I'm perfectly aware that they are clever little critters, well, when they feel like it at least.
They do however respond quite slowly to these types of training, and I dislike trying to make them do something that isn't close to some type of natural behavior or a necessity.
You know,
for a long time now, I use to be "on the fence" so to speak, and had mixed feelings about training and teaching guinea pigs "tricks". After giving this type of thing a lot of thought, and having had a year to get to know my own two girls, I finally came to a decision on what "I" feel and think about it. This is what I concluded:
1. Since teaching any animal to do "tricks" or "stunts" requires some reward/treat, I think the "type" and size/amount of the "treat" for your guinea pig should be fairly small, since training will take several attempts to learn.
The treats given to your guinea pig should not be too high in sugars or too rich in calcium, which could lead to dental or other health problems, later on in life. Also, one should include these "treats" for "tricks"
as part of their daily diet "not added on top of", the 1 cup a day dietary requirement.
2. I think it is good stimulation for them, and provides more interaction with you, which is always a good thing.
3. I think as long as one keeps "safety first" in mind, is properly educated on a guinea pigs and what is reasonable to "expect" them to be able to do, has understanding about a guinea pig's physical abilities and limits, and it doesn't cause any harm or undue stress, then I say "why not ?!
"