Ellie Larson
New Born Pup
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2016
- Messages
- 5
- Reaction score
- 2
- Points
- 65
I've been doing some research for a month or two about rodents, and I really would love to get a couple guinea pigs. My only problem is that I have two dogs.
My family took care of a guinea pig for our friend a long while ago. One of my dogs didn't care at all, but the other dog would incessantly bark at it.
At first, he didn't know there was anything in the cage (it was on top of the kitchen counter) but when he found out, he went crazy. We moved the cavy into my room, put it on a high shelf, and locked the door when we were gone, just in case. My dogs are about 30 pounds, so they couldn't reach super far up. However, my dog kept barking and barking at the door. This was before I learned anything about guinea pigs. In the end, we put a doggy gate at the bottom of the stairs so he wouldn't bark at the door. (My room was upstairs, and apparently if he was downstairs the cage was too far away for him to care.)
I would never let my dogs be near the pigs while they are out of cage, even if I'm supervising.
However, my family would not appreciate being unable to let the dogs upstairs. I don't want to cause all that noise or scare the pigs by having my dog bark at the door. I don't know whether my dog would get used to the pigs and get bored, or just be okay with the pigs if I introduce them slowly and properly. So my question is, is it possible to have pigs with my dogs? Or should I just wait until I move out? Is there a way to know if the animals will get along beforehand? And, mainly, if it's possible, how do I make sure they get along? What steps can I take to calm my dog down and have them "coexist"? I really want cavies, but not if my dog is constantly barking and scaring them. Thanks!
My family took care of a guinea pig for our friend a long while ago. One of my dogs didn't care at all, but the other dog would incessantly bark at it.
At first, he didn't know there was anything in the cage (it was on top of the kitchen counter) but when he found out, he went crazy. We moved the cavy into my room, put it on a high shelf, and locked the door when we were gone, just in case. My dogs are about 30 pounds, so they couldn't reach super far up. However, my dog kept barking and barking at the door. This was before I learned anything about guinea pigs. In the end, we put a doggy gate at the bottom of the stairs so he wouldn't bark at the door. (My room was upstairs, and apparently if he was downstairs the cage was too far away for him to care.)
I would never let my dogs be near the pigs while they are out of cage, even if I'm supervising.
However, my family would not appreciate being unable to let the dogs upstairs. I don't want to cause all that noise or scare the pigs by having my dog bark at the door. I don't know whether my dog would get used to the pigs and get bored, or just be okay with the pigs if I introduce them slowly and properly. So my question is, is it possible to have pigs with my dogs? Or should I just wait until I move out? Is there a way to know if the animals will get along beforehand? And, mainly, if it's possible, how do I make sure they get along? What steps can I take to calm my dog down and have them "coexist"? I really want cavies, but not if my dog is constantly barking and scaring them. Thanks!