Can Guinea Pigs And Dogs Get Along? Find Out Before Introducing Them
As animal lovers, we completely understand why pet owners desire to have a diverse collection of furry friends in their homes.
However, it is essential to exercise caution and forethought when introducing new members of your animal family to one another.
Given that guinea pigs are classified as prey animals, you will likely need to exercise more caution when introducing your piggies to your cats and dogs.
This is because of the possibility that your guinea pigs could become prey themselves. Before you make the commitment to start your very own zoo, there are a few things you need to be sure you’re ready for!
We must keep this in mind when it comes to our pets, especially when it comes to piggies, much as it can be a little intimidating for humans to meet new people and make new friends.
It is essential to conduct the entire introduction process extremely slowly and with great caution to ensure that all animals have the opportunity to become accustomed to one another and feel at peace in their company.
This article discusses how owners of guinea pigs, can make it easier for our guinea pigs to adjust to living in a home with other animals, as well as how you may be able to introduce your guinea pig to the other animals in your home.
However, in most cases, we do not suggest you introduce your animals to one another face to face. This is because if things go wrong, it will likely result in your guinea pig getting injured.
These Are The Steps To Follow
First, Separate The Different Pets Apart
At first, you should keep your guinea pigs and your other pets isolated from one another.
Make sure that the cage for the guinea pig is placed in a part of the house that is inaccessible to any of your other animals, whether you have a cat, a dog, or both!
Your piggies must have a space in your home solely dedicated to them, where they may feel secure and in charge of their environment, out of the reach of your dogs and cats.
Introduce Them Through The Use Of Odors
When you have contact with animals, their scent will be left on you, and other animals will be able to detect it.
This particular scenario is a positive development and a wonderful instrument for getting started by introducing your dog or cat to the piglets. They can detect each other’s scents on you, combined with your own.
When you have positive experiences with guinea pigs while also having the scent of that animal on you, a good association is formed with the other animals.
Because of this, they will become acquainted with one another in a roundabout way. You might also let your guinea pig play with things your dog or cat has used.
For instance, the blanket that belongs to your dog or cat would be an excellent choice because it enables your guinea pig to acquire acquainted with the aromas of your other pets.
If you want to encourage your pig, you can motivate them by putting some fresh vegetables on or below the blanket they are sleeping in.
However, you must delay this procedure until approximately two to four weeks after your piglet has already become acclimated to their own living space.
Bring Them Together Through Barriers.
After they have had a chance to smell each other’s presence in a roundabout way, you can arrange for them to meet through a door or another barrier of a similar nature.
It is vital to take this additional step to cut down on how daunting it can be to meet each other finally.
Confront Them Together Directly
Before you attempt this stage, it is important to be aware that some species of animals are just not designed to live together and, for their protection, should avoid coming face to face with one another.
It highly depends on the other creatures, particularly their personalities, and behavior.
This stage must always be carried out in a setting that is both supervised and under your control to guarantee that you will be able to put a stop to the encounter if it does not proceed as planned.
First, ensure the guinea pig is safely contained in its cage, then put the dog in a harness or on a leash that you can easily control. After that, you can give each other a chance to sniff and smell each other.
If you have been gradually exposing each other’s fragrances to each other, that will help with this stage of introducing the two of them.
You should, however, try again when your dog is calmer if you are trying to acclimate your dog to your pig and your dog appears to be overly thrilled or enthusiastic about the encounter.
Your piggie may experience some anxiety and fear due to excessive enthusiasm.
If, on the other hand, your guinea pig shows signs of being terrified, you should try again at a later time. You want to ensure that both animals are calm and relaxed before you do this!
The procedure is very similar when it comes to cats, with the exception that you will be the one to carry the cat, make initial sight contact, and observe your cat’s emotions before engaging in more personal contact.
You should continue to keep your dog on a leash even after they have reached the point where they are confident enough to interact in the same space.
You should also keep your cat on a leash at the same time. Put both larger animals in a relaxed position where they can lie down and relax.
This will make it easier for the guinea pig to come over and inspect its surroundings. This will help the larger animals gain confidence.
What Shall We Do Now?
It doesn’t matter how well your cat or dog gets along with your guinea pig; you should never leave it alone with either of them. Constant supervision is required.
Your dog or cat may still retain the instinct to hunt prey, and your guinea pig will not lose its hunting instincts just because it lives with you. It is essential to keep a close eye on any interactions that your pets have with one another.
If it doesn’t turn out well, you might have to accept the fact that your piggies and your other pets will never be able to engage with each other in a safe and comfortable way.
Someone, we know recently witnessed the birth of around seven baby rabbits to a bunny mother and father. She has a dog she describes as “very sociable and completely safe.”
Even though she believed that she knew her dog well enough, the hunting instinct set in as soon as the dog got the chance, and he ended up killing two of the newborn baby bunnies.
Because her dog has a hyperactive attitude, gets easily agitated, and has relatively weak body coordination, it was an event that could have been easily anticipated from another person’s perspective.
On the other hand, there are occasions when humans fail to recognize the level of instinct that our animals possess, leading to errors such as this one. We highly encourage everyone to err on caution rather than regret.
What Types of Dogs Get Along Well with Guinea Pigs?
Keeping Guinea pigs as pets requires great responsibility and attention to detail. Therefore, selecting the appropriate dog breed is essential before introducing it to your Guinea pigs.
The qualities that a dog should have to coexist peacefully with guinea pigs
Which Types Of Dogs Are Best Suited With Pigs? What Are Their Characteristics?
Before delving into the topic of the canine breeds that are best suited for living with Guinea pigs, one should investigate the traits and personalities associated with canines of this type.
The Dogs That Have The following Traits:
- The breed ought to have a more subdued temperament.
- Avoid at all costs canines that have a strong instinct to hunt prey.
- It might be challenging to acclimate a dog to living with guinea pigs on the same property. Therefore, the dog ought to have excellent trainability and obedience.
- Dogs that have a moderate amount of energy can manage well with them.
- The dog needs to have a high level of intelligence to comprehend what is expected of it.
- Having a dog breed that is known for its devotion makes your life easier.
- For the dog to coexist peacefully with the guinea pigs, it must have an even temperament.
- The dog should have very little instinct to hunt, which is of the utmost importance.
The characteristics above are ideal temperaments for a dog breed that is suitable for sharing a home with Guinea pigs.
Nevertheless, the distinctive personality of the dog is the most crucial aspect to bear in mind at all times. This indicates that with the proper training, even a dog who naturally displays aggressive tendencies may coexist peacefully with guinea pigs.
The Major Factors That Influence Whether Or Not Dogs And Guinea Pigs Are Compatible With One Another
Resource-guarding behavior
Resource-guarding behavior is something many different breeds of dogs can develop. Typically, they exhibit aggressive behaviors toward food, toys, or other resources being guarded, such as territoriality.
Training
The dog should have appropriate obedience training, early socialization, and an appropriate introduction to your Guinea pigs.
Characteristics and capacities of the owner:
The owner should be able to devote an adequate amount of time to caring for their animals. Therefore, a crucial factor is the owner’s character and personality. This requires you to have a great deal of patience, diligence, and caution.
The needs and desires of the dog
The owner is responsible for satisfying the dog’s needs and desires. For instance, good food in sufficient quantities, the right amount of exercise, attention, and affection. Because how the dog was raised directly affects whether or not it will get along with Guinea pigs.
The dog’s health status
Your dog’s mental and physical well-being must be in good mental and physical health. Therefore, everything depends on how you will deal with the psychological concerns, the quantity of exercise they get, the frequency with which they visit the veterinarian, and the mental stimulation they get.
The Particular Dog Breeds That You Should Avoid
Before I get into the top dog breeds that get along well with Guinea pigs, I need to make a quick announcement about the dog breeds that you should steer clear of at all costs.
Because the majority of Guinea pig owners discover that certain dog breeds have a significantly lower success rate with their pets.
Have a look at the list that is provided below:
- Don’t buy terrier breeds because of their extraordinarily strong hunting drive and the fact that they were originally designed to eliminate rats and other pests.
- Sled dogs like Huskies and Malamutes.
- Foxhounds
- Coonhounds
- Greyhounds.
- Australian Cattle Dog (ACD)
- Samoyed
- Weimaraners.
- Beagles.
- Schnauzer
- Irish Wolfhound
- Whippets.
Now that we’ve covered everything let’s look at some of the best dog breeds for keeping Guinea pigs as pets.
Here Are Some Of The Canines That Get Along Well With Guinea Pigs.
The team at Lovely Puppies has come up with a list of the top dog breeds compatible with Guinea pigs after speaking with a wide variety of Guinea pig owners, researching the parameters described above, and comparing the factors and other dog breeds.
One thing to keep in mind, though, is this. In other to ensure the safety of your Guinea pigs, you should not necessarily pick a breed of dog that is considered to be little.
Because of how delicate these little animals are, even a toy dog has the potential to cause serious injury to a guinea pig in an instant.
Border collies
This dog breed is regarded as the most intelligent of all canine species. In the beginning, and even now, people breed border collies intending to use them as herders.
They are devoted, submissive, responsive, and vigilant, which makes them one of the greatest canines in the world for keeping Guinea pigs as pets.
However, because they are very active dogs, they need to obtain a sufficient amount of exercise regularly to get rid of the surplus energy they have.
If you determine that Border Collies is the right choice, read the following two articles.
Shetland Sheepdog
The Shetland Sheepdog, more commonly referred to as a sheltie, is a breed of dog that is recognized for being exceptionally devoted, affectionate, responsive, attentive, gentle, clever, highly trainable, and reclusive. Shelties are considered to be members of the herding group.
In addition, they are attentive listeners who can easily grasp the purpose of your instructions and carry them out. Therefore, your Shelties have the potential to be excellent companions for your Guinea pigs.
Dog parents must be capable of providing their offspring’s daily activity requirements because these dogs are highly energetic, enthusiastic, lively, and robust.
Australia Sheperd
Another breed of dog that has good hearing is the Australian Shepherd, most commonly referred to as an Aussie.
Affectionate, well-mannered, bright, highly trainable, and laid-back, these canines are another excellent option for living Guinea pigs to have as companion animals.
The Australian Shepherd, meanwhile, is yet another high-energy, playful, robust, and active breed of dog.
If you decide to obtain one, it will make your life easier if you have some spare time to set aside, especially for the dog to meet their high exercise and attention requirements. These requirements can be rather demanding.
Golden Retriever
Golden retrievers are considered to be part of the hunting group because of their ability to recover waterfowl; however, in addition to this, they make excellent service dogs, therapy dogs, and emotional support dogs.
Therefore, they are capable of a very wide variety of things. In addition, they are smart, dependable, trustworthy, kind, confident, and especially affectionate dogs, which makes them a perfect doggie friend that can live with Guinea pigs. Guinea pigs can also eat them.
As already stated, dogs, Golden retrievers are also highly lively canines. Therefore, individuals must engage in various activities regularly to expend the available energy.
Labrador Retriever
In addition to being wonderful hunting companions, Labrador retrievers also have the potential to be highly effective working and therapy dogs. These canines are little, yet they have a wide variety of skills and qualities.
The Labrador Retriever is a breed of dog known for its high intelligence, trustworthiness, outgoing personality, gentleness, and special affection, all of which make them a perfect companion for Guinea pigs.
One thing to keep in mind, though, is this. These canines have significant requirements for their daily amounts of activity.
Cocker Spaniel
There have been a lot of happy Guinea pig owners who got their pets from cocker spaniels.
In terms of their disposition, they are exceptionally friendly, loyal, calm, and highly trainable dogs. They are quite affectionate toward their owners.
Despite this, they have a lighthearted side to them. Therefore, you must set aside some time consistently to complete the requirements for exercise, attention, food, and other necessities.
Cocker spaniels, as a breed, have the potential to be great pets for people who own Guinea pigs.
Lhasa Apso
Another magnificent dog breed, the Lhasa Apso, is a non-sporting breed noted for having very little to no prey drive.
They are stunning. In addition, they are canines that are outgoing, devoted, consistent, intelligent, obedient, cheerful, spirited, and vigilant.
On the other hand, they are canines that have a little fun, enthusiastic, energetic, and forceful side to them. Therefore, you will still have to set aside some of your free time to satisfy the dog’s requirements.
There is no valid justification for you not to get a Lhasa Apso as a canine companion for your Guinea pigs.
Shih Tzu
The Shih Tzu is an excellent breed of dog to consider acquiring if you want a little dog that can coexist peacefully with Guinea pigs.
They are bright, lively, affectionate, clever, outgoing, friendly, cheerful, alert, independent, loyal, and gentle. Shih Tzus are brilliant, energetic, affectionate, clever, and outgoing.
There is nothing else I can say to do justice in praising this magnificent dog breed. Even though they are only very small, these canines have a spirit that is bold, daring, and full of mischief.
Therefore, the dog parents supervise their canine offspring to ensure they behave appropriately among Guinea pigs while meeting all their essential requirements.
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
I can confidently say that Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are widely regarded as among the most patient of all dog breeds.
My best friend owns a female Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who is excellent with children and other pets because she is so calm and patient. Can you imagine what she did to the squirrel after she finally caught it?
She licked its tummy tenderly and nuzzled it most endearingly. What a breathtaking sight it is to take in!
In terms of their demeanor, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are dogs who are graceful, easily adaptable, kind, highly gregarious, friendly, and exceedingly patient. In addition, they have a high level of intelligence.
Pembroke Welsh Corgi
The Pembroke Welsh Corgi, more commonly referred to as just corgies, is a member of the herding group of dogs. They are friendly, affectionate, outgoing, and tenacious, and they get along well with other creatures of a more small size.
The fact that they are stocky yet compact is another beneficial aspect of owning a corgi. Therefore, to prevent this dog from gaining access to the guinea pig cage, situate it in a slightly raised location.
One thing to keep in mind, though, is this. Because these dog breeds were originally developed to herd livestock, they have a strong propensity to bite the heels of animals like sheep and cattle.
A sensitive guinea pig can be hurt by as little as the tiniest of nips, which is why I want to drive home here. Therefore, keeping a close watch on the dog while he is near the little nuggets is crucial.
Great Pyrenees
Great Pyrenees dogs can coexist peacefully with Guinea pigs despite their massive size, mostly because they are loving, dependable, and patient.
In addition, the fact that they are a breed of dog that is just moderately active makes it much simpler for you to fulfill their exercise requirements.
It’s possible that a morning and evening stroll of thirty minutes each, along with a short game of fetch, is more than enough for them.
Bloodhounds
Again, despite their large size, Bloodhounds are known to be exceptionally friendly with young children, cats, Guinea pigs, and other tiny animals.
This trait is particularly notable in the breed of dog known as the Irish Wolfhound. In addition to this, they are warm and kind, and they enjoy spending the majority of their time with their family.
On the other hand, they can be quite obstinate and remain calm under pressure. Therefore, early socialization and obedience training are an absolute requirement.
Basset Hounds
Even though basset hounds were originally bred to hunt small game such as rabbits, these dogs have positive temperaments that make them excellent companions for Guinea pigs.
Positive temperaments include being mild-mannered, affectionate, devoted, friendly, and tenacious.
Things That Should bear In Mind
As a Guinea pig owner, you need to consider a few other factors in addition to the ones already mentioned.
It is not possible to trust any dog
It only takes a moment for a dog to cause serious injury or even death to a Guinea pig. Therefore, constant supervision of the dog is required while it is in the same vicinity with other tiny animals.
For individuals who have a busy lifestyle
Because you have to devote a significant amount of time to things like socializing, training, and the like, all of which are quite important.
If you are considering obtaining an adult dog
If you decide to adopt an adult dog, consider adopting one from a rescue organization that conducts temperament testing on the dogs they take in. Be bold and ask them nicely, and make sure they try to meet all of your requests.
The cage
Ensure the guinea pigs have a sturdy and well-balanced enclosure. Put it in a high location that no dog can get to, and it won’t be able to fall off.
Prevent them from playing
Stay calm with the breed:
As I indicated earlier, you should not become preoccupied with your dog’s breed. However, you should try to get one of the dog breeds described above. On the other hand, the distinct personality of the canine is of far more significance.
Bring on a personal trainer
When purchasing toys
To Sum
Many owners of Guinea pigs are interested in learning about the canine breeds that get along well with their pets. In this piece, we discussed some dog breeds suitable for keeping Guinea pigs as pets.
In addition, we’ve gone over some other vital information you must have in mind. I hope that was of some use to you.
We appreciate you for taking the time to read this article!
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