I Need help...How do i train my dog to stop "charging" my guinea pig's cage??? PLEASE HELP!!!!!!

Question

Okay, i have a guinea pig, and a female dog. My guinea pig is a male (if that helps) The cage that my guinea pig lives in is dog proof from killing him...........And cat proof (the only way my cat could kill him is clawing him to death), but a few days ago, my dog went up and sniffed noses with my piggy (through the cage bars). That was it. The next day, she sniffed noses with him, and started barking, showing her fangs, and almost knocked the cage off the bookcase it is sitting on. It didn't hurt him (thank god!) but it scared the carrots out of him! How to i train my dog to stop doing that and leave my piggy alone???? Please help........... I don't want her to kill my piggy........... Or have him sent away :-(((

Answer 1

You must de-sensitize the dog to piggy and that will include correcting the behavior with negative consequences if she barks, growls, nudges, touches or in any way pays too much attention to piggy. Leash and collar are the best. This way you are modifying the behavior instead of managing it by avoiding the problem.

Remember that the biggest problem with not teaching your dog how to cope with the piggy as part of your household will be the day she can get to it and you've created this mystery around that little critter! Then, it's prey drive all the way. Introduce, correct negative behavior, reinforce the correct behavior, and try to get the guinea pig out of the cage (when you're ready!) and make that dog listen to you and ignore the piggy.

Your dog it NOT a nut job, should NEVER be corrected with a flyswatter, and will obsess if you keep that interesting little critter out of sight (but not out of mind!) Good luck.

Answer 2

Train it. Don't avoid it.

Put the leash on your dog. If it goes for the cage, just yank the dog away from it. Repeat this as much as the dog keeps going at it. When it goes past it without trying to harm the guinea pig, give it a treat. The dog will stop doing it in a matter of a few days, a week at the most.

You can do this to any bad habits that your dog may have, especially when they harm others or itself.

My dog had a tendency to like big rocks and always carried one around in its mouth. Later I found out that his gums and teeth were in bad condition due to that. So I basically did the same thing only with rocks and slowly changed his interests to balls and Frisbees.

Instead of putting the cage out of sight, and avoiding the issue, you must try to solve it.

This should work 99% guaranteed.

Answer 3

When your dog goes around the cage, take a plastic flyswatter and give her about 5 pops. Maybe you could put an electic fence around the area and when you need to get to your piggy, just step over it. I think that you should really is to pop the dog and eventually the dog will learn

Answer 4

You may want to just keep the dog totally out of the same room with piggy.

Answer 5

your dog sounds like a nut job...i too have a piggy that gets along nicely with my moms dog ...i would suggest keeping the pig in a room off limits to your friggin dog...or spank the dog if he hurts the piggy...try to get them to make friends...did piggy bite the dogs nose?

Answer 6

well first off keep the cage far far away form yuor dog. thats just common sense. try not too yell at oyur dog, usuallt they are just curious and want to know what it is. take your dog seriously and tain him by simply growling everytime her does it and rewad him when he dosnt
good luck
love lolli

Answer 7

i had this problem with my dogs and snakes what i did was use a water gun evry time she whent to the cage and barked or growled i would get her with the water she stoped doing it (took about 3 weeks to break her of it)

Answer 8

Put the cage where the dog cannot see it, Duh