I Am Going On Holiday...

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mrsw0nka

mrsw0nka

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Well, I have had my pigs since november and i am already worrying about my holiday in june... i have a cruise for 2 weeks plus i will stay with family for an additional week. Although my boyfriend will be coming home after the cruise. BUT he says he refuses to clean the fleece :/ he is a complete germ-a-phobe and he can't stand the thought of touching weed on fleece... so he said he was going to just put in sawdust instead of fleece, but my concern is that all the litter training my girls have taught themselves will disappear? My younger girls actually do get up and go for a wee in the tray... I know changing it out for sawdust will be easier for the person who looks after them while i am away though. Also another suggestion of his was to ask the lady i got them from to look after them, just put them in the big group of piggies they came from. Won't this mess up the hierarchy and maybe make my girls less friendly again by being in a big group of pigs? Then we get in a big argument saying he didn't want them in the first place etc it will always come down to him when i am away...sigh.
 
Honestly! Sometimes people are just hard work aren't they! I know how you feel - I'm going on holiday with my mum in October (New England - cant wait) and although MrS is staying at home the boys are going to have to go into boarding because he doesn't think he can get their food right and he cant cope with cleaning them out! When it comes to responsibilities they are 'my' pigs, when it comes to cuddles suddenly they become 'our' pigs!

I cant comment on the litter training - I was not successful there with my 2. Hope you have a wonderful holiday though!
 
Yes they certainly are! It is the same here, they are my responsibility but whenever i have them out he is always wanting a cuddle... sigh.
I don't know what to do with changing the fleece to sawdust and back again, it will be easier for whoever is looking after them as sweeping daily and changing the newspaper does take some time...
Thanks the cruise is around the Mediterranean so it should be fun although i have to put up with my boyfriends family and his brothers, but thats what cocktails are for! Enjoy yours too!
 
if i ever get the chance of going on holiday all five of my girls are going to a boarding home. Refuse to let my neighbours look after them! My pigs have certain needs! Wouldn't even let my OH look after them as he thinks I'm a little over the top with their care!

i need someone who knows what they are doing and not just someone who chucks in a bit of hay and refills the food bowls.
 
this thread made me smile, my late Bertie (bless his little hairy socks) usually went to my sisters but last September she was having major work done in the house, so I insisted he went with us! We had a chalet in Yarmouth he sat in the front room in his cage and travelled in the car in his carry cage, he loved all the attention. Really pleased now I took him as I still miss the little chap:(
 
I can't comment on the litter training things but taking them back to the lady they came from and put them back into the large group would be a really bad idea. it could potentially upset all their current bonds and hierarchy and be exceptionally stressful. Is there anyway you can pay a professional pet sitter who you trust to come in a care for them? I used to do this before there was a trusted boarding facility near me. The guy I used came to meet with me and discuss the pigs needs and likes before I agreed to book him and he did really well.
 
I thought that putting them back into a big group would be bad, that was my thoughts with the hierarchy etc.
I do have a couple of friends who would look after them, one who has had piggies but i would rather them go to the other friend as she is a cleaner person you know, her place is nice and looked after whereas my guy friend is a bit of a mess... and i feel like the other friend she will have more time for the pigs maybe. But i still can't decide on whether to take the fleece out altogether or not, it will be for 4+ weeks so it may be quite confusing to change from fleece with a tray to just sawdust to fleece with a tray again... my two young girls do tend to use the tray for wees i guess they might learn again?
If i could take my pigs with me i would! I am going to be so bad at leaving them...
 
Oh and i really don't think my boyfriend will let me put them into a boarding place, i don't work at the moment so money is up to him, he would not pay for that...
 
oh no thats a bit of a dilemma :(
Could you treat the piggies to a few new fleeces until the holiday & get him to give them a new fleece every day, leave a pair of Marigolds for him to pick up the soiled fleeces & shove in a bin bag until you get home to wash them?

Not really sure the sawdust is a good idea, they may get it in their eyes or 'bits' & you can never tell what wood has been used in the dust. tell him they're more likely to need a vet visit if on sawdust & you dont want to put him through all that kerfuffle!

I agree with Merrypip in that i wouldnt put them back into a large group only to take them out of it again shortly afterwards it would almost certainly ruin the group dynamics.

Can your local vet suggest a pet sitter that is trustworthy & able to look after them?

i am just so lucky that my mum will always take care of my animals, or dad when needed & if they're on holiday the neighbours will always look in &top up food or water etc all the basics.

Try not to worry too much. at least you have a bit of time to try & find alternatives :)

Hope you enjoy your holiday. xx
 
Do you mean sawdust or shavings? Sawdust really isn't reccommended because it's so dusty and can irritate the respiratory tract, nose, eyes, skin etc. A high quality dust extracted shaving (such as used for horses) is a better option, (although there is still some debate over health issues and shavings).

I think it would be okay to switch to shavings instead of fleece whilst you're away though I would say keep the litter tray in as well and put hay in it/hay rack over it as guineas tend to just pee/poop as they eat and it will help continue the association of the litter tray being the toilet place. They are probably also conditioned to pee/poop when standing on a certain surface not just in a particular place therefore when you switch back to fleece they are likely to resume using the tray because that's where the shavings are. It may be worth changing over before you leave to give the guineas a chance to adjust to the change though they probably won't be that bothered!

I definitely agree with the others about not sending them back to the lady with the big group, it could cause all kinds of problems. Also, I was going to suggest rubber gloves for cleaning out as well!
 
I would seriously think about looking for a professional pet sitter , it will give you peace of mind while you are away. Most will accommodate your pigs needs and should be happy to bed them on fleeces. As mentioned before you may have to buy a few more fleece blankets.

My hubby isnt keen on cleaning out , he wears gloves as he doesnt like touching poop or wee ! Its tough leaving your babies when you go away. maybe one of your friends could step in to help out ? xx
 
AbiS said:
Honestly! Sometimes people are just hard work aren't they! I know how you feel - I'm going on holiday with my mum in October (New England - cant wait) and although MrS is staying at home the boys are going to have to go into boarding because he doesn't think he can get their food right and he cant cope with cleaning them out! When it comes to responsibilities they are 'my' pigs, when it comes to cuddles suddenly they become 'our' pigs!

I cant comment on the litter training - I was not successful there with my 2. Hope you have a wonderful holiday though!
Click to expand...
You're not that far from me if you ever cant get a place in a boarding facility x
 
For the last few years, my piggies have stayed at a small animal boarding hotel. It is family run and the owners own a farm so they have quite a few pets of their own including rabbits and guinea pigs.

When we went away last year, my mum came up to house and animal sit to save us money. This year however, we are going to Spain with my parents so my mum obviously can't house sit.

We asked my Inlaws if they would come and stay this year. They have let us down so I have just booked for them to go to their usual boarding hotel.

If you do decide to go down the boarding route, go for a look around before booking to see if you are comfortable leaving your animals there. Most good places will only be too happy to allow this and accommodate you needs :)
 
I mean wood shavings not sawdust as such, i look out for dust extracted too, i wouldn't want to irritate my girls with dusty stuff. :)
And GPTV, gloves yes i can just tell him to get over it and wear gloves haha my mum would usually look atfer my pets, but since i moved to sweden we dont have any family here. I

Hermes thanks that would be a great idea to keep the tray in where it usually is if i do have to take a rest from the fleece while i am away.

Dashiman i just didn't want to ask my friend to have my pigs for like 4 weeks i thought i might be taking liberties, and since my boyfriend will be back home before me it seems rude to leave them with her, but i guess i can talk to her and see if she minds. She has a while to bond with my pigs before i go. But i also did worry as she has allergies and the hay upsets her. Last time she was here, Kiara weed on her haha she didnt mind though.

Thanks for everyones tips, i will discuss whats best with my friend and i can also look up sitters in case. I am not so worried about loosing their little bit of litter tray training now if i do have to loose the fleece for a bit! :D
 
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