On September 6, 2017

Guinea pig training progresses

Pip the guinea pig, peaking out from his blanket fort

By Brady Crain

I have, based on the orders of everyone, been taking it much easier.  I lift or do pushup/pullup sets every two days, walk at least once a day, and trail run every two to three days, between four and 12 miles. Easy peasy. A little yoga, and a lot of sitting in a recliner, now without ice. The back is healing, and that is that.

It is time, however, for an update on the emotional recovery process of my guinea pig, Pip (“the Impaler”). He was testy for a while this year, and I don’t really know why, but now he is lovely and purr-y, but still nervous about being touched.

I have been doing some different things with him, though, and his emotional range is increasing.  Every day after I return from my exercise (a couple of hours after his breakfast), Pip gets a little treat.  The treat is actually a vitamin C supplement, and it is not sugary, but he still regards it as the highlight of his day, and paces the front of the cage squeaking until he gets his treat (I had to stop bribing him with sugar because it was making him sick).

For a while I was just giving him the treat, and then I was making him eat it out of my hand and petting him, then I started giving him the last little bit by making him take it from between my lips. Then I had an idea.

I started putting him on his cuddle pillow to get his treat, which means that to get his treat he has to let me pick him up and set him down.  He is getting good at this (if I approach slowly enough he lets me pick him up without a fight). When I give him the last bit, I let him eat it on the pillow, and then I walk away.

Pip has started to use this freedom to run around the house a bit. He only does it every three or four days, but it is hilarious to see him run around, checking things out, looking for food. He does not ever go to the bathroom outside his cage, so when he needs to go, he gets back in his cage and stays there until his next adventure. It’s pretty nifty.

I have always wanted him to be a house pig, so when I set up the apartment I put all my power strips up on the wall so no power cords would be on the ground. It is a safe place for him to exist. I just close the bathroom door and the doors to my office and bedroom.

Furthermore, it seems we might have the issue of lack of snuggling taken care of. Most of the time if I just put him on his pillow on my lap, he is agitated, and turns around and stares at his cage, as though it will leave without him.

What I have done, instead of putting a blanket over him like Stinky Pete used to love, is I have started to basically make a blanket fort, sort of a sideways guinea pig soft taco, with him facing me. After a few days of chafing at it and exploring, he has started to settle in, and will sit there and look at me with his nose poking out of the blankets while I scratch his chin.

He even lasts 15-20 minutes (much longer than his usual five minutes) and is much friendlier.  I am not sure, but I am betting that this is because Pip, like every other intelligent being on earth, feels safer in a blanket fort.

Do you want to submit feedback to the editor?

Send Us An Email!

Related Posts

Pies, parades, and porch chats

July 2, 2025
“America is a tune. It must be sung together.”—Gerald Stanley lee The month of July is the height of summer, bringing a spirit of celebration to all of us. Our town of Killington may be small, but we know how to celebrate the 4th of July. We start early with the annual book sale at…

Inventing a better ski day: the innovations that drew crowds to Killington

July 2, 2025
By Karen D. Lorentz Editors’ Note: This is part of a series on the factors that enabled Killington to become the Beast of the East. Quotations are from author interviews in the 1980s for the book Killington, A Story of Mountains and Men. “We’ve got a million dollars that says you’ll learn to ski at…

‘Almost Heaven’

July 2, 2025
The stage was simple, designed to resemble a wooden board that resembled the siding of any barn, anywhere across America. It could have been the barn behind my house, or the one that my cousins have down in Georgia. It could have been a barn in Colorado or even West Virginia.  Nothing remarkable at all,…

Getting away from it all

July 2, 2025
My family and I went to the beach this past week. The temperatures were hot, and the weather was sunny, making for a classic seaside vacation. The house we rented was in the harbor of the town where we were visiting, so while we didn’t stare out at the ocean, we were able to sit…