Below I have information and ideas for training a Guinea Pig (GP), these methods have worked for me throughout many years and I have worked with MANY different Guinea Pigs over 50 years. This is not the only way a person can train GP, and not everything one person does works for another.

WE ARE NOT THERE TO SEE WHAT YOU MAY OR MAY NOT BE DOING RIGHT OR WRONG. WE ARE NOT THERE TO SEE HOW YOU HANDLE YOUR OWN GUINEA PIG. WE DO NOT KNOW HOW OLD THE GUINEA PIG IS YOU ARE WORKING WITH OR THE CARE YOU HAVE GIVEN TO IT. WE WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ACCIDENTS OR MISINTERPRETATION OF THESE IDEAS WE HAVE GIVEN HERE.

NAMES MATTER. The worse name for a Dog, Snow. Why? It sounds like NO. Animals learn our words, phrases, body language, food wrapper noises, and mostly, their own names. When you are naming an animal, especially one that will be trained for events, to do tricks, or you will interact with frequently, give them a good, strong, name. A name that will stand out, be different from other animals that might also be at the same event.

You want a name that is different from other words the animal will hear. One that does not rhyme with other words for training, such as No, or Good, or Come, or....you get the idea.

You want a Strong name, for example, Flower is a very cute name, but Rose is a stronger word, one syllable and easy for the animal to recognize.

You have to do the first things first. When you bring your Guinea Pig home, you should, have it's new home/room set up. When you get home with your brand new Guinea Pig, put your GP in that home and leave it there for a couple of days. When feeding, move slowly, talk to the GP, let your hand and 'dangle your hand', that is, just hold your hand in the cage, no matter what your GP does, do not move. After about a minute, slowly move your hand out. Do this any time you are feeding or giving treats, or watering, or cleaning the cage.

Talk to your GP and say the GP's name as you feed, water, clean, any time you inter act with your new pet.

After at least two days, I know it is hard to wait, with a towel on your lap, set your GP in your lap and watch TV or read. Maybe a half hour. The next day, do this again. After the third day, do this twice per day.

On the third day and ever after, give treats to your GP when it is Not Feeding time. Hold the treat in your hand in front of the GP. Say it's name, talk to the GP. If the GP moves, let it settle, then slowly move your hand in front of the GP. I have found a slice of carrot works best, I think it is the smell. Do Not drop or leave the carrot behind if the GP does not take it from your hand. Try again in 15 to 30 minutes later.

When the GP takes a bite or the treat, PRAISE, say in a soft upbeat voice, "Goooood".

Once the GP takes the treat from your hand, you have just started real training.

If you keep doing this, calling the GP by name, it will start coming to you. After a couple of day of the GP coming to you in it's cage, move the GP to a table top with a towel under it (traction). Hold the treat right in front of the GP. Real Training Has Begun.

This photo is of Kevin, his first time sitting on my lap. He was more calm than I expected, this is usually a good sign for a GP a person will be training.

I wish I could say to you that training a GP will take (fill in the blank) amount of time. But it does not work like that. MOST GPs can be trained. But some take longer to train than others. Some really ARE smarter than others. You MUST move slowly, patiently, consistently, with your training. Some GPs really catch on fast, others it takes longer.

CONSISTENCY IS KEY! There WILL be days you will want to give up and think that this site is an April Fool Joke. Don't. Give. Up. I have had GP I thought were Never going to understand, and then, all of a sudden, they started doing what I was asking.

Work on ONE THING/TRICK at a time. Coming When Called is the best place to start. Teach this the same way you taught your GP to take food from your hand. Only after the GP is taking the food, start setting your hand 10" away and calling the GP by name, when it comes, Praise. Now start moving further and further away. Soon your GP will run across the floor to you when you call it's name.

Then, after your GP comes to it's name, it is time to move on to other tricks and training. Doing a "Circle" is a really good next trick. I have other pages here on this site offering ideas for tricks and agility training.

A lot of people hurry this process, then they think their animals are 'stupid'. You must teach your animal to Learn to Learn. That is, by teaching your GP to accept your hand in it's cage, take the food you offer from your hand, then to come to it's name, you have taught your GP to Learn to Learn. It now knows there is reward in human interaction.

While one animal surely learns from another, proven over and over and over again, you MUST train one GP at a time. Once they are going well each, then, and only then, can you get them working together.

ONLY ONE GUINEA PIG AT A TIME ON THE AGILITY COURSE!

Treats are the motivator. Just as a person goes to work each and every week day for a PAYCHECK, your GP will preform for you for their TREATS! It is as simple as that.

The BEST part is However, the animals come for the treats, and stay for the love.

First try putting the GP in a large clean cardboard box. Nothing else in it. Dangle your hand into the box. After a minute or two reach for the GP. Repeat a few times, then put your GP back into it's cage. Repeat this over a few days or until the GP gets used to your hand.

Try this. If she is running from you in her cage, get her out and set her on a table top that has nothing else on it except something at the sides so that the GP can not fall or jump off. Offer her a bite of a carrot. As she is chewing on the carrot, move to the other side of the table, hold the carrot down on her level and call her. When she comes, give her a bite and again, as she chews the carrot, move to the other side. Do this five moves a day for the next three days. When she is coming right to you as you move, you should then move from the side of the table to the end of the table and do the same. She will lean a lot from this. She will learn not to be afraid of you, to come when called, she will learn that she really does like you and your treats, AND she will learn to learn. Learning to learn is the first step in trick or agility training. The bond begins.

Do not leave the treat behind after offering it out of your hand. Come back in two or three minutes, and hold the treat again. Keep doing this. The two to three minutes gives the GP time to think.

The contents of this page for Basic Guinea Pig Training is still under construction. Please check back later!