Teetering on the brink

ellenvan

That's a very positive sounding post today.

Keep going we are all cheering for you!

Cherryfudge

Cheering you on 🫘↗️!

I'm a great believer in getting dressed and doing my hair and skin. Amazing how it sets you up to achieve 'less indulgent' things. I remember reading about a woman who, when WW2 was declared, told her friend 'Hitler isn't going to catch me with dirty hair' and went to wash it. I sometimes think that was exactly the way to approach things: battle dress can be about looking and feeling the part too. Not necessarily anything fancy, but if a TV crew showed up at the door (not happened to me yet), you could meet them and feel you looked okay!

EatingBeans

Dishwashing put away and more put on. ✅ Kitchen sides all tidied and wiped down.✅ Big pot of rice, cooked, cooled, portioned into blocks and frozen. ✅

I put the kettle on for a cuppa and thought I’d clean the dogs ears whilst it was boiling (usually a quick job), but oh how that was not true today! Little Dog wouldn’t even let me touch her ears. First I thought it might be because I had the ear cleaner in my hand (she’s never too fond) but even once I put that down she still wouldn’t let me look in her ears. 🤔 She normally loves a good ear ruffle so that seemed odd and out comes the fresh pigs heart as the ultimate temptation. She was so torn! The nose said yes but the rest of her screamed no. By this point any hope of having this job ticked off quickly had completely vanished, and now I was getting a little concerned (even more reason to see inside those cute floppy ears!). Big Dog acted as a demonstration dog and was more than happy to have his ears checked and be fed fresh meat for the privilege! He practically threw his head at me once he realised that was all that was required bless him. Little Dog hates being left out so she very gingerly came over and let me touch the outside of her ear to win a chunk of meat. After a few goes she got a bit brave and I managed to flip an ear over to peer at it from arms length. Nothing obvious, and more meat provided. Next side was more tricky, but eventually I got to flip the ear over too - noticeably red and angry - more meat and a big fuss provided. Now, I know I need to get a better look inside the ear but I figured lets end on that positive note as I can only feed so much raw meat to a usually kibble only dog before upsetting her tummy. It could be that her brother has caught her ear a bit too hard in one of their rough and tumble sessions and it is just a scratch on the outside of her ear that will sort itself, or, she could have an ear infection and need antibiotics from the vet. I wont be able to know unless I can get a better look inside her ear, and given her general trust issues when it comes to people, I would rather not pin her down and force that on her unless absolutely necessary. For now I have just left her to go and sleep her meat off in her crate, giving me time to find her collar and muzzle ready for the next attempt. You wouldn’t think you’d need one looking at how cute she is, but don’t be fooled, she has teeth and she is not shy of reminding people of that fact! 🫣

EatingBeans

Well, Little Dog woke up feeling a bit braver, so I decided to spray a bit of pet calming remedy on a rag and gave her a good stroke with it, then tempted her with a bit of chicken in exchange for looking in her ears. She was a very good girl and despite it obviously being sore she let me have a good look this time - no muzzle needed. Just as I feared, the ear seems red and angry inside as well, so no ear cleaning for her, she needs to see a vet. 😞 It’s not bad enough to warrant an emergency trip, and thankfully she is insured so the cost will be capped at my excess, but that’s still £85 I could really do without having to spend right now! Ah well, at least I’ve caught it now, and I can call them first thing on Monday. In the meantime, I’ll be keeping her dosed up on Pet Remedy and some dog painkillers/anti inflammatories to hopefully keep her more comfortable. Not that it is slowing her down much - she is too busy still wanting to play with her brother! 🤦‍♀️

Ear cleaning aside, I did make some more progress towards my priorities. I cooked a big batch of fajita filling, had some with some of the rice for dinner, and froze four further portions for future. I literally cannot recall the last time I stood and cooked for that long. I know it was only fajitas but honestly, that was massive for me. And whilst that was cooking I also did a load of laundry! Yeah ok, I am shattered now, but considering how much I have been struggling lately, I am well impressed with myself! 😁

Cherryfudge

I'm well impressed with you, too!

I hope Little Dog's ear settles down.

EatingBeans

Did I do something bad in a former life or something? 🤷‍♀️ I go to call the vet this morning and I keep getting ⚠️Call Failed.⚠️ I’ve spent and hour trying to work out why and now my phone has finally acknowledged there is an issue and I have to back up my phone and do a bunch of steps to reinstall the latest updates (which apparently may or may not work).

The vet was supposed to be the easy job today. I literally have everything ready to start the painful task of sorting my budget out today, I even have my coffee ready to get me going, and now I have to mess around trying to get my phone to work. 🤨

Still, I will not be deterred! I am giving it until 10:30am and if I still haven’t resolved the phone issue I am putting it down and just starting on the budget. As much as I really want Little Dog to get to the vet, I need to get the money ball rolling. If necessary I can use one of my daughter’s phone to call the vet later.

I am determined to have a budget by the end of the day. 💪

in_need_of_direction

have you managed another look in the dodgy ear. It might be worth checking if your prescribed from home meds have had an impact. I believe that sometimes circumstances conspire to give us thinking time

Humdinger1

@EatingBeans posting the cat? Every detail please! Here you are, inspiring us all again. Love Humdinger xx

EatingBeans

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81866129#Comment_81866129

Haha, read out of context even I was confused by the idea of ‘posting the cat’! I guess it is just one of those odd sayings that I come out with that I don’t even think about but my daughters are always telling me make no sense. Trust me, I come out with a lot worse!

‘Posting the cat’, just meant I opened dd1’s bedroom door a tiny bit, ushered the cat through and shut the door behind him. The idea being that he’s suitably contained in her bedroom but I avoid waking her up by knocking (which I always do if I am actually going into her room). I conveniently ignore the fact that he probably just goes and jumps on her and wakes her up anyway, but if she’s really not up to having him she simply posts him back the other way! 🤣 He’s very obliging. 😁

EatingBeans

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81866126#Comment_81866126

Yes, I’ve been repeatedly asking to look (very gently) in her ear several times a day. I’m not expecting it to change within the space of a few hours but knowing the vet is going to need to have a good look I am trying to get her a bit more accepting of it being handled. In all honesty I think what I have given her has helped make her be a bit calmer and perhaps in slightly less pain, but the ear is still very angry and I suspect in need of antibiotics. That’s if I can actually get a vet appointment. 🤦‍♀️