GreedyGirl
Pickled Onion
Dear ,
A couple weeks ago, while hanging out in our ‘Sunday is Funday’ chat, I heard my fiancé ‘Joe’ screaming, “Debbeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!” I panicked. I thought maybe something had happened to him. He’s generally not a screamer (take that however you want!) and I knew something terrible had to have happened.
I jumped up from chat and ran out of my office to find Joe looking very angry and my Saint Bernard puppy ‘Hamster’ looking very guilty. As I scanned the room, I could see that one of my two chaise lounges had been terribly defiled. These were gorgeous chaises—I’d had them upholstered to suit my new home when I moved to El Paso, spending more than I could really afford to. I loved these chaises. Now, one of them had lost its skirt in its entirety, with only threads hanging to look like messed-up fringe.
Immediately, Joe began hammering away at me: “Debbee! SOMETHING must be done with that damned dog!” I knew he was right. Over the past couple months, Hamster had gone on a chewing binge and no matter what we good stuff we gave her to chew on (teething toys, rawhide bones, etc.), Hamster’s preference leaned towards Joe’s shoes, Joe’s socks, Joe’s belts, Joe’s electronic items, Joe’s mail and on and on and on. I have to admit, so long as her gnawing activities were aimed at Joe, I took the whole thing with a grain of salt…and a giggle or two.
However…
A couple weeks before the chaise incident, Hamster began gnawing on wood. Not just any wood. Nope. The wood Hamster began chewing on was first, the baseboards in our living room. From there, she moved on to the wood support beams. I quite literally was becoming concerned that should this continue, the ceiling would cave in! I actually thought of changing her name from Hamster to ‘Termite’!
Still with all this, I remained stoic, er, in denial. At the most base level, I knew this behavior would have to stop, but I had my hands full with so much other stuff going on, that Monday turned to Tuesday, Tuesday turned to Wednesday, etc., and before I knew it a couple weeks had gone by and a furious Joe was picking up shredded chaise fabric off the floor of our sitting room.
I should mention, Hamster wasn’t the only canine in the proverbial doghouse around here. Joe’s little Rat Terrier ‘Shinzo’ was also having her moments in the spotlight. Shinzo has recently begun seeing herself as the queen of this castle. For the most part, she leaves my oldest, ‘Wilbur’ (my 8 year old MaltiPoo) alone, however, she has put the fear of God into Hamster. Hamster weighs well over 100 pounds now (at only 9 months…and still growing!!!) is no match for Shinzo at only 7 pounds. Shinzo will lunge, growl and ultimately go on the attack with Hamster…so much so that Hamster has become fearful to enter the room when Shinzo is in it.
If that wasn’t enough, Shinzo had gotten into the habit of sleeping right between Joe and me. This tiny little dog had become the ultimate c%#@-blocker! Because of this mutant-mutt, Joe was now sleeping on his side of the bed and I was sleeping on mine. The only warm body either of us felt at night was Shinzo’s and she’s really not the one I was wanting to cuddle with.
Things with Shinzo finally came to a head when poor lil’ Hamster made the massive mistake of coming into our bedroom when Shinzo was high upon her throne (our bed). Shinzo, like something out of a horror movie, went FLYING off the bed and attacked Hamster (who did not put up a fight). When Joe intervened, Shinzo turned on the hand that feeds her and, well, bit it.
It was painfully clear: Between Queen Shinzo’s reign of terror and Hamster’s over-active teeth, we were gonna have to call in the big guns…a REAL trainer!
Continued below…
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE NEW FORUM!?!?!
Have you checked out our new and improved and really COOL forum yet? It’s a much different experience for our members and we’re really doing everything possible to encourage folks to check it out, learn more about it and most importantly, participate!
Last weekend, I ran a series of Competitions, giving away THOUSANDS of GG’s and heaps of GetLucky’s to the winners of each Competition. I also alluded to a ‘special Tournament,’ which I’m sure some may be wondering about. Well wonder no more!
To all those members who participated in last weekend’s Competitions, they will now be treated to a very special, PRIVATE Tournament, whereby they can win a cash prize, GG merchandise, GetLucky’s and plenty of GG’s! All participants will be notified via PM with details of the private Tourney.
So, if you’re not participating, you could very well be missing out!
SPEAKING OF TOURNAMENTS…
Awwwwwww…no Bounty winner in last week’s Tournament Triathlon, which means next month’s Bounty will rise to 6.4 MILLION GG’s and $640 iNetBet casino cash! When will someone finally cash in on all this wonderfulness??? The next Tournament Triathlon will get fired up, April 3rd, so mark your calendar!
In the meantime, here’s the Tournament’s up for this weekend:
EARTHQUAKE Tournament for Individuals – begins Friday, 2AM PDT
MOON ROCKET Team Tournament – begins Saturday, 2AM PDT
Each Tournament runs three days. Good luck!
TRAINING THE DOGS OR TRAINING THE HUMANS? PART I
Fortunately for the pups, one of the very best trainers/training groups in the country is located here in the El Paso area. The owner of the company is responsible for dozens of AKC champions at some of the biggest dog shows in the country, including the one we all hear about each year, the Westminster Show. This trainer specializes in large breeds, which is perfect for Hamster. After doing my research, meeting someone whose pups this trainer had worked with for years, a recommendation from my veterinarian AND speaking with his wife who would be one of the trainers working with us, I knew these trainers would be the saving grace for my pups…and my relationship with Joe!
It began with an interview at my home with two of the trainers. A meet-and-greet, you could say. In that one short hour, I learned that I’m over-indulgent and basically, I let my dogs run the show. I need to change how I feed my dogs…how I spend time with my dogs…how I love my dogs. For the most part, I have been loving my dogs to the point of maladjustment!
Joe was no better. Joe’s idea of punishing the pups would be to simply give them a ‘time-out’ outside (which I’ve always hated). This ‘punishment’ was more of a party for the dogs…and it always felt like a punishment for me. I hate when the pups aren’t under foot!
I could see that the change was going to have to come from me. I’ve always been the caretaker—with my family, my friends, strangers, and especially my pups. This is what I’ve always known and has been at the core of my very soul. Now I’m being told not to cook for the dogs (kibble only)…no more letting the pups sleep in our bedroom (I never minded them in the bedroom—just not Shinzo stuffed between Joe and me!)…no more curling up on the sofa with Wilbur (who has never been a problem!)…no more allowing the pups in the kitchen…the list goes on and on and on. And my anxiety with this whole thing was going on and on and on.
The first day of training went well. Hamster responded beautifully and I was feeling hopeful that I’d be able to handle this. We were told by the trainers that Ham would be the first to be whipped into shape and Shinzo’s issues would be dealt with along the way. I was also told that I should start considering crate-training the dogs. Immediately, my heart sank. I’ve had so many dogs through the years and I’ve never had to resort to putting any of them into a cage of sorts. I know dozens of people who swear by crate-training, but this is something I’ve never been comfortable with. Making matters worse (for me!), the trainers explained that with the crate-training, the crates should not be in the bedroom, meaning the dogs would be sleeping elsewhere. I said I’d give it some consideration, but really in my mind, I’d already dismissed the idea.
That evening, I went to bed exhausted from my own emotions with all this. I know. I sound like a complete lunatic. But for the past 25 years or so, my dogs have been my rocks. They’ve gotten me through the worst of the worst times and have given me more love than I could ever hope for. To me, making so many changes with these three dogs just had me gut-wrenched. I felt like the worst dog-mom EVER! This also confirmed in my mind that having children was probably the best thing I never did! How do parents do it???
The next morning, Shinzo once again went after poor Hamster. And once again, Joe went to intervene…and once again, Shinzo bit Joe. Joe had had enough.
“Debbee! Get dressed! We are going to Petsmart and we are buying crates! No ifs, ands or buts!” Joe never puts his foot down in such a way and I could tell there was no arguing with him on this. I got dressed and off we went…and in my mind, it was as if I was about to purchase prisons for my dogs.
When we got to Petsmart, I managed to convince Joe that at the very least, Wilbur should be spared the jailhouse treatment. After all, Wilbur causes no problems. Ever. I’m not certain if Joe went along with this because it was a valid argument or because crates are so freaking expensive. All I know is more than $300 later, we were back home building two jails for our two problem pups. Life would never be the same.
Continued…
THIS WEEK’S CASINO OF THE WEEK!
The fine folks at Mandarin Palace Casino have been chomping at the bit to get involved with GoneGambling. So much so, that this fun casino on the Saucify platform has whipped up a couple of really incredible deals for our members! First off, get a taste of Mandarin Palace with THIRTY free spins (no deposit!) on their Aladdins Loot slot game. When you’re done enjoying your free spins and you’re ready to deposit (and you WILL want to deposit!), get a jumbo 120% on that first deposit!
For all the details on this week’s Casino of the Week, just click this link.
TRAINING THE DOGS OR TRAINING THE HUMANS? PART II
The first night of the pups sleeping in their crates went well. At least I think it did. I ended up drowning my sorrows in booze that night, as my way of easing the pain of all this. In other words, I passed out. The next night did not go so well. I put the pups in their crates around 2am…at 5am, it finally got quiet. Joe slept through the entire thing.
Night 3 was really bad. I was already exhausted from the night before and at 1am, I was tucking the dogs into their new quarters. I curled up into bed (Joe was already snoring away!) and within two minutes, Shinzo was yelping that high-pitched yelp that only tiny pups can make. I did my best to ignore this and tossed and turned for the next hour until she finally settled down. Ahhhhhh…peace and quiet!
For about five minutes!
Just as I thought it was safe to drift off, a loud bark began. This time it was the booming voice of Hamster and it was followed with the sounds of her spinning around in the crate. The sound of Hamster banging into the metal cage was incessant. Joe’s snoring was incessant. For the next hour and a half, she went on and on crashing around, barking and crying. She wasn’t the only one crying at this point. I was really having a tough time dealing with all this.
It was nearly 4am when I couldn’t take it any longer. I slithered out of bed, grabbed a pillow and a blanket and went out to the sitting room where Shinzo and Hamster were imprisoned. I let Hamster out of her crate, thinking perhaps she just needed to take care of business outside. Nah—she didn’t have to do. I tried to guide her back into her crate, but she refused. And she was firm about it. There was no way, no how, that she was going back in there. This went on for more than a half hour. Hamster had worn me down. I knew it was the wrong thing, but I gave in. Daylight was hitting and I was finally laying down to get some rest. At 6am. On the very chaise lounge that Hamster had shredded.
At 6:45, Joe woke up very unhappy with what he was seeing. Me on one chaise, Hamster on the other. Now I was the one in the doghouse! <sigh>
It’s been a few days since that night and things have still been a bit rough, but getting a little better. I’m now averaging about 4 hours sleep and I’ve trained myself to wake Joe up to deal with the pups in the middle of the night. I’m still not certain how I feel about all this, but Joe is happy that he’s not been bitten by Shinzo in days and I’m relieved that Hamster has left my house in tact! I guess that’s progress.
MEMBER OF THE WEEK
I was thrilled to see anegfemale posting in the new forum, when it launched. A loyal member for more than 13 years now, anegfemale always had a somewhat twisted sense of humor and always had me laughing whenever she joined us in chat. Hopefully, with her retirement nearing, we’ll be seeing more of her around GG. To encourage her a bit, she’s receiving the Member of the Week honors! Enjoy your bling, aneg!
SOUPER ONION’S GAME OF THE WEEK
Souper Onion is mixing things up with Totally Random this week. As the featured game, Souper Onion has discounted the cost per play from 5 GG's to only 4 GG's! You'll have the same sized jackpots, but you'll get more bang for your GG bucks!
LAST BUT NOT LEAST
I know I sound like a broken record, but I really want to see our members get as excited about our new forum as I am! I realize it’s a massive change from the old forum, but when you get the hang of it, you’re gonna love how much you can do in there! From subscribing to threads, to adding photos and videos to having circles of friends and much, much more, this new forum really gives GoneGambling a new lease on life!
If you’re struggling at all with any of the functions or how to navigate between the forum and the main site, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Member Support, Deedeemoe or me.
Hope to see you in or forum, soon!
Have a wonderful weekend and week ahead…and as always, win BIG!
Greedygirl
A couple weeks ago, while hanging out in our ‘Sunday is Funday’ chat, I heard my fiancé ‘Joe’ screaming, “Debbeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!” I panicked. I thought maybe something had happened to him. He’s generally not a screamer (take that however you want!) and I knew something terrible had to have happened.
I jumped up from chat and ran out of my office to find Joe looking very angry and my Saint Bernard puppy ‘Hamster’ looking very guilty. As I scanned the room, I could see that one of my two chaise lounges had been terribly defiled. These were gorgeous chaises—I’d had them upholstered to suit my new home when I moved to El Paso, spending more than I could really afford to. I loved these chaises. Now, one of them had lost its skirt in its entirety, with only threads hanging to look like messed-up fringe.
Immediately, Joe began hammering away at me: “Debbee! SOMETHING must be done with that damned dog!” I knew he was right. Over the past couple months, Hamster had gone on a chewing binge and no matter what we good stuff we gave her to chew on (teething toys, rawhide bones, etc.), Hamster’s preference leaned towards Joe’s shoes, Joe’s socks, Joe’s belts, Joe’s electronic items, Joe’s mail and on and on and on. I have to admit, so long as her gnawing activities were aimed at Joe, I took the whole thing with a grain of salt…and a giggle or two.
However…
A couple weeks before the chaise incident, Hamster began gnawing on wood. Not just any wood. Nope. The wood Hamster began chewing on was first, the baseboards in our living room. From there, she moved on to the wood support beams. I quite literally was becoming concerned that should this continue, the ceiling would cave in! I actually thought of changing her name from Hamster to ‘Termite’!
Still with all this, I remained stoic, er, in denial. At the most base level, I knew this behavior would have to stop, but I had my hands full with so much other stuff going on, that Monday turned to Tuesday, Tuesday turned to Wednesday, etc., and before I knew it a couple weeks had gone by and a furious Joe was picking up shredded chaise fabric off the floor of our sitting room.
I should mention, Hamster wasn’t the only canine in the proverbial doghouse around here. Joe’s little Rat Terrier ‘Shinzo’ was also having her moments in the spotlight. Shinzo has recently begun seeing herself as the queen of this castle. For the most part, she leaves my oldest, ‘Wilbur’ (my 8 year old MaltiPoo) alone, however, she has put the fear of God into Hamster. Hamster weighs well over 100 pounds now (at only 9 months…and still growing!!!) is no match for Shinzo at only 7 pounds. Shinzo will lunge, growl and ultimately go on the attack with Hamster…so much so that Hamster has become fearful to enter the room when Shinzo is in it.
If that wasn’t enough, Shinzo had gotten into the habit of sleeping right between Joe and me. This tiny little dog had become the ultimate c%#@-blocker! Because of this mutant-mutt, Joe was now sleeping on his side of the bed and I was sleeping on mine. The only warm body either of us felt at night was Shinzo’s and she’s really not the one I was wanting to cuddle with.
Things with Shinzo finally came to a head when poor lil’ Hamster made the massive mistake of coming into our bedroom when Shinzo was high upon her throne (our bed). Shinzo, like something out of a horror movie, went FLYING off the bed and attacked Hamster (who did not put up a fight). When Joe intervened, Shinzo turned on the hand that feeds her and, well, bit it.
It was painfully clear: Between Queen Shinzo’s reign of terror and Hamster’s over-active teeth, we were gonna have to call in the big guns…a REAL trainer!
Continued below…
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE NEW FORUM!?!?!
Have you checked out our new and improved and really COOL forum yet? It’s a much different experience for our members and we’re really doing everything possible to encourage folks to check it out, learn more about it and most importantly, participate!
Last weekend, I ran a series of Competitions, giving away THOUSANDS of GG’s and heaps of GetLucky’s to the winners of each Competition. I also alluded to a ‘special Tournament,’ which I’m sure some may be wondering about. Well wonder no more!
To all those members who participated in last weekend’s Competitions, they will now be treated to a very special, PRIVATE Tournament, whereby they can win a cash prize, GG merchandise, GetLucky’s and plenty of GG’s! All participants will be notified via PM with details of the private Tourney.
So, if you’re not participating, you could very well be missing out!
SPEAKING OF TOURNAMENTS…
Awwwwwww…no Bounty winner in last week’s Tournament Triathlon, which means next month’s Bounty will rise to 6.4 MILLION GG’s and $640 iNetBet casino cash! When will someone finally cash in on all this wonderfulness??? The next Tournament Triathlon will get fired up, April 3rd, so mark your calendar!
In the meantime, here’s the Tournament’s up for this weekend:
EARTHQUAKE Tournament for Individuals – begins Friday, 2AM PDT
MOON ROCKET Team Tournament – begins Saturday, 2AM PDT
Each Tournament runs three days. Good luck!
TRAINING THE DOGS OR TRAINING THE HUMANS? PART I
Fortunately for the pups, one of the very best trainers/training groups in the country is located here in the El Paso area. The owner of the company is responsible for dozens of AKC champions at some of the biggest dog shows in the country, including the one we all hear about each year, the Westminster Show. This trainer specializes in large breeds, which is perfect for Hamster. After doing my research, meeting someone whose pups this trainer had worked with for years, a recommendation from my veterinarian AND speaking with his wife who would be one of the trainers working with us, I knew these trainers would be the saving grace for my pups…and my relationship with Joe!
It began with an interview at my home with two of the trainers. A meet-and-greet, you could say. In that one short hour, I learned that I’m over-indulgent and basically, I let my dogs run the show. I need to change how I feed my dogs…how I spend time with my dogs…how I love my dogs. For the most part, I have been loving my dogs to the point of maladjustment!
Joe was no better. Joe’s idea of punishing the pups would be to simply give them a ‘time-out’ outside (which I’ve always hated). This ‘punishment’ was more of a party for the dogs…and it always felt like a punishment for me. I hate when the pups aren’t under foot!
I could see that the change was going to have to come from me. I’ve always been the caretaker—with my family, my friends, strangers, and especially my pups. This is what I’ve always known and has been at the core of my very soul. Now I’m being told not to cook for the dogs (kibble only)…no more letting the pups sleep in our bedroom (I never minded them in the bedroom—just not Shinzo stuffed between Joe and me!)…no more curling up on the sofa with Wilbur (who has never been a problem!)…no more allowing the pups in the kitchen…the list goes on and on and on. And my anxiety with this whole thing was going on and on and on.
The first day of training went well. Hamster responded beautifully and I was feeling hopeful that I’d be able to handle this. We were told by the trainers that Ham would be the first to be whipped into shape and Shinzo’s issues would be dealt with along the way. I was also told that I should start considering crate-training the dogs. Immediately, my heart sank. I’ve had so many dogs through the years and I’ve never had to resort to putting any of them into a cage of sorts. I know dozens of people who swear by crate-training, but this is something I’ve never been comfortable with. Making matters worse (for me!), the trainers explained that with the crate-training, the crates should not be in the bedroom, meaning the dogs would be sleeping elsewhere. I said I’d give it some consideration, but really in my mind, I’d already dismissed the idea.
That evening, I went to bed exhausted from my own emotions with all this. I know. I sound like a complete lunatic. But for the past 25 years or so, my dogs have been my rocks. They’ve gotten me through the worst of the worst times and have given me more love than I could ever hope for. To me, making so many changes with these three dogs just had me gut-wrenched. I felt like the worst dog-mom EVER! This also confirmed in my mind that having children was probably the best thing I never did! How do parents do it???
The next morning, Shinzo once again went after poor Hamster. And once again, Joe went to intervene…and once again, Shinzo bit Joe. Joe had had enough.
“Debbee! Get dressed! We are going to Petsmart and we are buying crates! No ifs, ands or buts!” Joe never puts his foot down in such a way and I could tell there was no arguing with him on this. I got dressed and off we went…and in my mind, it was as if I was about to purchase prisons for my dogs.
When we got to Petsmart, I managed to convince Joe that at the very least, Wilbur should be spared the jailhouse treatment. After all, Wilbur causes no problems. Ever. I’m not certain if Joe went along with this because it was a valid argument or because crates are so freaking expensive. All I know is more than $300 later, we were back home building two jails for our two problem pups. Life would never be the same.
Continued…
THIS WEEK’S CASINO OF THE WEEK!
The fine folks at Mandarin Palace Casino have been chomping at the bit to get involved with GoneGambling. So much so, that this fun casino on the Saucify platform has whipped up a couple of really incredible deals for our members! First off, get a taste of Mandarin Palace with THIRTY free spins (no deposit!) on their Aladdins Loot slot game. When you’re done enjoying your free spins and you’re ready to deposit (and you WILL want to deposit!), get a jumbo 120% on that first deposit!
For all the details on this week’s Casino of the Week, just click this link.
TRAINING THE DOGS OR TRAINING THE HUMANS? PART II
The first night of the pups sleeping in their crates went well. At least I think it did. I ended up drowning my sorrows in booze that night, as my way of easing the pain of all this. In other words, I passed out. The next night did not go so well. I put the pups in their crates around 2am…at 5am, it finally got quiet. Joe slept through the entire thing.
Night 3 was really bad. I was already exhausted from the night before and at 1am, I was tucking the dogs into their new quarters. I curled up into bed (Joe was already snoring away!) and within two minutes, Shinzo was yelping that high-pitched yelp that only tiny pups can make. I did my best to ignore this and tossed and turned for the next hour until she finally settled down. Ahhhhhh…peace and quiet!
For about five minutes!
Just as I thought it was safe to drift off, a loud bark began. This time it was the booming voice of Hamster and it was followed with the sounds of her spinning around in the crate. The sound of Hamster banging into the metal cage was incessant. Joe’s snoring was incessant. For the next hour and a half, she went on and on crashing around, barking and crying. She wasn’t the only one crying at this point. I was really having a tough time dealing with all this.
It was nearly 4am when I couldn’t take it any longer. I slithered out of bed, grabbed a pillow and a blanket and went out to the sitting room where Shinzo and Hamster were imprisoned. I let Hamster out of her crate, thinking perhaps she just needed to take care of business outside. Nah—she didn’t have to do. I tried to guide her back into her crate, but she refused. And she was firm about it. There was no way, no how, that she was going back in there. This went on for more than a half hour. Hamster had worn me down. I knew it was the wrong thing, but I gave in. Daylight was hitting and I was finally laying down to get some rest. At 6am. On the very chaise lounge that Hamster had shredded.
At 6:45, Joe woke up very unhappy with what he was seeing. Me on one chaise, Hamster on the other. Now I was the one in the doghouse! <sigh>
It’s been a few days since that night and things have still been a bit rough, but getting a little better. I’m now averaging about 4 hours sleep and I’ve trained myself to wake Joe up to deal with the pups in the middle of the night. I’m still not certain how I feel about all this, but Joe is happy that he’s not been bitten by Shinzo in days and I’m relieved that Hamster has left my house in tact! I guess that’s progress.
MEMBER OF THE WEEK
I was thrilled to see anegfemale posting in the new forum, when it launched. A loyal member for more than 13 years now, anegfemale always had a somewhat twisted sense of humor and always had me laughing whenever she joined us in chat. Hopefully, with her retirement nearing, we’ll be seeing more of her around GG. To encourage her a bit, she’s receiving the Member of the Week honors! Enjoy your bling, aneg!
SOUPER ONION’S GAME OF THE WEEK
Souper Onion is mixing things up with Totally Random this week. As the featured game, Souper Onion has discounted the cost per play from 5 GG's to only 4 GG's! You'll have the same sized jackpots, but you'll get more bang for your GG bucks!
LAST BUT NOT LEAST
I know I sound like a broken record, but I really want to see our members get as excited about our new forum as I am! I realize it’s a massive change from the old forum, but when you get the hang of it, you’re gonna love how much you can do in there! From subscribing to threads, to adding photos and videos to having circles of friends and much, much more, this new forum really gives GoneGambling a new lease on life!
If you’re struggling at all with any of the functions or how to navigate between the forum and the main site, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Member Support, Deedeemoe or me.
Hope to see you in or forum, soon!
Have a wonderful weekend and week ahead…and as always, win BIG!
Greedygirl
