run away

Question
My guinea pig was in my backyard on the grass, all of a sudden he freaked out and ran.
I didn't know what to do, so i froze.
I ran to catch him, but he ran from each side of the backyard 3 times, but in the end he ended up running through the gates into a ginger bush.

I thought he was gone for good and bought another guinea pig to keep the other one company.
I kept seeing the one that ran away on the lawn and eventually with some help from my father we caught him with the pool net and some carrot.

1stly, How can i get my guinea pigs to be calm with me and not run away when on the lawn?

Also, i have heard about guinea pigs that respond to their names, How do they do this?

and thirdly, my guinea pigs wont eat oranges and i'm worried they aren't getting enough vitamin C.
I have bought Vitamin C drops to put in their water, Is this enough ?

Thanks heaps.

Answer
Julie,

To make them feel safe on the lawn is simple, place an out door chair or make a little play pen of some type anything you can place a big towel or a blanket over it. They'll feel better about being on the lawn as they are prey animals and birds of prey are their biggest predator. So being wide out in the open makes them very nervous.

To get them calm around you is easy, just handle them a little more and talk to them. Guinea Pigs communicate mostly through sound and touch. So by handling them more and talking to them you are communicating with them. Which in turn calms them as they feel safer around you.

Guinea Pigs can and do respond to their names. When talking to them make sure to use their name when talking to them, this reinforces the train you do to get them to respond to their names. Take their favorite treat and tie a string around it. Sit on the floor with a Guinea Pig and place the treat in front of them. Call their name and slowly pull the treat towards you all the while calling their name. After about a week or two, they should know their name so start just calling them and once they come to you give them a treat, do that again for another week or two. After that they'll know their names and respond to them with out any problems.

There are other foods that are full of C that you can feed them, to replace the oranges. As with water drops many Guinea Pigs don't like the taste, they really aren't getting enough C with it and the C is only good for 8 hours. Some other good foods are, bell peppers, spinach, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, apples, celery, cucumbers, Dandelion Greens, Kale, Mustard Greens, Parsley, Raspberries, and Tomatos. All are good foods full of vitamin C.

I hope this helps,
  Take care,
    Jules