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Stretching is another way that cavies show their feelings. If they stretch their whole body, they are content but if they only stretch out their head they are on high alert for what may be going on around them.
Know that a fight may break out any minute when you hear a guinea pig clacking their teeth or rumbling while standing up on their hind legs. The showing of teeth while standing up is a sign of aggression.
Knowing how to interpret your animal’s verbal and physical cues allows you to keep them safe and happy.
Training
Training a guinea pig may not be quite as easy as training a dog, but you would be surprised at how quickly a cavy can learn new tricks. For instance, when you open the refrigerator to get some fresh produce for your guinea pig, she will soon learn to associate the sound of the refrigerator door opening with something good to eat. After awhile, squeals and whistles will come from their cage whenever you open the refrigerator door.
The most common trained behaviors for guinea pigs is to walk on a leash, be potty trained and to come when called. Training your pet to do these things takes persistent, patient work. Each time the guinea pig demonstrates the kind of behavior you want, be ready with a favorite food or treat. Eventually, she will understand that you are rewarding her for specific behavior and she will repeat it for you.
Potty training can be the most important place to start, especially if you allow your guinea pig a lot of floor play. Training a guinea pig to only go to the bathroom in a litter tray does not mean that they won’t still leave droppings throughout their cage and sometimes on the floor, but it does considerably reduce the instances of this happening.
To begin litter training your cavy, make an area of their cage for the bathroom. You can purchase a litter tray at a pet store and place it a corner of the cage. To let your pet know what the tray is for, put some of the droppings that you clean up from its cage into the tray. Do this each time you change the bedding, about twice a week.
When you place the guinea pig on the floor, be sure to put its litter tray down with it. They may still have an accident on the floor, but this will usually be solid waste, not urine.
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