What Makes A Good Owner...

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TheAurora

TheAurora

Adult Guinea Pig
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I'm going thru a bit of a crisis of guinea pig ownership confidence at the mo (maybe sparked by the Freddie accident).

I try so hard to look after the boyz so they are happy and well cared for but worry all the time that I'm not doing well enough by them.

I know there are a lot of very experienced owners on this forum and just wondered what other forum members think makes a good owner...

Would love to hear your thoughts x

:)
 
Being a good owner is about providing your pet with the correct diet, habitat and medical care when needed.

My Guinea Pig's aren't handled daily - but I do spend at least 50 minutes with them a day monitoring there poo's, checking they are eating, not in pain, stroking there nose and watching there behaviour.

To keep on top of health issues I also weigh my pigs weekly and give them a full check over looking for any lumps or bumps.

My priorities change should I have an ill piggy as I gravity towards getting them better.

Caring and doing your best makes you a good owner - you didn't purposely drop your pig! I remember my Wilma absailed down the bed luckily the bed sheet and draws slowed her down and she appeared from the bottom looking up as if to say now that's how you do it!

My point is things like this happen doesn't make you a bad owner but I do also think it's important to recognise your limits as some people do tend to get carried away with the cute faces and not think about the expense - what happens if they all get ill etc..

Your not a bad owner - give yourself a break!
 
A good owner is someone like you who does their best and feels bad when they have an accident. I read in one of Peter Gurney's books that he once dropped a guinea pig with fatal consequences, and no-one would consider him a bad owner!
 
I think I am a good owner but definately not the best.

I look after my two pigs, they have a large hutch, fresh hay and food daily, fresh water. Have a large run to go in when it's not raining and are thoroughly cleaned twice a week.

In that respect I am a good owner as they are well cared for.

On the other hand they both dislike being handled. I can now handle one of them and stroke him but not for long. So they don't have much human contact, though I speak to them daily.

Also I don't have any strong feelings for them. This has really shocked and surprised me but I just don't love them.

I love my hamster and have always been an animal person and snuggled up with my pets, but with the guinea pigs there are just no feelings there.

So in that view I am not a good owner?
 
^ Do you think this might be because they don't want to be cuddled much?
 
Yes maybe. They are more like animals I care for rather than pets.

My hamster will gently take food from my hand and sit on me and looks very pretty, where the guinea pigs will snatch food and run off with it.

Also one of them is constantly humping the other one (both males) and also constantly wee'ing on the other ones head.

They smell bad and wee and poo in their food bowl, so I think that puts me off. They're not pretty pigs but robust feisty boys!





BeautifulBoyz said:
^ Do you think this might be because they don't want to be cuddled much?
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It sounds like you haven't 'bonded' with them due to them to there nervous nature. I would encourage them to take food out your hand sit close to there hutch when feeding them and slowly but surely they will get more comfortable.

Have them out on your lap give them treat and sit stroking them. Guinea Pig's take ages to trust - I have a video that I will share later it takes time to bring them round and you have to work hard at it.

How long have you had your boys for?

I don't think your bad owner it's the responsibility of the owner to provide clean home, correct habitat, food , water and to seek medical care when needed. X
 
Hi Gruffalo

I'm not an expert but constantly wee'ing on the other ones head sounds a bit extreme.

There might be some experts here who could comment on that behaviour.

My boyz hump each other all the time too.

Perhaps you'd bond easier with a girl piggie instead?
 
hi, this probably wont help much but for what it's worth, I don't think you're a bad owner, try giving them a handful of grass every time you visit them, mine go mad for it and now they are always there at the front to greet me :)) hope you feel better about it soon x
 
BeautifulBoyz said:
Hi Gruffalo

I'm not an expert but constantly wee'ing on the other ones head sounds a bit extreme.

There might be some experts here who could comment on that behaviour.

My boyz hump each other all the time too.

Perhaps you'd bond easier with a girl piggie instead?
Click to expand...

The urinating on each other is quite normal as long as none of the pigs are distressed it's perfectly fine. I'm guessing your piggies are under a year old and sorting out there dominance.

I don't think you'd bond easier with girls or boys - it just takes time to get there trust stick with it! You'll be amazed how friendly they can become!

Ps. My girls wee on there husbands most of the day!
 
To me a good owner does there absolute best for there animals. This means providing vet care when needed, feeding the right things, providing a clean, safe cage and actually taking time to play and care for there animals.
No owner is perfect, we all make mistakes just do the best you can do :)
 
As other have suggested, spend more time with them, get a bag of spinach or some dandilions, sit on the floor, let them run around you and offer them the food from your hand, they will soon learn to trust and get used to you, they are very nervous skittish animals until they know they can trust you, talk to them softly, dont always pick them up everytime you touch them, just give them a chin tickle now and then.

Dont give up on them, they are incredibly loving and lovable animals. It will take time and lots of hard work but you will get there!
 
ooh thanks for all your replies! As for the wee'ing on the head routine, no the other piggie doesn't seem to mind at all, he just sits there then slowly moves off.

I'm confident they're the best of friends, I haven't ever seen them squabble.

I got them at the end of April and was told they were 8 weeks old so they are around 5 months.

Will persever with them. I don't dislike them, just don't feel I love them like other pets.
 
Give it time! You'll be bessotted! And the love you have for a guinea pig only gets stronger.
 
Being a good owner means caring to the best of your ability and knowledge for your your pets. That includes to look for advice and best practice, especially in this time of available information, and not to hesitate taking your piggy to a vet if something is not right, but also to build up experience. If you get a pet you take on a responsibility for the duration of its life. Be aware that what constitutes the best of care changes constantly over time, so even the most experienced of us never stop learning and are flummoxed on a regular basis!

There is too much of a tendency in this day and age to be either perfect right from the start in any given field or to just not bother at all. The ideal is rather somewhere in the middle! The most important thing about being a good owner is to love your pets and to try your best to give them happy, healthy lives - as much as you can, but not more than that.
It is also important to acknowledge that everybody has limits, and as you are dealing with living beings, you just can't foresee everything they are throwing at you and you have to muddle through more often than not. Yes, as a good owner you are terribly upset when something happens or a piggy dies. But don't make the mistake of getting bogged down about it; you can't undo what has happened, but you can always try to do something about it if you are confronted with a similar situation in the future.
 
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A little care and affection can bring a piggy a long way.

This is my Patrick.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mciZ_cW5dqc[/ame]

Can't forget my Pebbles..

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_hsNBAFjPs[/ame]
 
flintstones said:
Being a good owner is about providing your pet with the correct diet, habitat and medical care when needed.
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I think that's the best you can do.
flintstones said:
My Guinea Pig's aren't handled daily - but I do spend at least 50 minutes with them a day monitoring there poo's, checking they are eating, not in pain, stroking there nose and watching there behaviour.
Click to expand...
Redemption gets about the same treatment; he really does not like being picked up, and I have 4 acres of land, my house, myself and 3 dogs and 6 cats to take care of, I do have a disability, so I don't really go out of my way to "handle" him. But in 49 days he has gained at least 1 pound, so I must be doing something right.

Gruffalo said:
Also I don't have any strong feelings for them. This has really shocked and surprised me but I just don't love them.
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To me, the definition of "love" has not been how a person feels but what a person does. Actions DO speak more loudly than mere words. You see them as animals to care for - and that is exactly what they are. Praise God that you are doing it; so many ppl in this world neglect the poor things or worse.
 
In my opinion a good owner puts their animals first. Plenty of time I have done without things as my little ones needed things. I spent £50 getting lots of nice fleece for their cage and just did without for two weeks.

I have five piggies and hold each one every single day. I miss them so much when I am out all day. To me they are my whole world. I would do anything for them and my bunny too.
 
I've really enjoyed reading everyone's posts - thank you :)

flintstones - thoses videos are adorable!
 
I dont handle mine daily either, i find that when they live in herds they dont need, want or require as much human contact, however i feed them twice day and give them fresh water every day, the indoor herd get cleaned out every other day and the outdoor herd twice a week. I do love cuddles but i have those with my dog Lhasa Apso Charlie, who is absolutly my favourite pet. I see my guinea pigs as my hobby and i do love them all but i would much rather observe their behaviour than pick them up and cuddle them all the time. I wish that i could let my indoor ones run around the house, but i have 4 dogs so this is not possible.
My long haired ones live indoors as i find they are too high maintenance to live out with the herd, but my outdoor herd are my favourite as they are such a health, practically self sufficient bunch and i love to watch them, plus they take food from my hands which my indoor herd do not do (in fact my indoor herd still do not like me) they especially dislike me when i have to bath them and many a time i have almost dropped them in their panicked attempts at escape and because of their fear of me they make me feel like a bad owner sometimes.
 
piggyfan said:
In my opinion a good owner puts their animals first. Plenty of time I have done without things as my little ones needed things. I spent £50 getting lots of nice fleece for their cage and just did without for two weeks.

I have five piggies and hold each one every single day. I miss them so much when I am out all day. To me they are my whole world. I would do anything for them and my bunny too.
Click to expand...

I'm the same - the piggies are my life and they have everything they need and more. S'pose I'd say I'm obsessed but don't care what people say about the mad guinea pig woman, they are like children to me and think because my kids are grown up now, the piggies fill the void rolleyes ?/
I can't bear seeing poo's and wet patches in their pens, food has to be super fresh...yes, I overkill on things but they seem happy and that's all I care about :))
 
That is so true. They are our babies. They cannot look after themselves so we must do it for them. I clean out their poops three times a day as I do not like them to have a dirty home. They could poop for England!:))
 
JoBo said:
I dont handle mine daily either, i find that when they live in herds they dont need, want or require as much human contact, however i feed them twice day and give them fresh water every day, the indoor herd get cleaned out every other day and the outdoor herd twice a week. I do love cuddles but i have those with my dog Lhasa Apso Charlie, who is absolutly my favourite pet. I see my guinea pigs as my hobby and i do love them all but i would much rather observe their behaviour than pick them up and cuddle them all the time. I wish that i could let my indoor ones run around the house, but i have 4 dogs so this is not possible.
My long haired ones live indoors as i find they are too high maintenance to live out with the herd, but my outdoor herd are my favourite as they are such a health, practically self sufficient bunch and i love to watch them, plus they take food from my hands which my indoor herd do not do (in fact my indoor herd still do not like me) they especially dislike me when i have to bath them and many a time i have almost dropped them in their panicked attempts at escape and because of their fear of me they make me feel like a bad owner sometimes.
Click to expand...

That's very interesting... it never occured to me before that behaviour in a herd might be different.
 
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