Guinea pig is a very social animal. in the wild, they live in large groups and have a complex social hierarchy. they, therefore, can get along famously with other pets, including cats, dogs, rabbits and other guinea pigs. However, whether or not there is harmony in a particular multipart household depends largely on the individual animal involved, as well as the owner.
If your guinea pig is going to live happily in your house, she will need to get used to your other pets. it can take considerable time, patience and commitment to teaching your dog and cat to get along with a new guinea pig.neverforce pets on each other, and always supervise your animals while they are together. make sure that you devote special attention to this aspect of guinea pig ownership since your guinea pigs existence depends on
when incomes to dogs, guinea pig owners have to take special care. dogs and guinea pigs are natural enemies, dog are predators and guinea pigs are prey animals, it is instinctive for dogs to chase and kill guinea pigs, and it's instinctive for guinea pigs to fear dog and run from them. if you're going to keep both a guinea pig and dog as pets, you need to be aware of this inherent tension between the two creatures.
If your guinea pig is going to live happily in your house, she will need to get used to your other pets. it can take considerable time, patience and commitment to teaching your dog and cat to get along with a new guinea pig.neverforce pets on each other, and always supervise your animals while they are together. make sure that you devote special attention to this aspect of guinea pig ownership since your guinea pigs existence depends on
Guinea pigs and dogs
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| pigs and dogs |
The safest way to handle a dog guinea pig relationship is to never allow the dog and guinea pig to be loose together in the home the dog and guinea pig to be loose together in the home or backyard. no dog can be completely trusted with a small rodent like a guinea pig.a dog can kill a guinea pig in a matter of seconds.
Most dogs can be trained to respect a caged guinea pig,however.they can be taught not to harass the guinea pig while she is in her cage and to leave you alone while you are holding your guinea pig un your arms.
If you already have a dog and would like to bring a guinea pig into your home, there are some points you should consider. First of all, think about your dog's personality. is he a mellow old couch potato who is hard pressed to get upset or excited. dogs that are older and calmer usually do better when new pets are introduced. be careful, though .the mellowest of dogs can suddenly come to life when he sees a guinea pig scarring across the floor.
If you do have a young, easily excitable dog, guinea pig ownership may still work out for you, provided you are able to control your dog. during the introduction process, you will have to be able to contain your dog's enthusiasm. if he ignores you call him and basically marches to the beat of his own drummer, you will have a problem.
Assuming that your dog is controllable, think about his past relationships with other animals ,is he aggressive towards cat ?does he like to chase rabbit and other small animals around the yard or when you take him for a walk ?have you given him encouragement to do this ?if your answer to these questions is yes, you will have a difficult time teaching your dog that the new guinea pig is hands off, since he has already learned that its okay to chase smaller animals, you can certainly give it a try, but you may have to consider keeping the two animals apart indefinitely or simply passing on guinea pig ownership.
Consider your dogs breed as well. many terriers, some types of hounds and a number of other breeds have been bred for hundreds of years to hunt small mammals. if your dog comes from one of these hunting breeds, keep in mind that one look at your new guinea pig could trigger previously dormant hunting instincts in your dog .in this situation, you will have to work even harder to teach your dog to override his natural instincts and not harass your guinea pig.
If you have determined that your dog is controlled enough to attempt making friends with a guinea pig, you can begin the gradual process of introducing the two animals,
Make sure your new guinea pig has had some time to get used to her new home before you introduce her to your dog. Once she seems comfortable, start the proceedings by placing your dog on a leash and asking an adult whom the dog respects to be in control of him.
Allow your dog to gradually approach the guinea pigs cage in a quiet manner. If the dog gets rambunctious, correct him by saying no! and quickly jerking the leash. When the dog stands quietly, praise him to let him know that this is the kind of behaviours you expect from him when he is close to the guinea pig.
When your guinea pig first lays eyes on your guinea dog, she will undoubtedly be frightened. she will probably dive into her nest box and hide. let her stay there since she will feel much more secure this way .eventually if the dog behaves in a no threatening manner. the guinea pig may become braver and more curious, finally venturing out of the nest box to investigate,
Once the dog and guinea pig are comfortable with each other in this scenario and your guinea pig is used to being out of her cage without the dog present, you can try carrying your guinea pig in your arms with the dog present. Being your session indoors by placing the dog on a leash. you may also want to muzzle him. just to be safe.
Take your guinea pig out of the cage and hold her in your arms as you move slowly across the room. reassure the guinea pig with a soothing voice while the person holding the leash allow the dog to watch you if the dog acts aggressively, correct him by saying no
And jerking on the leash. if he sits by and quietly watches, praises him.
The guinea pig may become frightened by the dog's close proximity and the fact that she is outside of her cage, and may struggle to get away. your dog's first impulse will be to get away. your dog's first impulse will be to get excited about this, Teach him that this not acceptable, and jump on you. using the dog's obedience training, tell him to sit so that he will come to understand this is a special animal that cannot be harmed in any way.
Most dogs can be trained to respect a caged guinea pig,however.they can be taught not to harass the guinea pig while she is in her cage and to leave you alone while you are holding your guinea pig un your arms.
If you already have a dog and would like to bring a guinea pig into your home, there are some points you should consider. First of all, think about your dog's personality. is he a mellow old couch potato who is hard pressed to get upset or excited. dogs that are older and calmer usually do better when new pets are introduced. be careful, though .the mellowest of dogs can suddenly come to life when he sees a guinea pig scarring across the floor.
If you do have a young, easily excitable dog, guinea pig ownership may still work out for you, provided you are able to control your dog. during the introduction process, you will have to be able to contain your dog's enthusiasm. if he ignores you call him and basically marches to the beat of his own drummer, you will have a problem.
Assuming that your dog is controllable, think about his past relationships with other animals ,is he aggressive towards cat ?does he like to chase rabbit and other small animals around the yard or when you take him for a walk ?have you given him encouragement to do this ?if your answer to these questions is yes, you will have a difficult time teaching your dog that the new guinea pig is hands off, since he has already learned that its okay to chase smaller animals, you can certainly give it a try, but you may have to consider keeping the two animals apart indefinitely or simply passing on guinea pig ownership.
Consider your dogs breed as well. many terriers, some types of hounds and a number of other breeds have been bred for hundreds of years to hunt small mammals. if your dog comes from one of these hunting breeds, keep in mind that one look at your new guinea pig could trigger previously dormant hunting instincts in your dog .in this situation, you will have to work even harder to teach your dog to override his natural instincts and not harass your guinea pig.
If you have determined that your dog is controlled enough to attempt making friends with a guinea pig, you can begin the gradual process of introducing the two animals,
Make sure your new guinea pig has had some time to get used to her new home before you introduce her to your dog. Once she seems comfortable, start the proceedings by placing your dog on a leash and asking an adult whom the dog respects to be in control of him.
Allow your dog to gradually approach the guinea pigs cage in a quiet manner. If the dog gets rambunctious, correct him by saying no! and quickly jerking the leash. When the dog stands quietly, praise him to let him know that this is the kind of behaviours you expect from him when he is close to the guinea pig.
When your guinea pig first lays eyes on your guinea dog, she will undoubtedly be frightened. she will probably dive into her nest box and hide. let her stay there since she will feel much more secure this way .eventually if the dog behaves in a no threatening manner. the guinea pig may become braver and more curious, finally venturing out of the nest box to investigate,
Once the dog and guinea pig are comfortable with each other in this scenario and your guinea pig is used to being out of her cage without the dog present, you can try carrying your guinea pig in your arms with the dog present. Being your session indoors by placing the dog on a leash. you may also want to muzzle him. just to be safe.
Take your guinea pig out of the cage and hold her in your arms as you move slowly across the room. reassure the guinea pig with a soothing voice while the person holding the leash allow the dog to watch you if the dog acts aggressively, correct him by saying no
And jerking on the leash. if he sits by and quietly watches, praises him.
The guinea pig may become frightened by the dog's close proximity and the fact that she is outside of her cage, and may struggle to get away. your dog's first impulse will be to get away. your dog's first impulse will be to get excited about this, Teach him that this not acceptable, and jump on you. using the dog's obedience training, tell him to sit so that he will come to understand this is a special animal that cannot be harmed in any way.
Repeat these scenarios until your dog gets the message. (muzzling your dog while the guinea pig is in your arms is highly recommended until you are completely confident that he will not harm the guinea pig )it may take a couple of months, but if you are consistent, you should see results.
Cats are usually better companions for guinea pigs than dogs, primarily because the two species are more similar in size. While cats are predators and often inclined to chase guinea pigs, they are less capable of doing damage than dogs, which can kill a guinea pig with one snap of their jaws, it is rare that a cat will be so aggressive toward a guinea pig that the two cannot be housemates.
When preparing to introduce your cat and your guinea pig, start out by buying a harness for your cat and get thing him used to wear it. Having your cat wear the harness during the no cage introduction will give you control over him should he become combative .you should also have a water-filled squirt gun handy in case your cat gets out of hand and you need to spray the cat to discipline.
Start out by showing the guinea pig to your cat while the guinea pig is still in her cage.the two animals will be very wary of each other at first, and the guinea pig may hide in her nest box.
If your cat approaches tentatively and does not behave aggressively toward the guinea pig, reward him with praise and possibly even a treat. if he hisses at the guinea pig and runs away, ignore it. she will undoubtedly come back to investigate and will eventually get used to the intruder. if the cat reaches his arm into the cage and tries to get at the guinea pigs, squirt the cat with the water pistol from a distance. This will let him know that aggressive behaviour toward the guinea pig is not acceptable.
Once the two animals begin to ignore each other, you will know that you are ready for the next step. Allow your guinea pig out of her cage indoors, with your cat on the harness. When the guinea pigs move, the cat may act as if he wants to chase her. don't allow it. Instead, keep the cat still and let him watch the guinea pig move around the room until he gets used to the idea that he’s not allowed to chase.
You will need to repeat these get acquainted sessions on a regular basis until both animals are comfortable with each other. it may take some time, but in most cases, your efforts will pay off.
Off course, the safest way to have a cat and a guinea pig in the same home is to keep the guinea pig caged or secure in your arms while the cats are present, never, under any circumstances, leave your cat and guinea pig alone together unsupervised.
The first step toward a successful friendship among guinea pigs is spaying and neutering, particularly in the case of two males, Raging hormones can cause an intact male guinea pig to fight with another guinea pig he might normally get along with. Spaying and neutering both female and male guinea pigs eliminate hormones from the equation, making the animals calmer and more docile.
Guinea pigs and cats
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pigs and cats
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When preparing to introduce your cat and your guinea pig, start out by buying a harness for your cat and get thing him used to wear it. Having your cat wear the harness during the no cage introduction will give you control over him should he become combative .you should also have a water-filled squirt gun handy in case your cat gets out of hand and you need to spray the cat to discipline.
Start out by showing the guinea pig to your cat while the guinea pig is still in her cage.the two animals will be very wary of each other at first, and the guinea pig may hide in her nest box.
If your cat approaches tentatively and does not behave aggressively toward the guinea pig, reward him with praise and possibly even a treat. if he hisses at the guinea pig and runs away, ignore it. she will undoubtedly come back to investigate and will eventually get used to the intruder. if the cat reaches his arm into the cage and tries to get at the guinea pigs, squirt the cat with the water pistol from a distance. This will let him know that aggressive behaviour toward the guinea pig is not acceptable.
Once the two animals begin to ignore each other, you will know that you are ready for the next step. Allow your guinea pig out of her cage indoors, with your cat on the harness. When the guinea pigs move, the cat may act as if he wants to chase her. don't allow it. Instead, keep the cat still and let him watch the guinea pig move around the room until he gets used to the idea that he’s not allowed to chase.
You will need to repeat these get acquainted sessions on a regular basis until both animals are comfortable with each other. it may take some time, but in most cases, your efforts will pay off.
Off course, the safest way to have a cat and a guinea pig in the same home is to keep the guinea pig caged or secure in your arms while the cats are present, never, under any circumstances, leave your cat and guinea pig alone together unsupervised.
Other guinea pigs
Fostering cohabitation between two guinea pigs can be even more complicated than encouraging it among a dog and cat. In the wild, guinea pigs live with their own kind in complex societies. whenever a guinea pig is introduced to a member of her own species, the two rodents have to figure out just where each one of them fits in the pecking order.The first step toward a successful friendship among guinea pigs is spaying and neutering, particularly in the case of two males, Raging hormones can cause an intact male guinea pig to fight with another guinea pig he might normally get along with. Spaying and neutering both female and male guinea pigs eliminate hormones from the equation, making the animals calmer and more docile.
When deciding whether or not two guinea pigs will become friends, keep in mind that gender pigs will become friends, keep in mind that gender can be an important factor, spayed females and neutered males tend to get along better than other gender combinations, although two intact females have been known to become good friends.
Introducing two guinea pigs is different than introducing a dog and a guinea pig or a cat and guinea pig. Guinea pigs see other guinea pigs differently than they do members of other species and are capable of behaving much more aggressively with each other.
In many situations, guinea pigs who are strangers will behave assertively toward each other. This is why it is necessary to gradually allow them to get used to one another.
Begin by finding a place of neutral territory, where neither guinea pig has had a chance to stake a claim. This can be a room in the house where neither has ever been or even the back seat of a parked car. Placing the guinea pigs on unclaimed turf will temper their instinctive urge to defend territory.
Keep the guinea pigs in their individual cages at first, and put the cages next to each other on neutral turf. Leave them together like this as often as possible.
Once their tensions have subsided and they tensions have subsided and they seem less hostile toward each other through the bars of their cages, take them out and let them get close to each other in the neutral space. There might be some fighting, but you can break it up by squirting your water gun at the two culprits. Provided you have not mixed two intact males, the guinea pigs will eventually work things out and will learn to tolerate each other or, hopefully, become fast friends, again, this is the most likely scenario if the guinea pigs are spayed or neutered.
Introducing two guinea pigs is different than introducing a dog and a guinea pig or a cat and guinea pig. Guinea pigs see other guinea pigs differently than they do members of other species and are capable of behaving much more aggressively with each other.
In many situations, guinea pigs who are strangers will behave assertively toward each other. This is why it is necessary to gradually allow them to get used to one another.
Begin by finding a place of neutral territory, where neither guinea pig has had a chance to stake a claim. This can be a room in the house where neither has ever been or even the back seat of a parked car. Placing the guinea pigs on unclaimed turf will temper their instinctive urge to defend territory.
Keep the guinea pigs in their individual cages at first, and put the cages next to each other on neutral turf. Leave them together like this as often as possible.
Once their tensions have subsided and they tensions have subsided and they seem less hostile toward each other through the bars of their cages, take them out and let them get close to each other in the neutral space. There might be some fighting, but you can break it up by squirting your water gun at the two culprits. Provided you have not mixed two intact males, the guinea pigs will eventually work things out and will learn to tolerate each other or, hopefully, become fast friends, again, this is the most likely scenario if the guinea pigs are spayed or neutered.
