peeing

Question
Hi, when I put my guinea pig down on the couch with my boyfriend. Until when he has to pee, then he moves backwards into my boyfriend. i dont know when he has to pee exactly, only when he's about to. So far my guinea pig has peed on my boyfriend about 5 times while on me, none. There was a time when he actually went on to my boyfriend's lap and peed on him. Why does my guinea pig keep peeing on my boyfriend and never on me? Why does my guinea pig get put on to the couch and goes straight to my boyfriend to pee? How do i stop this?  

Answer
Hello Christine,

Well....It's possible he wants your boyfriend's attention, it's possible he's jealous of your boyfriend, it's even possible he just doesn't like your boyfriend for some reason, but it's most likely that that is just where he thinks he is supposed to go. The best thing to do it try to retrain him. Get a towel and keep it with you everytime you have him out. Immediately when he starts to back up plop him on the towel and keep him there until he goes. Then give him a treat ( a small slice of baby carrot is typically what I use for training) and praise him. When he does pee on your boyfriend, firmly tell him no in a loud voice and don't give him a treat. Then place him on the towel and praise him. Hopefully, retraining will correct the problem. In case it's one of the first 3 reasons, you should work on your boyfriend's relationship with your piggy. Have your boyfriend give him treats and cuddles and attention so they can build up a bond between them. Have him spend time with the piggy when you aren't in the room. Have your boyfriend go get the piggy when it's time to come out for playtime. Anything your piggy enjoys have your boyfriend be a big part of. You need to make your piggy think your boyfriend is wonderful. Also, make sure you spend lots of quality alone time with your piggy too so he doesn't feel like your boyfriend is taking your time away from him. Piggies really are very intellegent animals who generally feel very deeply and they can act out if things aren't going their way. Hopefully with a bit of retraining and possibly some relationship building things will get better for all 3 of you.

-kkat
www.geocities.com/abyssinianguineapigs