Taming Your Guinea Pig

A Step-By-Step Guide To Taming Your Guinea Pig

In Care by Ana M

Now that you organized a safe home for you guinea pig, learned about the diet and have an idea of how to take care of a piggy, it’s just a right time to discuss how you will tame and train your pet. First, do you actually now what is taming? Something to do with handling? Here is a best description of taming I came up with:

Taming is a way of handling a pet in a calm and gentle manner making sure that your pet is used to being held and carried around.

So, in this post I am going to talk about the tips and tricks you can use to handle your pet in the most effective way. But, first, let’s talk about the extinguishing characteristics of guinea pigs to get a better understanding of what works when it comes to taming.

Nature of guinea pigs

The secret of a successful taming is in the understanding of their nature. As soon as you start to try to handle a piggy you notice that they tend to be quite jumpy. It is very important to remain patient. So, let’s dig down into the science of being a guinea pig! Our precious pets are prey animals in the wild and have mastered their survival instincts. It is no wonder they try to run away as soon as anyone tries to handle them. That is why patience is a key in building trust between you and your pet.

Step 1 – Leave your guinea pig alone!

Believe it or not but leaving your guinea pig alone for the first couple of days will make a huge difference. Let your pet to adapt to the new environment first. And, trust me, your guinea pig is going to do it better without any additional help from the owner.

Step 2 – Daily lap time is a must

Now that your pet is comfortable in the cage he has to get familiar with you. Once you learned the handling technique, pick up a guinea pig and hold it on a towel in your lap whilst sitting on the floor. That way your pet is going to be comfortable. Also, being on the floor is safe for you and a guinea pig. Why? Remember that guinea pigs tend to jump when they are afraid, so by being on the floor you can avoid unpleasant accidents. For example, a frightened guinea pig can try to escape from your lap and run away.

Make sure you spend from 10 to 20 mins holding a guinea pig in your lap each day to create a habit for your pet. This leads to a third step – building a much needed for guinea pigs routine.

Step 3 – Create a routine for a guinea pig

Guinea pigs LOVE routine. Eating at the same time daily, play time twice a day and going to sleep exactly at 9pm? Well, you get an idea. The same applies for the learning to be tamed. You have to approach this task with the same regularity. A solid routine helps a guinea pig to adapt to a new environment quickly.

So, set up a certain time of the day when you are going to be taming your piggy and remember to be patient.

Step 4 – Treats and more treats

I always recommend creating association between treats and handling. At the end of the day guinea pigs remain guinea pigs who love to eat. Giving your pet a treat each time it accepts handling will accelerate the taming process. Make sure that the cage is free of any snacks, so your pet is going to wait for a treat every time you try to pick it up.

Determine which treats your pet fancies the most and give that special food to a guinea pig from your hand every day. That way you let him know that you are a provider of the favorite treat and he will start to approach you comfortably.

Food always serves as a good motivation for piggies but in order to avoid the obesity problem, make sure these are healthy and watch the amounts you are giving!

Step 5 – Alternate the treats with other rewards

Giving your guinea pigs treats is a great way to establish a trust between the owner and a pet, however, you should alternate the food with other rewards. As I already mentioned, an excessive treating can lead to obesity and you want to have a strong connection with your pet whether treats are present or not.

So, once guinea pig becomes more comfortable, start switching from the treats to positive praise to stop your piggy from expecting a delicious food every time.

Another alternative to treats is toys. You can use them in your taming training sessions. Again, make sure you don’t leave them in the cage, so your piggy stays interested in them. Hold his favorite toy in your hand and wait for a guinea pig to reach it. Repeat the exercise daily.

Step 6 – Create a taming schedule

Setting up a certain time of the day for the taming sessions is a great part of the process to create a solid routine. It makes sense to separate the training into two sessions: one in the evening and one in the morning. Dedicate a few minutes in the morning with the pet and have a recap in the evening.

Step 7 – Keep the taming sessions short

Keep the taming sessions short and fun. Bare in mind that guinea pig’s attention span is from 5 to 15 mins meaning that you don’t want to exceed the 20 minutes session time. I would recommend to spend first 10 minutes in the morning and then a second half in the evening. As I mentioned before, the first encounters can be up to 15 mins once a day when you are holding a piggy on your lap.

Step 8 – Tame on a positive note

It is very important to make sure that you get in contact with your pet in a positive mood. Your pat can feel whether you are in a bad mood and will be frightened. Also, keeping the sessions fun is going to make the whole process more enjoyable and your piggy is going to learn quicker.

Step 9 – Build the trust

Pets are willing to learn something new when they can trust you. The first step is to have a positive approach as we already discussed. Then, you need to eliminate the anger, raising of the voice and of course the punishments. Always stay quite, patient and positive when trying to tame a guinea pig. As a result, your pet feels comfortable when being handled because he can trust you.

Step 10 – Take small steps

Take baby steps in the taming process. And what I mean by it is taking your time to make sure that a guinea pig is used to you. Come up to the cage from 5 to up to 8 times a day and just start talking to it. Always talk slowly, softly and in a positive manner to your pet. That way guinea pig becomes used to your voice and feels more comfortable being around you.

After a week of this regular check ups you can start giving your guinea pig to sniff your hand. It is a small step but very important step in a taming process. Stick your hand in the guinea pig’ cage. Wait for the pet to approach it and start sniffing. It depends on the guinea pig’s mood whether it is going to sniff your hand a not. Nevertheless, it is a good practice for both outgoing and shy pets.