Shelbz
Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2013
- Posts
- 131
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2013
- Messages
- 131
Those of you around the site will know that I am relatively novel to the world of guinea pigs and their upkeep. What I lack in experience, however, I make up for in sheer determination and research capability- if I don’t know something, I won’t stop looking for the answer until I find it. This approach has been pretty successful. Be it a sneeze, popcorning, wheeking, eating too little, drinking too much- all of these behaviours can be read about, and explained. Indeed, with the wealth of reliable information online, I have an encyclopaedia of knowledge ready for whenever I need it. Day by day, page by page, I learn a little more. This forum has been brilliant for that!
There are some things, however, that the words in a book or the musings of an online expert cannot teach you- and I’m reluctant to say that, because I study books as part of my passion and degree! I haven’t had Bert or Ernie for very long, but little by little, they teach me very, very valuable life lessons- lessons that you don’t learn from a book, but from your experiences. That’s right, life lessons, not “pet lessons”, not “guinea pig owner lessons”, life lessons. I find these little critters so inspiring that I’ve decided to blog a few things I’ve learnt from them here.
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- You have to work hard to gain the trust and respect of those around you.
You ever fallen in love with a puppy before? I certainly have. They love you instantly- trust you instantly, and there’s nothing more endearing than that. What about kittens? They’re clumsy, boisterous, friendly (most of the time), and aside from maybe a tiny transitional period, they’re completely unafraid of you.
When I first got Bert and Ernie, I expected this behaviour. I expected them, within a day or two, to come rushing out to greet me from their cage; to purr happily when they were petted, and to beg me to cuddle them. I’m sure that you can all guess that what they actually did, in fact, was run to the nearest hidey hole and ignore me for a good few days. It took hours, days, and even weeks of gentle talking and the occasional petting before they would even consider showing themselves to me. The battle isn’t over, either. Every day I have to justify that the hand looming over them won’t hurt them, and I have to work hard to convince them I’m a good guy, a source of comfort. It’s hard work, tiring, and it would test the patience of a saint.
You know what they remind me of? People. People are like that, too. If Bert and Ernie can teach me anything it’s that if you want a person to really trust you, and to really like you, you have to work your butt off for the privilege. And, hey, you know what? A puppy may love you within moments, but after weeks of hard work, the first moment Bert decided to eat from my hand was priceless, immeasurable and incomparable. Like guinea pigs, people require effort, and what you put in you get back threefold.
- You cannot fight a loved one’s battle for them, no matter how much you would like to.
Watching a guinea pig nose-off, chatter and bicker with his companion is difficult- or at least, it certainly has been for me. Do I intervene? What if they hurt each other? Maybe I should pull them apart. The idea is, after all, very tempting. They are little, easy to pick up- one quick scoop and the drama would be done, right?
Well, as I’m sure most of you know, it wouldn’t be done- it would be worse, because you would have undone all of the work the little critters had put in to deciding who is boss. You have to take the back seat, chew your lip, and pray that nothing too bad comes of it; that your little baby piggies can sort out their lives without your intervention. “Unless there’s blood or a full-on fight, leave it” is the general rule, and that’s difficult, because nobody who loves their pig wants to wait until it escalates out of control.
This, again, is much like society. There are times when your loved ones will get themselves into sticky situations, or do stupid things- and you will want to strip them of all rank and title, press them close to your heart and keep them there. Unfortunately, some battles need to be fought, and some lessons need to be learnt without you. It will sting- there may be a few metaphorical “nose-off’s” and a lot of “chattering”- but they will emerge a better person for it. And, if things do get out of control, then they know that you’re there, to protect them!
- Money can’t make you happy, but simplicity can.
I went into overdrive when the piggies landed upon my lap. I wanted to be the best pet owner in the world; I wanted to make the lives of these piggies so amazing that they would never know what boredom, or discomfort was. I spent hundreds of pounds (yeah, I’m British, guys, remember!) on quality fleece, quality customised goods, the best shampoos, the best chewtoys- I blew everything on these little guys, and I was so pleased with myself. How could they be unhappy with so much high-quality, top-of-the-range stuff? There were literally dozens of toys for them to choose from.
You know what my guinea pigs love most of all? A toilet roll holder, ripped through the middle so that they don’t get stuck. Let me say that again for you: An empty. Toilet roll. Holder.
Bert and Ernie will never appreciate the highly expensive, designer, top-of-the-range stuff I bought for them. You know why? Because they don’t need it. If I give them good quality food, exercise, affection and a few simple home-made toys (cardboard boxes and tubes, mostly) they will love me as equally as they would if I went all Paris Hilton on their butts and spent millions on them. I believe this is a lesson everybody should take to heart- that sometimes the simple things are so much better than the costly, complicated things we regularly surround ourselves with. Yesterday I was sitting, surrounded by my gadgets and expensive gizmos, and I suddenly decided to go for a walk through the forest neighbouring my home. I loved it!
- Make the most of your mornings, and don’t sleep the day away.
You know what the biggest change for me has been since moving the guinea pigs indoors? The early, early mornings. Bert and Ernie have decided that the best thing since sliced bread is to do zoomies at around half six to seven o’clock every morning- and then begin wheeking for their breakfast. On work-days I consider this a gracious wake-up call; on weekends there seems to be nothing worse. I’m sure a lot of people with pigs in their bedrooms can sympathise with my plight. Every morning, same time-ish, I am thrown from my sleep from some joyous, hungry, and eagerly active guinea pigs.
I’ve started to really appreciate it. Now, don’t call me crazy; if you caught me at eight o’clock in the morning you might not pry the same answer from me. However, Bert and Ernie’s activity in the early morning has taught me one thing- that the day is to be seized, and if I’m up early, there’s more day there for me to enjoy. Chores and the tedious humdrum of life can be done immediately, and by 11am (a time the non-piggy owner Shelbz would have just been stirring at) I am free to do whatever I want with the rest of my day.
- Respect the needs and desires of others, even if they contradict your own.
I really want a lap-piggy. You know what? I may be able to turn Bert and Ernie into lap piggies. Then again, I may not. The most interesting part of guinea pigs, to me, is that they have such amazing little personalities packed inside of them, and that you discover them more and more as you care for them. So, while it’s very plausible that I might get the lap piggy I want, it’s also equally as likely that I won’t. My adorable piggies may never meet the specific criteria I forced upon them- and it’s not fair of me to anticipate anything different.
This was a difficult lesson to learn, but a valuable one. Sometimes what you want most of all from another creature, be it animal or person, you will never get. My piggies may never act like how I want them to. My friends and family may never act like how I want them too, either. The beauty of life is learning to understand this; to love them anyway, for who and what they are and nothing else. Bert and Ernie have taught me to listen to what they want, even if it’s not what I want, and in doing so I’ve become much closer to them. I consider that to be the most valuable lesson I’ll ever learn: throughout my life, there will be those who do not do what I want them to, who do not listen, who ignore advice or actively go against it. There will be others who do not share my opinion, who want different things and seek different ambitions. In accepting this, and loving such people for who they are and what they represent regardless, I may well be able to improve my relationship with them- just as I have with Bert and Ernie.
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If you trawled through to the very bottom of this blog, thank you for persevering! And, to any readers, I would love to hear what lessons you've been taught by your piggies- or even any other animals you may have.
Ciao for now. xox
If you trawled through to the very bottom of this blog, thank you for persevering! And, to any readers, I would love to hear what lessons you've been taught by your piggies- or even any other animals you may have.
Ciao for now. xox
