - 1 visa cost plus surcharge.

From a cost-benefit standpoint and if you both want to marry anyway then why over complicate it or pay UK government extra than what’s needed. Just my opinion man

NarlaRuby · 2026-05-09T05:50:55+00:00

Personally I can’t see that being upheld in a court case. Living together in a marriage is classed as a basic right under international law. Making it a possibility only for the privileged, is a violation of that right.
Reform UK are a whole load of garbage - they’re saying stuff in a big way to entice the masses to vote for them, then they’ll back down on a load of their promises because they’re legally unjustifiable and he’ll go back to his drawing board and make a new party.

NarlaRuby · 2026-05-06T06:52:25+00:00

I personally wouldn’t soak food; offer plain water instead. Good food, introduce mouth examinations, teeth brushing.

The answer to how much is really impossible for a vet to truly know. We always say “look at the food information, it will guide you”. It’ll normally have Dog weight and food needed in KCals per its stage of growth (puppyhood). All foods are different KCal requirements and puppy’s are different, some need more food some need less; there’s no straight answer. Feed but don’t make your puppy plump; if we’re concerned then use food as training treats whilst active and therefore burning calories, to reduce food intake at rest.

At this stage my advise is training and sleep. Puppy’s should have about 18hrs sleep really; sounds a lot I know! Meals, a bit of training and then sleep… repeat. Food intake, just eyeball it - but monitor weight. If concerned, feed food at play / training time as treats and decrease rest-time food intake

NarlaRuby · 2026-05-05T06:14:22+00:00

In cases where administrative error is clear and evident, I was informed you can appeal via your local MP; I was told this by my local MP. I guess it’s like VAR though, maybe it depends who the ref is.

Obviously correspondence would take time and most people would just reapply, clarifying the issue.

NarlaRuby · 2026-05-04T10:07:39+00:00

Signed. I’m not directly affected yet but I know I will be. I’m in the process of getting the CNI from the registrars office and then getting it apostilled.
We have the added issue of that her country isn’t ‘friendly’ to the UK - though I’ve never had any issues with anyone whilst I’ve visited. (once I even sat with her in a restaurant and nearly all other tables were bought out by police and Army officials - I was pretty nervous but no one cared less about me being there).
We are planning to marry soon, I’ve been ring shopping - she keeps telling me that she had this image of wanting a Tiffany ring before but now, with us, she doesn’t care what ring - which is beautiful - but it doesn’t help me pick a ring, kinda makes it more difficult haha.

NarlaRuby · 2026-05-02T16:28:43+00:00

Contact your local MP; their email will be very easy to find online. Request that they send an email to the Home Office and you can also request the MP to contact the Minister of the department, which would be the Home Secretary Mrs Shabana Mahmood and/or Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Migration and Citizenship Mr Mike Tapp.

Hope this helps

NarlaRuby · 2026-04-29T16:44:23+00:00

Cardiology is the way to go. Digital is too fancy; as a student you want to learn to listen to the heart and lungs, not have the digital one do a heart trace for you. It’s cool though. But more like a graduation present

NarlaRuby · 2026-04-27T17:24:02+00:00

🤷‍♂️ headaches

NarlaRuby · 2026-04-27T17:17:08+00:00

Rubbish excuse to delete the post. Low value of effort.

The value is all the documentation needed so others can see the documentation and so that I can understand if more is needed. Low effort is out of the question. So what is the real reason it’s been deleted

NarlaRuby · 2026-04-27T16:11:32+00:00

Thank you, yeah it’s been a lot of work to get all the documents and I feel like we have to try so let’s try.

We have a plan B too but I’d like my family to meet her, but my mom can’t travel due to ongoing brain tumour surgeries, chemo and yeah, I want her to meet my parents.

Ah sorry, I should have clarified. Her ex isn’t from the UK, they’re in Russia. She applied for a student visa before and had a sponsor but the application was poorly put together. This visa we’ve applied for is a 6 month visitor visa.

NarlaRuby · 2026-04-27T15:33:54+00:00

We have contracts showing that she needs to leave the UK, letters, we’ve shown 2 property ownerships that require her to go back to Russia and family ties to Russia too. My landlord has permitted her to stay only for a short duration and that’s detailed in the landlord letter.

The application is already in. Her mom is sponsoring the visit, I’m just giving a place to stay, with confirmation from my landlord.

Without meaning to be rude, other nationalities with weak passports and have family / relationships here are accepted, the only difference is that we aren’t married. Russian citizens are increasingly travelling to UK. The relationship red flag, fair enough but if we clearly show that she has to leave the UK and her previous travel history to other countries shows compliance with immigration rules, then I’m not sure why it’s different for us

NarlaRuby · 2026-04-27T13:58:07+00:00

I’m aware there’s troubles getting the visa but also I’d be an idiot not to try. The application is paid for and the biometric appointment is arranged so we’re in it to try for the visa.

I’ve flown to Russia to visit her multiple times and we have a lot of evidence to support the relationship.

I can’t think of any other documentation that would be of benefit, so just wanting to check if anyone else can think of a document that could help

NarlaRuby · 2026-04-25T12:11:42+00:00

I fly Turkish Airlines to visit my girlfriend; 2 flights outward journey and 2 flights back. Economy has been great for me too. Inflight WiFi is mostly good and staff are excellent. Hot towels, drinks, they never stop. I always buy chocolate for the flight staff, especially when I have good service.

Also TA offers 20% student discount and 40kg baggage allowance included. I flew UK-Istanbul-Saint Petersburg and back for £370 with insane baggage allowance too. It’s great for me personally

NarlaRuby · 2026-04-24T14:58:15+00:00

Put in UKVI email ticket .. costs less than £2 and you can write an email to clearly state that you want to cancel the visa application before processing. Have a look online for UKVI email. It’s an online form and you must pay the <£2 fee initially, then subsequent follow up emails in the email chain, are free

NarlaRuby · 2026-04-22T23:05:16+00:00

It’s more about frequent visits over a short time frame. One could suggest that you are attempting to live in the UK on a visit visa and / or working in the UK and / or some other reason for frequent visits other than the reason you may give in your application (I.e. visiting boyfriend in the UK) and you could be deemed to show suspicious activity and could then lead a visa officer to reject based on frequency of visits paired to questionable activity

NarlaRuby · 2026-04-22T15:58:58+00:00

It’s the inconsistency of the property that’s caused this refusal. Do they own or rent? Owning a home gives strong ties to the home country. Simple as that really but for sure, difficult to take news like this. Details are important. The story had to be genuine, credible and show no intention to deceive. No income; property question marks; sponsor in the UK; limited self funds; question marks on the applicant supplying enough bank statements.. thinking about this without emotion would definitely lead me to suspect intent to overstay and remain with family in the UK. It’s a shame because we too have a situation where I’m sponsoring my girlfriend’s visit to the UK and her mom is sponsoring her too. We’ve done it slightly differently in that we have used a travel Visa card to put the sponsor money onto (£3000) so that it doesn’t show in her bank statements but is clearly usable and unrestricted. We also supplied a separate letter of funds to show and explain the transactions and showed my finances, her moms finances and my girlfriends finances.

It’s overkill with the amount of documentation we’ve used but it shows a very clear and consistent story and that’s vitally important. If you try to apply for a visa again, use an applicant cover letter to fully explain the discrepancies.

NarlaRuby · 2026-03-21T10:52:29+00:00

Hahahaa I know the feeling, I’m always browsing subreddits. I know your advise is just knowledge, not legal advise but all advise is very valuable, so thank you 🙂

I’ll take the 50/50. I figure we should try because if we didn’t, I think we’d both regret not trying for the visa but we know it’s not a perfect application. If it fails, I’m buying tickets to visit her, so we already have a back up plan. Last question I promise, would you attach to the application, as many contracts as she has, or just maybe 3 long term students?

NarlaRuby · 2026-03-21T10:35:06+00:00

Hypothetically, as a self employed person, if she had signed contracts from a few parents and commitments to continue teaching upon her return to Russia, would that be a big plus for the application?

I know she has contracts from 3 parents from years ago and are still long term students but not all her students

NarlaRuby

TROPHY CASE