Behavior You stand on me, I lay on you

[Rhyue]

Two of my boys have recently started a new thing (I've had them for about 2 years now). First off: Tobe isn't exactly a bright guinea pig, I'm pretty sure he's not all there upstairs (he's not blind/deaf or anything, just very... dumb), Logan on the other hand is quite bright.

So about a month back Tobe figured out that if Logan is in the way when trying to stand at the front of the cage for treats the easiest way to get him out of the way is to simply walk up his back and smoosh him[SUB][/SUB](Tobe isn't a small boy, he's a bit skinny- he just doesn't seem to put on weight- but still is about 1350+g) which Logan doesn't appreciate much (Logan is the smallest, but is still a pretty big boy at 1250+g).

Since then Logan has began to try to "lay" on Tobe. I'm not talking mounting or humping (they do that plenty and this is quite different), but actually laying on him. He'll nuzzle his side a bit and then crawls across his back so his front feet dangle down on the one side and his back feet dangle on the other, and he just sort of slumps, going limp, over him like a piggy sausage (so they're forming a cross). Tobe doesn't like this much and then tries to buck him off while Logan likes to just see how long he can stay slumped over him like that.

He generally does this after Tobe has recently used him as a stepping stone.

I unfortunately don't have photos since they don't do this often and it doesn't last long.

 

[Mmgh5]

That is adorable! My piggies Eugene and Maximus like to steal each others food, and when Eugene gets angry, he plops on top of the food bowl and falls asleep, blocking it from Maximus, and himself too! He might not be the brightest little pig either.

 

[lunarminx]

Since then Logan has began to try to "lay" on Tobe. I'm not talking mounting or humping (they do that plenty and this is quite different), but actually laying on him. He'll nuzzle his side a bit and then crawls across his back so his front feet dangle down on the one side and his back feet dangle on the other, and he just sort of slumps, going limp, over him like a piggy sausage (so they're forming a cross). Tobe doesn't like this much and then tries to buck him off while Logan likes to just see how long he can stay slumped over him like that.

In dogs its called T'ing off, a form of dominance. My dog started doing it in dog parks, out of the blue. Forget humping he said, He was gonna make them bow down. Its like the most dominate dogs do that to each other. Its best to stop it right away, before a fight breaks out. Boo will look for the biggest darn dog to try that to but will allow a little dog or cat curl him into a ball...

**Dog-on-dog aggression comes in many forms. One is “T-ing” off. That is when one dog, gets on another’s back, crossways (like a “T”). This is a demonstration of dominance and should be discouraged.

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[Rhyue]

That is adorable! My piggies Eugene and Maximus like to steal each others food, and when Eugene gets angry, he plops on top of the food bowl and falls asleep, blocking it from Maximus, and himself too! He might not be the brightest little pig either.

Haha, nice!

Tobe is... really dull. He'll forget things are around him (like popcorning under a house and whacking his head), turning around and whacking his head on cage objects (which he then bites). He's not blind though, if you put him in a new area he'll run for shade and can navigate just fine, he just forgets objects are there. He'll be eating and forget what he's doing before he resumes chewing (he's not freezing like he's scared and being motionless- his brain just seeems to stop and needs time to reboot). I tried giving them some tomatoes, the others all got the idea of taking them off the plate, he just kept trying to chew on the plate, eventually figured it out, and when he came back for more, chewed on the plate again.

He's got a pretty special looking expression too, especially when he looks up, since his mouth and eyelids droop, and he tends to look up more than forward. Luckily his derpiness makes it easy to cut his nails and things since he just sort of goes limp when you pick him up.

In dogs its called T'ing off, a form of dominance. My dog started doing it in dog parks, out of the blue. Forget humping he said, He was gonna make them bow down. Its like the most dominate dogs do that to each other. Its best to stop it right away, before a fight breaks out. Boo will look for the biggest darn dog to try that to but will allow a little dog or cat curl him into a ball...

**Dog-on-dog aggression comes in many forms. One is “T-ing” off. That is when one dog, gets on another’s back, crossways (like a “T”). This is a demonstration of dominance and should be discouraged.

(broken link removed)
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I'm pretty sure there is some dominace in there (though these are guinea pigs and not dogs). However, neither side is terribly upset about this (once Tobe gets Logan off they continue about their business, there is rarely even a stink-eye after), and both of them get along very well (you remove Tobe from the cage for even a second and Logan starts crying). Tobe is the dominate pig of the two and can easily put logan in his place simply by lifting his head (he is a lot bigger than logan), no chattering or anything required. So I don't think there is any need to try to stop them from doing their thing.