I give up on Leia, Help!

Use chloroform.

ZaoSyn said:

Use chloroform.

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That's not even funny as a joke, which I'm going to assume you meant it as. Please do not give advice like this. Someone who is genuinely frantic might think you're serious.

(broken link removed) , you really very funny. I can't stop laughting =P. Fay, you tried pet grooming centre before? Maybe they can help and might be able to learn some useful tactics from them?

Fay - I empathise completely. Mellow does all the above - except the biting (yet!). It really is a miserable business.

I know you've tried everything, we've talked about this before, I remember! Last time I trimmed mellow, I put her on the upturned box I use for weighing the girls. She still twirled and kicked and tried to get away - but it was not as bad. Here is an 'after' shot of her on the box, so you have an idea of what I'm talking about!.



Don't know if you've tried this method? Might be worth a go?

Do you h=get baby towels in the Netherlands - where one corner is folded over to make a hood? I have used that to 'swaddle' Mellow's front end when using clippers - it kind of worked. I'd definitely go for clipping short - that way it'll take longer to grow - thus longer til the next time! I take it you're talking about a short back and sides, rather than an all-over shorty?!

If all else fails, then maybe a professional groomer is an idea - though I could imagine the whole to be stressful - unless the groomer could come to your home?

Hope you find something that works.

Just had another idea - does she stand still in the bath? I remeber Mellow's hair floated up - maybe that is possibility?

My Pumpkin is like that also but she doesn't try to bite.....yet. What I do is I have my 2 sons help hold her down and I place a light weight towel over her head. It calms her down enough that I can get her bum area clipped. With not being able to see calms them down. I found that lightly holding them down works better than totally restraining them, which causes them to panic. It is working for me so far but I have to clip real fast though.

My texel, Furr, has such a thick and fast growing coat. Add in the kink and curl and you can all see why that would be a nightmare cut. Unless the scissors that I used were very, very sharp, there would always be some pulling of the hair during the cutting procedure.

Pulling of the hair = whirling, twirling, pissed off pig.

One day it came time for Furr's cut. I couldn't find my usual scissors. On impulse I decided to try a pair of pinking shears. Those thick serrated blades were just the thing to cut through Furr's nightmare coat and make trim time a lot less stressful for us both.

Thanks for the tips!

I'll try the box thing but I'm convinced she will just jump off. I also tried covering her face but she just runs off. Pet groomer is far too expensive. I also use an electric clipper which goes faster then a scissor. She's just as scared of both. I guess I'll have to keep doing it pluck by pluck!

Just got some great info from a very experienced guinea owner/rescuer:

Piggies have ultra sensitive skin so that even the tiniest tug on a hair is painful. From experience I have found that holding a length of hair and cutting it, is enough to hurt a piggy. What you need to do is make sure that when you hold the hair that you leave enough slack in it so that when the scissors grip they cannot pull it. A little bit at a time is best, yes it is time consuming but you should have an amenable piggy for haircuts.

Hope this helps.

How does she do in baths? I've had to cut Gizmo in the water before, because he hates it, and will freeze up, letting me butcher his hair while he fears for his life. That may help a bit!

Maybe you will have to find a really good vet that specialises in small animals, like piggies. They may be able to offer suggestions, or do the cutting for you.

Sorry, but I don't know what else you can do without stressing your little one.

I dunno if this is right, but I think you said you use an electric trimmer? This may be what's bothering her, it could pull her hair, and the noise might scare her. Really sharp scissors may be your best bet. good luck!

She is as scared of the scissors as the electric trimmer. I'm just afraid to accidentally stab her with the scissors. I've also tried holding the hair so she wont feel it but she just wont sit still long enough to allow anything. As for trying to cut it in bath, I could give that a try as she doesn't like baths a whole lot. I just feel bad for her because it must be stressing her out so badly but I have to cut her hair else she becomes even dirtier and matted so I can't comb her hair anymore.

As for the electric trimmer bothering her, you can put the trimmer on your skin and it wont hurt. It's very sharp so it cuts through the hair very swiftly and a lot quicker it doesn't hurt her unless she twists again. It doesn't matter whether she hears the scissor or trimmer she just dashes off. Makes me feel like a horrible piggy mom .

Fay said:

Makes me feel like a horrible piggy mom .

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I know Fay - I feel the same. But we both know that life is very unpleasant - and could potentially become much, much worse, if our long haired piggies aren't kept groomed and trimmed.

We just need to find a way to reduce the stress and discomfort of the grooming process in the short term. Even that distress must be preferable to longer term matting (which will pull worse) leading to urine scald, and other unthinkable problems.

Put in that light, whilst I will still continue to be as gentle with Mellow as I possibly can, I will not neglect her grooming (even though it sometimes makes me feel utterly awful when she 'yelps'), as I know the long term implications are so much worse.

In short - you are a wonderful piggy mum, who keeps trying to find the best way to care for your piggy's special requirements, even though the process is horrible. You will find a way. Don't give up trying!

Also, I have a pair of kid's scissors that I got from Target that I use for grooming so that squirmy pigs don't end up missing a leg.

We trimmed Tuppy last night. She was in a right old mess from when she was sick and just sitting in her pee. We had to trim her hair down very short on her rump to get the matt out (by the time she was healthy enough to mess about with her hair, it was already matted). With her - a serious PWA - I hold her while my mum trims. It's impossible to do alone because she's just as bad as Leia!

SUCCESS!!!!! I gave her a bath and tried cutting her hair and it worked! She did not give a squeak! Thank you so much for your tip this will make my life a lot easier and I did it all on my own! Her little face looks so cute and little now. I do feel sorry for her though she seemed very stressed but this is better then her running over the sofa trying to jump off.

Hey, I trimmed Giz last night too! He's so mad at me

That's great Fay! Just to clarify - did you cut her hair when she was in the bath? Did you cut the floating bits around the edge? Did she move around - or just not seem to notice? If it worked for you - I'll have to give it a go myself!

When I was younger I had a guinea pig that lost use of both of its back legs, so I would have to wash her behind off daily, and keep the hair short.

I would use a small bathroom towel to wrap her in, with extra around her head (but open ovbiously) so if she were to bite, she would only get the towel. I folded up around her butt and did what had to be done, eventually she calmed down, and learned I was not going to hurt her.