Her Obstreperousity Makes Progress

Her Obstreperousity*, Odd Sock has shown some interesting progress in her latest training session. Although she still doesn't appear to get that coming to human when called = food, she has discovered that hopping onto my lap will generate another treat. Okay, it's not technically what she's being trained to do. It's just too cute not to reward.

*Obstreperousness? Obstreperousified?

First Training Sessions

Training has commenced. The first command the guinea pigs are learning is "come", an exercise with a sitting person where they clamber up into the lap, for a piece of lettuce. Ultimately the treat will be administered only once they are on the lap, but at this stage the lettuce is visible at all times as an incentive. I will analyse it Pig by Pig:

Allopoka was the first to attempt this trick, and completely hopped up only once with treat clearly visible. Her ambiguous nature was very obvious and she stopped several times to pursue unheard noises and stare into the middle distance through the piece of lettuce dangling in front of her nose.

That Obstreperous Abysinnian, Odd Sock, was next in line. She was far more willing and responded well, hopping up onto my feet for her treat.

Mushroom was the final pig. In training as in age, she was between the others. Willing to pursue the lettuce but also distracted and easily bored. Is her boredom a sign of unintelligence or is she hiding deep intellect behind those blue eyes?

Meet the Contestants

We've all seen the videos. "Trained Guinea pig/rabbit/hamster!" "My rat Fred does a trick." "U can train mice 2 do tricks!!!!!"

This blog is an outpost of the Cavybeat site, where I will be testing this theory by attempting to teach my three female guinea pigs a variety of simple, safe tricks with food incentives.

Without further ado, let's meet our three "contestants" for the title of Officially Trained Guinea Pig.

The Obstreperous Odd Sock
Alternative identities: Sock, Sockie, Ruffles (due to her coat; see photo)
Age: Approximately three years old
Breed: Part-Abysinnian
Appearance: White, ginger-brown and black. Thin white facial stripe. Rough coat with two rosettes on sides of rump.
Special talents: Evading capture in the cage.
Phobias: Yet to display any.
Medical notes: Has had bumblefoot in the past.
Other notes: Abysinnians are rumoured to be a smart breed. Will the Obstreperous Odd Sock live up to this reputation?

The Metamorphosing Mushroom
Alternative identities: Mushy, Badger (see photo)
Age: Approximately three years old
Breed: Apparently part-Sheltie or Peruvian. May be a silky?
Appearance: longish hair toward rump. Smooth, silky dark-grey-and-white coat. White facial blaze that varies in shape depending on the direction her long hair is combed.
Special talents: Escaping, squishing into narrow or flat gaps, destroying fences and boundaries
Phobias: Having her face touched.
Medical notes: Has had URI, bumblefoot, mites in past.
Other notes: Mushroom can be quite crazy at times but will settle down for a cuddle. She is a talented escaper but is this a result of her flexible, metamorphosing body or some hidden genius?

The Ambiguous Allopoka
Alternative identities: Ally, Poksie
Age: Approximately two years old
Breed: Short-hair
Appearance: Short, white coat with speckled brown spots on rump and face, light ginger patches on face, black-and-pink ears. White blaze on face.
Special talents: People-friendly, gentle, nursing nature. Squealing at the vets'. ?Chirping?
Phobias: Hates having her teeth examined (see Special talents). Frightened of wind.
Medical notes: Previous unspecified weight loss/listlessness, possibly UTI, cleared with Baytril.
Other notes: Random outbreaks of midnight chirping have been blamed on the Ambiguous Allopoka.