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Litter Training Training Advice

Slamb

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At the beginning of next yrar my boyfriend and I are adopting my sister's Foster dog Rascal. They live in South Korea because my brother-in-law is in the army. Rascal was hit by a car and had to have surgery to correct the damage and save his life. He is going to be sad for the first few weeks since he is leaving my sister and her dog, who he has grown to love, and flying for her 24 hours to get here. My sister, boyfriend, and I all believe my 3 guinea pigs would be perfect for him not to feel so upset and to help cheer him up. Does anyone have any tips on how to train my 3 pigs to stay in one area outside of their cage and not run away?

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My Squeakhearts

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Guinea pigs are not animals that can be trained easily, like dogs. If you want them to be more friendly, then there's no surefire way to success. All guinea pigs have different personalities, and some will warm up almost instantly, while others might take months, or years to get used to you.
Most guinea pigs, however, will become far friendlier at the prospect of food ;)
So hand feed them, talk to them, and let them get used to you. The way to a pig's heart is through it's stomach.
BUt there's no surefire way to "train" them to not run away.
If you don't want them to run away during floor time, fence in the area you want them to stay in :)
 

Slamb

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Guinea pigs are not animals that can be trained easily, like dogs. If you want them to be more friendly, then there's no surefire way to success. All guinea pigs have different personalities, and some will warm up almost instantly, while others might take months, or years to get used to you.
Most guinea pigs, however, will become far friendlier at the prospect of food ;)
So hand feed them, talk to them, and let them get used to you. The way to a pig's heart is through it's stomach.
BUt there's no surefire way to "train" them to not run away.
If you don't want them to run away during floor time, fence in the area you want them to stay in :)
I will try hand feeding them. Thank you [emoji4]

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bpatters

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You'll have far more luck training the dog than you will training the pigs. Pigs are prey animals, easily startled, and will dart away at the slightest provocation, even something you can't see or hear. If the dog has a strong prey drive and isn't restrained, you'll have one or more dead pigs.

I don't know how you and your sister and boyfriend decided that three guinea pigs and a dog would be a good mix, but I'd suggest you do a LOT of reading about guinea pigs before implementing this plan. Dogs and guinea pigs can co-exist just fine if the pigs are in a dog-proof cage, OR if you've got a very mellow dog that you know doesn't react to small furry animals that run around like crazy. You don't say anything that indicates that you know this about this dog, so I'd suggest you relegate this experiment to plan D or E, and come up with other plans A, B, and C to comfort the dog. He will probably be much more interested in snuggling with you than with the pigs, anyway.
 

Slamb

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You'll have far more luck training the dog than you will training the pigs. Pigs are prey animals, easily startled, and will dart away at the slightest provocation, even something you can't see or hear. If the dog has a strong prey drive and isn't restrained, you'll have one or more dead pigs.

I don't know how you and your sister and boyfriend decided that three guinea pigs and a dog would be a good mix, but I'd suggest you do a LOT of reading about guinea pigs before implementing this plan. Dogs and guinea pigs can co-exist just fine if the pigs are in a dog-proof cage, OR if you've got a very mellow dog that you know doesn't react to small furry animals that run around like crazy. You don't say anything that indicates that you know this about this dog, so I'd suggest you relegate this experiment to plan D or E, and come up with other plans A, B, and C to comfort the dog. He will probably be much more interested in snuggling with you than with the pigs, anyway.
To answer about Rascal. He was abused from the time of a puppy, hit by a car that broke his pelvis and back legs. He had to have surgery to save his life and then proceeded to have no physical therapy for it. He was in an overrun shelter where he got no baths, and his nails had gotten so long that they were growing in circles. My sister had to give him baths for 3 days to get off all of the dirt and hair that was layered on him. He has been fighting heartworms for about a month now. He loves people and animals alike. He can't run like other dogs or even walk normally like other dogs can and when you look at him watching them you can see the heartbreak in his eyes. He tears nothing up and is friendly with everyone from people to bugs. I will say this to you though. I shouldn't have to explain to my dog to you or anyone else. I would never put ANY of my animals in danger. I'm not ignorant when it comes to my pets. I asked for training advice because even though it is hard i know that it is possible to train them. They each already come to me when I call them. I don't introduce anything new to them without thinking about it, and doing my research first. Oh and to add a little more, Rascal is the most laid back dog I have ever seen. Even going through everything that he has.

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dawnmb57

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You'll have far more luck training the dog than you will training the pigs. Pigs are prey animals, easily startled, and will dart away at the slightest provocation, even something you can't see or hear. If the dog has a strong prey drive and isn't restrained, you'll have one or more dead pigs.

I don't know how you and your sister and boyfriend decided that three guinea pigs and a dog would be a good mix, but I'd suggest you do a LOT of reading about guinea pigs before implementing this plan. Dogs and guinea pigs can co-exist just fine if the pigs are in a dog-proof cage, OR if you've got a very mellow dog that you know doesn't react to small furry animals that run around like crazy. You don't say anything that indicates that you know this about this dog, so I'd suggest you relegate this experiment to plan D or E, and come up with other plans A, B, and C to comfort the dog. He will probably be much more interested in snuggling with you than with the pigs, anyway.
I so agree with this! So many people think they can put any of their animals together and they will get along because their animals are nice. I run a small animal rescue and can't tell you how many horror stories I hear. Even a very friendly dog with no prey instinct can break a piggies' back with a heavy paw.

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CavyMama

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@Slamb, You did ask for training advice this is true and [MENTION=13820]bpatters[/MENTION] suggested training the dog rather than the pigs. Guinea pigs are not easy to train. It's possible with positive reinforcement. I have seen some pigs able to become clicker trained but dogs are much more amenable to training. You would have a much easier time working with the dog than with the pigs. I mean it wouldn't hurt if you were able to train both however, I would start with the dog.
 
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