Guinea Pigs enjoying an Agility Equipment Course just like a dog or other agility animal. Guinea Pigs are also known as Cavy, Cavies, GP, GPs. GPs need Agility Equipment that is low to the ground, stable and sound enough to support their weight, and the Agility Equipment needs to be wide...wider and lower and a bit more stable then an Agility Equipment set that is made for a Fancy Pet Rat or Hamster.
HEY GUINEA PIGS!! Wanna have fun? Wanna Get More TREATS!!
We, the Guinea Pigs of the world can enjoy Agility Course too. Ok, so they need to be stable and low to the ground pieces of equipment. And we, the Guinea Pigs, need lots of treats for motivation. BUT WE CAN, WE WILL, WE WANT TO HAVE FUN TOO!!
What Can A Guinea Pig Learn?
Guinea Pigs can learn much more then the average person gives them credit for. This is a short video of one of our Guinea Pigs, Matey, running an Agility Course of Jumps, Teeter Totter, Open Tunnel, and Weave Polls (Easter Eggs). Matey is preforming simple tricks and working on complicated Tricks as well as Coming When Called. I had only been working with him for less then 3 weeks when this was filmed. No. No one had worked with him before I started. You can see a shorter, earlier, video on the Guinea Pig Video Page. We hope to be adding more videos soon.
What can a Guinea Pig Learn? I am not the only one that has/is/will be training Cavies, but ours have learned: to spin in a Circle, to Come When Called, To Play Basket Ball, to Play Tic Tac Toe, to Shake Dice and Pick Up Dice and put them back in the shaker, to Discern Items, to Knock Down Dominoes, to Back Up, to Wait, to Wear Outfits and Hats, to Bowl with little Bowling Pins, to Wave A Flag, to Play Piano, to Shake a Tambourine, and more.
Agility Our Guinea Pigs Have Learned: Weave Poles, A Frame, Bridge or Dog (Cavy) Walk, Tire Jump, Bar Jump, Open and Closed Tunnels, Teeter Totter,
PLEASE VISIT OUR www.guineapigagility.com SITE AND SEE OUR Guinea Pig Videos page to see our Cavies in action and or performing these abilities.
This is our Teddy GP who's name was Apple. She is coming through an Open Tunnel I made for her.
To get started with your Cavy think of things around the house you can use for stable and low to the ground equipment that would be safe. Like a large hardback book set on top of a pencil for a starter Teeter Totter. And or an empty oatmeal box with the bottom cut out and turned on its side for an Open Tunnel.
Guinea Pig jumps should not have much jump to them. They should be more of a step over, low to the ground, type of jump. In this photo of Apple, I am using a yard game ring to teach her to come through the hoop, both for a trick and later so that she knew how to come through a Hoop Jump Agility Equipment Piece.
Other ideas of items around your home... for a Balance Beam....well, maybe a 2" x 4" laid on it's side.
Have fun with your GP, but be safe. Set everything low and make sure it is stable for their "piggie" bodies!
This is a series of GI P Guinea on his new PVC Bar Jump. I think he is adorable! Deron put this little jump together for us and I just think it is the best. LOL I love the way GI P Guinea meanders over it.
HOW TO TEACH YOUR GUINEA PIG AN AGILITY COURSE
Your GP needs to trust you. If it is afraid of you it will run from you. So start by bonding with your GP and feed it little bitty bites of veggies out of your hand. Teach your GP to come to you when you call it's name. Spend time with your Guinea Pig and it will want to spend time with you.
Start with one piece of Agility Equipment, such as a Open Tunnel. Set the GP in front of the open end of the Open Tunnel and get down so that it can see you looking through the other end. Call your GP. If it does not come right away coax it through with a treat in your hand, moving your hand through the Open Tunnel. Speak in a happy voice to your GP as you work with it. When the GP gets all the way through, as in out the other side of the Open Tunnel, say the word good and give the GP a treat and verbal praise.
Train one piece of Agility Equipment. When your cavy is doing this first piece well, set another piece in front of the new piece. Show the GP how to manipulate the new piece then encourage the GP across the piece it knows and make a big fuss.
My husband surprised me with a website to go into more detail about Guinea Pig Agility. Please see the menu at the right, look under "sister sites".
WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO WITH A GUINEA PIG?
ALL SORTS OF THINGS! Guinea Pigs are smarter and more interactive then most people give them credit for. They can be taught tricks and tasks and can learn to walk on a leash.
AND YES! THERE IS MORE YOU CAN DO WITH A GUINEA PIG....TRICKS AND COSTUMES AND MORE! Check our sister sites for more information on training your Guinea Pig.
PLEASE JOIN US ON THESE YAHOO LISTS TO TALK ABOUT TRAINING SMALL PETS FOR AGILITY AND OR HOW TO TEACH THEM TO DO TRICKS. WE ALSO HAVE AN HOLISTIC CARE YAHOO LIST FOR SMALL ANIMALS. COME JOIN US AND BRAG ON YOUR CAVY.
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YOU ALONE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CARE AND TRAINING OF YOUR OWN ANIMALS. THE COPYRIGHTED CONTENSE OF THESE PAGES ARE INFORMATION THAT HAS WORKED FOR MY HUSBAND AND I AS WE HAVE TRAINED OUR OWN ANIMALS. EACH TRAINER AND EACH ANIMAL ARE DIFFERENT.
The contents of this page for Guinea Pig Agility are still under construction. We are still panning and building Agility Equipment Pieces and looking for another young GP to come join the fun. So check back, you never know what GI P Guinea might do next, he is an exciting fellow!!
In the high plains of South Dakota, USA