Introducting other animals

[KellyMichelle]

Just curious...
Could you introduce a puppy to mature guinea pigs and build tolerance between the two? I mean, they don't even have to play or be best friends, just enough so that you trusted the dog wasn't going to jump the cage, and the puppy grew tolerable of the animal so that there is (just about) no worries? I don't even mean so that they could be alone in a room together hanging out on the floor...just you know that you can go away and come back with calm happy animals.

My german shepherd was impeccably trained and would walk into my room, nuzzle the pigg who would be playing in my room wherever, and then go about his business. I didn't worry about him suddenly grabbing Tony or anything. My doberman however could not be trusted in the room with him in the cage, closed up. She would try to rush the cage! But I knew the personalities of the dogs, so I knew that Jake (shep) would be ok, but Jessy (dobe) wouldn't...so I took precautions. Unfortuneatly, all three pets have since passed away, and I am just thinking to the future. I will be moving out on my own in about a year, and would like another puppy one day, but want to maintain the idea of keeping my large open cage in the main room. On the other hand, I would rather wait on the puppy if it was going to be a problem with the gp's.

However, a friend of mine had an older, calm, pretty much blind even, dog. some kind of terrier. and she also had two boxers. All dogs could be trusted to lay on the bed with the pigs, and you would find them cuddling with her two pigs in a matter of moments. So imagine my horror when we came home from a football game, and she calls me sobbing because her terrier -broke- into the cage and killed her pigs.

It all just made me wonder if you could introduce a puppy to non-skiddish guinea pigs, and train the dog to be tolerable of the pigs? I worry about bringing in a puppy and having to keep the cage in one room, or the puppy in one room, constantly all of the time.
Thanks for your thoughts or experiences!
ps- I can't believe how long it has been since i've been to the site! i'm prepping for the veterinary medicine career I've always dreamed of (ugh, can anyone else say SAT's and campus visits without getting nervous like me? hah), and cannot wait to graduate in december just to start some more courses! I'm still in preliminary courses mode, so I cannot wait to get to the clinicals where the action will be!

 

[Plummie]

I don't even mean so that they could be alone in a room together hanging out on the floor...just you know that you can go away and come back with calm happy animals.

This will all depend on the dog's personality but generally speaking, I would never introduce a dog (especially not a playful pup) to a guinea pig. It's just safer to keep the species separate at all times unless you are present and supervising the interaction. Puppies love to chase, play, and romp and would not know how to be "gentle" around the pigs. They are full of boundless energy and can be unpredictable at times.

The pigs would probably be very nervous by the entire thing. I would never trust a dog or cat alone with an open guinea pig cage on the floor. Nothing good could come of it and worse case scenario, the pigs would end up dead like your friends'. I wouldn't even risk it.

It all just made me wonder if you could introduce a puppy to non-skiddish guinea pigs, and train the dog to be tolerable of the pigs? I worry about bringing in a puppy and having to keep the cage in one room, or the puppy in one room, constantly all of the time.

The easiest way to solve this is to put the cage up on large folding banquet tables, off the ground and away from furniture (i.e. couches or chairs) the dog could jump up on. For cats, I would always suggest making a lid.

 

[NewGPMom]

I'm not sure I would temp that with a puppy. Most all puppies are highstrung anyhow and depending on the breed some are worse than others. You might have better luck adopting an older, calm breed of dog.

We have our open piggie cage in our living room and when we go away our dog has free run of the house (unless we are gone mostly all day). When we first brought them home, we put them on the floor with the dog and the dog just layed in the same spot and watched them. He got close enough to get a sniff or two then went back to laying down. We used to shut him up in the laundry room but we forgot a few times when leaving in a hurry and things were fine. We never shut him in now unless we are going to be away most of the day and we have no problems. He is older, though; over 9 years so he is pretty calm (lazy is more like it). Often when we did shut him up he would get out anyhow. As the house settles and ages and with weather changes the door seems to not latch when it closes so he can usually get it open.

 

[LuvMyPiggers]

I would do it just to teach it how to be around it. Not actual interaction like the others said....

 

[CuteButShyPig]

I would let the dog sniff the guinea pig while it is in my hands. But that's about it.

 

[cavy-cool-crazy]

I wouldn't trust one of my dogs around my pigs. I would, however, let my little old, blind, deaf and arthritic dog be in the room while I am holding my pigs, but not while they are runing round, due to his condition. My other dog barks at anything that moves (quite literally), and I don't trust her 100% around them.

I agree with LuvMyPiggers and CuteButShyPig. You never know when your dog will suddenly 'snap', and try to prey on your guinea.

 

[KellyMichelle]

Yeah, I feared with the instinct that they have to actually be dogs sometimes would be a problem, and I could never trust a dog fully around the cage (call me paranoid, I guess).

hah, I didn't clarify what I meant by "leaving and coming home with calm happy animals". I meant the gps in the cage, and the dog allowed in the same room, but I didn't have to worry about the dog constantly barking at the cage or something while I was gone (in lieu of coming home and the gps wheeking and huddling in the corner, and a dog nose to the cage). Because with my doberman, I couldn't even leave the door to my room open or she would harass Tony from outside the cage the whole time. One time we had to turn around on a road trip (2 hours into it) because I couldn't remember closing the door to my room. I was afraid that the dog was barking and freaking Tony out. Luckily I had closed the door, but I just didn't want to go through that again at my own place.

Thanks for all of the answers. I especially like the idea of getting an older dog; being able to know it's a calm tempered dog. But it's months away, and I think I might have been convinced that it might just be me and the gps for awhile. Which I could be totally happy with : )
Thanks again, Kelly