PETS @ HOME. SO WRONG FUMING.

David Piggie Lover

David Piggie Lover

Senior Guinea Pig
Joined
May 25, 2017
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Location
lancashire
Just been collecting more hay and things for piggies. .
A family buying a guinea pig . . Sale lad telling them what they eat etc.
I caught a few of what he was saying including ." They don't like Lettuce"
"Don't eat Cucumber" "pellets are good" be ok too handle after a couple days. . :hb: :cen:
Couldn't take anymore and suggested that the information was very bad and wrong for the health of piggie.
The mother tho busy pleasing son with this living toy. . Did take in what I said and I gave her forum address. .
I didn't look at piggie cos that hurts me. .
Hope they look at forum. .
I'm going to email P@H and ask them why they giving WRONG advise.:cen:
 
David Piggie Lover said:
Just been collecting more hay and things for piggies. .
A family buying a guinea pig . . Sale lad telling them what they eat etc.
I caught a few of what he was saying including ." They don't like Lettuce"
"Don't eat Cucumber" "pellets are good" be ok too handle after a couple days. . :hb: :cen:
Couldn't take anymore and suggested that the information was very bad and wrong for the health of piggie.
The mother tho busy pleasing son with this living toy. . Did take in what I said and I gave her forum address. .
I didn't look at piggie cos that hurts me. .
Hope they look at forum. .
I'm going to email P@H and ask them why they giving WRONG advise.:cen:
Click to expand...
I keep having similar issues at my local p@h I posted about the family that were told their rabbit didn't need a friend and would probably get on fine with their cat. It's usually hamster advice that is the worst though at my local one.
 
Bill & Ted said:
yes, an proper info sheet for each species would be excellent, it costs them nothing. It’s about time they upped their staff training it’s pathetic too :cen:
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They do have basic leaflets that they hand out too, the only issue is the information in that is not great either.
 
Always annoys me. I'm lucky, one of the girls at our local P@H used to work at a guinea pig rescue so is very good at giving the correct advice. The worst bit is, they sell a book for new guinea pig owners at £4.99 which is really good... ah typical
 
David Piggie Lover said:
Just been collecting more hay and things for piggies. .
A family buying a guinea pig . . Sale lad telling them what they eat etc.
I caught a few of what he was saying including ." They don't like Lettuce"
"Don't eat Cucumber" "pellets are good" be ok too handle after a couple days. . :hb: :cen:
Couldn't take anymore and suggested that the information was very bad and wrong for the health of piggie.
The mother tho busy pleasing son with this living toy. . Did take in what I said and I gave her forum address. .
I didn't look at piggie cos that hurts me. .
Hope they look at forum. .
I'm going to email P@H and ask them why they giving WRONG advise.:cen:
Click to expand...

I'm glad you intervened. Don't be too harsh on the member of staff, it's likely they thought they were doing the right thing and regurgitating the information they have been trained with. Hopefully they will have taken on board some of your comments.

I think it would be best if they had an information sheet. After all, who can remember a list of what they shouldn't have and what they should have, when someone just reels a list off to you. I would find that very overwhelming.

At least you have made the buyer aware that there is information available here. Even if they don't come on now, if anything happens in the future they will remember that someone told them there was a forum and hopefully will find us through google
 
Lady Kelly said:
I'm glad you intervened. Don't be too harsh on the member of staff, it's likely they thought they were doing the right thing and regurgitating the information they have been trained with. Hopefully they will have taken on board some of your comments.

I think it would be best if they had an information sheet. After all, who can remember a list of what they shouldn't have and what they should have, when someone just reels a list off to you. I would find that very overwhelming.

At least you have made the buyer aware that there is information available here. Even if they don't come on now, if anything happens in the future they will remember that someone told them there was a forum and hopefully will find us through google
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Thanks lass. . I was very polite and added to little lad that. . Piggies like lots talking too. Etc. . Tho addressing the lad would impress the parents. .
 
I know my local p@h added notes on the cages stating they're travel carriers (some crazy people really though it was a hamster cage...) and that small cavy cages must be upgraded once piggies grow. I guess it's good marketing, still sell those not-fit-for-purpose cages and make it look affordable, yet cover your back by saying we've told you it's not suitable for adults.
Pigs seems to be such a complex creatures and monthly cost is more than my cat/dog. It must be a shock for people to find out! Especially if they pay £15-20. Which is why the attitude of "cheaper to buy new one" is so common.
 
Hath said:
I know my local p@h added notes on the cages stating they're travel carriers (some crazy people really though it was a hamster cage...) and that small cavy cages must be upgraded once piggies grow. I guess it's good marketing, still sell those not-fit-for-purpose cages and make it look affordable, yet cover your back by saying we've told you it's not suitable for adults.
Pigs seems to be such a complex creatures and monthly cost is more than my cat/dog. It must be a shock for people to find out! Especially if they pay £15-20. Which is why the attitude of "cheaper to buy new one" is so common.
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They’re seen as a disposable commodity that’s easily replaced. A real pity as they’re soo much more than that.
 
Told this story a few times I think but I’ll go again on this thread, when I went to purchase my two ( didn’t know better either unfortunately but so glad I have them now) the man thought they were girls, where the girl before had told me they were boys. He said they need at least “the size of them” in hay per day, and that they’d be able to live the rest of their life in the cage they come in. So glad I sacrificed my bedroom floor for the c&c cage. It wasn’t as bad as some experiences but he definitely wasn’t the one to ask.
 
Rivervixen said:
Told this story a few times I think but I’ll go again on this thread, when I went to purchase my two ( didn’t know better either unfortunately but so glad I have them now) the man thought they were girls, where the girl before had told me they were boys. He said they need at least “the size of them” in hay per day, and that they’d be able to live the rest of their life in the cage they come in. So glad I sacrificed my bedroom floor for the c&c cage. It wasn’t as bad as some experiences but he definitely wasn’t the one to ask.
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My boys are p@h piggies too. I definitely know better now but I still have a lot of regrets. The man at the pet shop just asked if I have a cage, I said "yes" no further questions asked (it was a tiny pet shop style cage from Amazon). I asked what veggies they were used to having so I could try introducing new veggies slowly. Apparently they were just given 1 cabbage leaf between the 5 piggies in their cage every night.
 
David Piggie Lover said:
Just been collecting more hay and things for piggies. .
A family buying a guinea pig . . Sale lad telling them what they eat etc.
I caught a few of what he was saying including ." They don't like Lettuce"
"Don't eat Cucumber" "pellets are good" be ok too handle after a couple days. . :hb: :cen:
Couldn't take anymore and suggested that the information was very bad and wrong for the health of piggie.
The mother tho busy pleasing son with this living toy. . Did take in what I said and I gave her forum address. .
I didn't look at piggie cos that hurts me. .
Hope they look at forum. .
I'm going to email P@H and ask them why they giving WRONG advise.:cen:
Click to expand...
I know! When I first got my pair of pigs. They told me that they should live on saw dust and told me that hay with fruit in it was the best kind.
 
Lady Kelly said:
I'm glad you intervened. Don't be too harsh on the member of staff, it's likely they thought they were doing the right thing and regurgitating the information they have been trained with. Hopefully they will have taken on board some of your comments.

I think it would be best if they had an information sheet. After all, who can remember a list of what they shouldn't have and what they should have, when someone just reels a list off to you. I would find that very overwhelming.

At least you have made the buyer aware that there is information available here. Even if they don't come on now, if anything happens in the future they will remember that someone told them there was a forum and hopefully will find us through google
Click to expand...
They have a free care guide on pigs and if I can find it I can show a pic
 
Sweet Potato said:
My boys are p@h piggies too. I definitely know better now but I still have a lot of regrets. The man at the pet shop just asked if I have a cage, I said "yes" no further questions asked (it was a tiny pet shop style cage from Amazon). I asked what veggies they were used to having so I could try introducing new veggies slowly. Apparently they were just given 1 cabbage leaf between the 5 piggies in their cage every night.
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one detail I just remembered that horrified me the most (I don’t know how I forgot this) I’m 23 years old but look 15 at the oldest, get ID’d for a lot of things. I asked if they needed to see it and they just said no I believe you’re old enough, I could have been a child walking away with two innocent piggies...
 
Our boys are from P@H too (I didn’t realise there were lots of rescues other than the RSPCA) although I would never get them from there again I will say that I think in our branch we are lucky, Pepper & Pringle were the only two left in a pen that was labelled and girls but as soon as he picked them up he said o your not a girl and was able to clearly show us they were boys, he encouraged us up buy the biggest cage they had available (ferplast 120 which they had for 6 weeks) and he did say they should have leafy greens and not to much carrot etc and also showed us how to do a health check and clean their bits, gave us an info leaflet that I believe was produced by the RSPCA. I have been in since and the lady that served me had bunnies and completely agreed with me about not feeding as many nuggets as the packet says.

It’s a shame their stores are so inconsistent as I believe we are lucky with our local branch there are people who work their who seem to have some knowledge about small animals and can tell a boy from a girl but it is clearly very much the luck of the draw, its a shame P@h don’t stock bigger cages in store so they can promote proper living standards.

Not sticking up for them though! It would be great if they stopped selling small animals and started to sell more things that promote correct care!
 
I think some of my local pets at homes have good, knowledgeable staff. I have taken a couple of piggies from the adoption center and the staff have been good with their questioning to make sure they were going to a good home. Lily in particular as she was petrified and they asked me all about the hutch and the other piggies she would be living with. I suppose a lot of it will come down to personal interest and experience as well as professional experience (maybe some of the less impressive ones are newer and just don't have the experience, after all we all have to learn it from somewhere)
 
Sweet Potato said:
My boys are p@h piggies too. I definitely know better now but I still have a lot of regrets. The man at the pet shop just asked if I have a cage, I said "yes" no further questions asked (it was a tiny pet shop style cage from Amazon). I asked what veggies they were used to having so I could try introducing new veggies slowly. Apparently they were just given 1 cabbage leaf between the 5 piggies in their cage every night.
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So sad. Least they happy now. .
 
Lady Kelly said:
I think some of my local pets at homes have good, knowledgeable staff. I have taken a couple of piggies from the adoption center and the staff have been good with their questioning to make sure they were going to a good home. Lily in particular as she was petrified and they asked me all about the hutch and the other piggies she would be living with. I suppose a lot of it will come down to personal interest and experience as well as professional experience (maybe some of the less impressive ones are newer and just don't have the experience, after all we all have to learn it from somewhere)
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Yes we all learn. . . But being taught wrong is not learning . . It's passing on sadly information.that cos it comes from P@H must be right. . When clearly it's not. . . I would never talk about a subject that I don't know. .
Vets take years to learn . . I personally think staff who pass on very very important needed information to New guinea pigs or any other small animal owners should be trained to at least a standard where.. . It gives the animal a chance. Not some 16 / 17 year old coming across as a expert. .saying Guinea pigs don't eat leaves or cucumber and this packet of muesil which we sell for £2.99 for hugh packet is Brill. . .when we all on here knows is full of crap and sugar that reduces life and horrible end . of pain and non vet visit . .but the expert at the shop says it's ok.
I'm only going off what I saw and heard. . I am very very passionate and couldnt leave it. Hopefully the piggie (1) doesn't become another sad case. . . if I make 1 piggie life better then Dave is happy. .
Staff need to know what they are talking about. . . Supermarkets staff don't as it says on the packet what it is
When I retire I shall persue this with a passion. . Give correct information. . . .
But some people are good . . Today boy was not.
 
Sorry for rant. . Lol.
Imagine how I feel. .tomorrow I have to pick up my carrier from a mate. . Who's had it 2 months for his cat. . . The cat should been PTS ages ago. . It lies on a towel not moving or eating does drinks little for weeks. . It's heart wont give up. . . I've offered to take It . Love the pussy but my friend loves it so he can't let it go. . Arrrrrr. . .
I told him. . . He needs your help. X
 
It’s the breeding problems that break my heart too.
Though I rehomed/rescued each of my boys, those that were originally pets at home piggies had nothing but health problems due to careless (and money making) breeding.
My beautiful Odin was most likely a result of careless breeding and you all know the range of issues he had 😢😢😢

I recently had an article published regarding inconsiderate breeding of “designer dogs” and the incidence of genetic problems as a result. I think I’ll certainly be moving on to try get more published on the welfare concerns for pet shop animals and how they’re bred.
I’m always lecturing my animal/equine science students on this issue in all animals, so hopefully I’m encouraging our next generations to be more aware too.
 
Marvel_piggie_squad said:
It’s the breeding problems that break my heart too.
Though I rehomed/rescued each of my boys, those that were originally pets at home piggies had nothing but health problems due to careless (and money making) breeding.
My beautiful Odin was most likely a result of careless breeding and you all know the range of issues he had 😢😢😢

I recently had an article published regarding inconsiderate breeding of “designer dogs” and the incidence of genetic problems as a result. I think I’ll certainly be moving on to try get more published on the welfare concerns for pet shop animals and how they’re bred.
I’m always lecturing my animal/equine science students on this issue in all animals, so hopefully I’m encouraging our next generations to be more aware too.
Click to expand...
Brill. Keep it up. I'd hug you but best not
Have this tho :hug:
 
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