Guinea Pigs and dogs

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chelle83

chelle83

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Hi

I just wondered if any of you out there have dogs as well as guineas? and if yes do the guineas live indoors? I ask because my partners dog may have to come and live with us, at present he lives with his mum but there is a chance we may have to have him.
He is a spinger spaniel and is a right softy but I am really worried about how they would react to having a dog around?
Plus at the moment they have the run of the house when I am at home as their cage opens straight up, if we had the dog I'm guessing they would no longer be able to run freely.
Also would their cage then need to be raised up off the floor?

Chelle, Dudley and Yuri xx
 
Hello :)

I have a Yorkshire Terrier x Jack Russell. He has a few aggression problems but not once has he ever shown aggression to my Guinea Pigs.

I have my guinea pigs in Tier cages and one is very close to the floor so he can see right in! He goes up and has a sniff and most of the time the piggies go up and have a sniff of him too (they also try to nibble his nose through the cage) and my dog just looks at me when they do this! My dog doesnt have free access to the room I keep them in. I have a door on the room and he is only allowed in the room when I am or another member of my family is in there.

I do not have him any where near the room when they are free ranging as I do not trust him enough to play nicely. I go in the "Piggy Room" shut the door tight and then let them run around. I dont even let my dog in the room if the rabbit is having a run around inside.

When I am having lap time with piggies, I sometimes move into the living room and that is where my dog spends most of his time so I cant make him leave the room so I have the piggies on my lap and he will come and have a little sniff at them and then just lies beside my legs and just watches. He soon falls asleep. The other day I had to protect my dog from a rampaging piggy who was running towards him!

So it is possible for them all to live in harmony :) xx
 
I have a springer and have pigs!

Our springer is much too interested in the pigs for my liking so they're well out of reach and they have no contact, it might just be our dog but I think its a breed thing too..

I would definately advise not having them wandering around free range when the dogs about, he may take no interest in the cage but if he does, might need to move too!

EDIT: was slow typing on my phone, Abby has a good reply there! :)
 
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I have pigs and dogs. One dog, border collie x springer spanial is interested in them if allowed to be, and they are equally as interested in her! They come up to the bars and sniff her etc. but that could just be my mad pigs.

The other dog, a jack russell, isn't allowed to know they exist and never the twain shall meet.
 
I have piggies and 2 dogs and ones as daft as a brush with them cries after them waits for the poo to drop and the other has no interest and neither would i trust her as shes a skye terrier :) I think its about knowing your dog and what its like and agree with Abbyguinea :)
 
Yes, I have piggles and 2 collies. I would NEVER leave them where the dogs can get at them but don't have any concerns because the dogs just aren't interested. The pigs aren't worried by the dogs either so it can be fine. Just use your judgement and see how the dog reacts in the first instance.
 
It isnt worth trusting any dog with piggies. My yorkie can walk past the run 100 times then she suddenly turns and barks at them, it is just a game to the dogs but I wouldnt trust them...
 
Agree with not worth trusting, I look after my neighbours terrier in the evenings and he is very interested at first but pretty much ignores them now! They are on a low table so he can come nose to nose but he hasn't tried to get at them. He is a ratter on the livery yard I live on so I thought he would go mad!
 
Hi,

I have a whippet/bedlinton cross and he has always been fine with my three guinea pigs.

Thought that we may have a few problems but always been fine and he is 2 now.

All the best.
 
I have a lurcher and 6 pigs, they have met but under very close supervision and only after them being here for a year and her calming down her prey drive to practically non existant as she is as old as the hills and cant be bothered with them anymore - would I trust her alone with them even now, no I would not, she is a dog and even low prey drive dogs can catch you unawares let alone an ex working lurcher that is too old.

They live in my spare room in open pens (2 pens), the stairgate is always shut and I do have the option to close the door which I did for the visiting lurcher we have back in nov. The herd do go outside when its warm enough and even then the hutch is fenced off so there is a barrier before the front of the hutch and the rule that if the pigs were out in the runs for grass time the dog was inside or taken out on a lead. Better safe than sorry
 
I have an older cocker spaniel who loves my guinea pigs - he has been trained to not go anywhere near the pigs weather they are in cages or roaming on the floor.

If i'm giving the guinea's veg on my lap he will sit in front of them and wait for the guinea to throw some on the floor for him - its quite funny!

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Our cocker is allowed to sniff and lick the guinea pigs (which most of my guinea's seem to love) as long as we are holding them, he also gets a treat when we say stop.

The only time we've ever had an incident was when one of my old guinea's decided to charge at my dog - my dog had his tail between his legs for the rest of the day!

I think it all depends on how you introduce them - we started with a guinea on my lap with dog treats at my side - when our dog was calm and away from the guinea's we would treat him, we would also treat him for sniffing them on command.

As much as i trust my dog i would still never leave them unsupervised x
 
thank you to everyone for their comments, its really helped me to realise this doesnt have to be as hard am I had in my mind. Obviously I would never leave them to run free if a dog was in the room but its given me a good base to start with.
I will keep you posted when the time comes and let you know how I am progressing with things.

Thanks
Chelle, Dudley and Yuri xx
 
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