How to tame a guinea pig

Guinea pigs can make lovely, tame pets with just a bit of time and kindness. They all have different personalities though, and whilst many piggies can be tamed to the point that they will come running over to see you when you approach, some will always prefer to sit somewhere safe. A guinea pig in the wild makes a good, hearty meal for a number of predators and as such an instinct to be scared of sudden movement and strange environments is a good survival instinct. Remember if you loom over your piggie, his instinct will tell him that an eagle is attacking and if you crash around nearby it could be a predator jumping through the undergrowth.

There are two main factors in taming any small animal. The first is not doing anything unpleasant to them when they are being brave and secont is nice food.I use  nice fresh grass. When you first get your guinea pigs it is best to leave them alone as much as possible for the first couple of days. It is very tempting to keep picking them up and showing them to people but this is very stressful for them when they are in a new environment so please resist this until they have settled in. Make sure that each guinea pig has a nice house to hide in. Otherwise when they are startled the more dominant piggie will kick the other one out of the box and this can cause fights particularly amongst males. If possible don't disturb your pet when he is in his box as this will make them feel more secure. It is sometimes necessary to catch them by tipping over the box but do this as little as possible in the early days

Feed your guinea pigs at the same time every day. They will soon learn to assoicate the sounds of feeding with something nice happening. Ours squeak when they hear rustling and/or the frige opening. Also have times a couple of times a day when you give them treats.
Once you have a guinea pig feeding from your hand it is often quite a quick process to get them to come further and further out of the box and eventually come to the edge of the cage to be fed. Before long your guinea pig will be standing ready for a treat. It is absolutely essential that you don't use a treat to catch the guinea pig at this point as it will stop them trusting you. Once they get to trust you really well you will be able to pick them up.

If you are interested in psycology this process is called shaping. It involves rewarding your pet when he does each small step towards what you want him to do. Or in technical speak "produces novel behaviour by reinforcing closer and closer approximations to the desired response"(Westen 2002). It also works for other animals, students, children and alledgedly husbands. Some piggies learn in a matter of days, the majority in a couple of weeks but a small minority may take a lot longer. There isn't a guinea pig out there that you can't get tamer in this way.

Guinea pigs are pets that you can sit on your lap and stroke but it can take a while for them to get used to it. A very frightened guinea pig will sit very still and even quiver. When they are a little less nervous they make a purring noise to indicate that they are unhappy - people often mistake this for the purring cats make when they are happy but it actually means the opposite.
When you first handle your guinea pig do so in a quiet room without a lot going on around. Turn off the TV and don't have the washing machine or hoover in the background. Sit them quietly and see if you can get them to eat their favorite treat - it can take a little while for them to feel safe enough to eat but if you are patient they will get happier about being handled. Make sure you always pick them up with their back end supported and don't walk around with them to start off with as the height makes them nervous
Psycology Reference Westen, Drew (2002) Psycology p180 John Wiley and Sons