Expecting

Question
What else can you train them to do?
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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
I have had many cavies over my life, but I bought a pair for the students to play with and I keep them in my library...did I mention I was a librarian at an elementary school?  I believe our little Gracie is pregnant now.   There is a little golf ball in her tummy we can feel and she's looking a little porky.  So my question is this...does the daddy HAVE to be removed?  I remove my daddy mice because sometimes they will bite up the pups.  I know baby cavies come out romping and ready to go, so does dad enjoy being dad or not?  Also Dad is beginning to have long nails and won't stop wiggling long enough for me to get a snip.  I am afraid to hit the quick when he's bouncing around.  Any nail clipping techniques to share?
-----Answer-----
Hello Debra,

Yes, unless Daddy has been nuetered since his encounter with Mommy, he needs to be removed. He won't hurt the pups (in my experience males love babies) however, he will impregnate Mom again shortly after she gives birth. Pregnancy and nursing are hard enough on Mom without being pregnant while nursing. I'm not sure how much you know about cavy pregnancy, but it sounds like this may be your first pregnancy so I'm going to send you a few very good links dealing with it that will give you an idea of what to expect and hopefully have you ready for anything. As for Dad's nails, teaching him to lay on his back is what I suggest. It works with even my most rambunctious so I'm sure with a bit of patience and alot of treats, you'll be able to teach him too. First, have treats handy. Once a day sit down and flip him over onto his back and hold him firmly until he stops struggling, then immediately let him up and give him a treat. Repeat this until he will be still immediately after you flip him over. Then slowly lengthen the time that he has to stay turned over and always give him a treat after you let him up. While he's on his back mess with his feet, check his teeth, and basically get him used to having things done to him while he's down. Soon he should lay still enough on his back for you to be able to clip his nails. If he's really active, it may take a while, but be patient and he'll get it. If the first few tries, he just won't be still and he's been pinned down for 5 minutes or so, go ahead and let him up but DON'T give him a treat. Try again the next day. Before he gets to the point where he's still enough to clip his nails, you may want to check with your local vet. Some will clip nails free of charge. Oh, and always have corn starch or quick stop ready in case you do accidentally clip a quick. Good luck with Mom's pregnancy and Dad's nail clipping.

http://www.guinealynx.info/reproduction.html

http://cavyspirit.com/breeding.htm

http://www.diddly-di.fsnet.co.uk/breeding.htm

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/2517/pregnant.htm

http://www.geocities.com/abyssinianguineapigs/breeding.html

http://www.lienanimal.com/z_guineapreg.pdf

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/pets/guinea-pig-faq/section-8.html

-kkat

Answer
Hello Debra,

They can be taught alot of things. Clicker training is supposed to work very well with them (though I've never clicker trained any of my pets so I can't confirm it). I actually have a picture of one of my girls, Jordan, jumping through her hoop as my profile picture.

http://www.allexperts.com/expert.cgi?m=1&catID=1574&expID=74141

I'll give you instructions for that trick at the bottom of this message as well as a link to a page with some simple clicker training tricks they can learn. They can be taught basic agility (as long as things are kept pretty low because they aren't really very agile) on a piggy sized agility course similar to those built for dogs. They can be taught to come when they are called. I even have a friend who managed to teach hers to play a little piano. Basically, as long as they are physically capable of doing something, they can be taught to do it if you take the time to find a way to teach them. Piggies are really very intellegent animals and will do pretty much anything for veggie treats. Piggies with a high food drive tend to be the easiest to teach. You have to be careful not to over do it though or you will end up with a very fat piggy. One short session a day (5 to 10 minutes) is plenty. They tend to learn very quickly. Jordy was jumping through her hoop perfectly by the second session and she loved it. In fact she would try to jump through the hoop before it was even all the way set up and would stand in the middle of it watching me impatiently when it was laying flat on the table. Anyway, here are the hoop trick instructions and the link I promised.

Hoop Trick:
What you need: a hoop (an embroidery ring works well), veggie treats, a
piggy
What to do:
1. Hold the hoop, standing on end, flat on the ground with piggy on on
the side of the hoop opposite your free hand and a treat in the hand
not holding the hoop.
2. Hold the food treat just in front of the piggy's nose and lead him
through the hoop with it telling him "Through the hoop" or "Jump" or
whatever command phrase or word you choose.
3. Give him the treat.
4. Repeat process a few times.
5. After a few tries, put the piggy on one side of the hoop and show
him the treat then hold the treat on the opposite side of the hoop
without guiding him through and give the command phrase or word.
6. It may take a few tries. If he still doesn't quite understand, guide
him a few more times and then try again.
7. After he is going through the hoop without any guiding, slowly raise
the hoop a teeny bit each time (it should not be raised more than 2
inches total, that's about as high as you can expect from any piggy, for
some piggies no more than 1 inch is better).
8. Congratulations! Show off your well trained piggy to your family and
friends.
NOTE: Remember to always give your piggy his treat when he completes
the trick. Otherwise, he'll decide he doesn't care to bother anymore.
Also make training sessions no more than 10 minutes. If you start to get
too frustrated, stop the session and try again tomorrow. It will usually
take at least a few sessions for the piggy to successfully complete the
trick. Don't get too discouraged. He will learn with patience, love,
and time.

Pick Up The Basket:
http://vickysclickertraining.com/guinea_pig_training.html

-kkat
www.geocities.com/abyssinianguineapigs