Piggie Fun Fact #8: How Smart Are Guinea Pigs? (With Special Taming Tips!)

     Guinea pigs sure are the cutest creatures! But what about smarts? Are they more knowledgeable then we thought? They definitely aren't the smartest animals, but where are they on the list? Could these furry little rodents have common sense? The 8th Piggie Fun Fact may be (by far) the coolest, so read on to learn more. 

     Guinea pigs are extremely intelligent creatures! They are known to recognize their names, hand gestures, respond to various sounds and learn tricks! Some people will even go so far to say that their pet piggie is even smarter than their dog. 😉

    There are a lot of videos on the Internet where guinea pigs do tricks (some of them are pretty cool!) and guess what, you can teach your guinea pig to do tricks too! For example, when I give my guinea pigs treats, they will stand up on their hind legs to receive it. Helpful tip: Guinea pigs will do almost anything to get their food! 

    How we taught our piggies to stand up on their hind legs: (Spoiler alert: We didn't actually "teach" them. They just kind of figured it out on their own!) I held up a treat, called Pebbles name, and she came running to collect the treat from my hand. I help up the treat higher (but over the hut), and Pebbles climbed up the walk-up hut's stairs to collect the treat from my hand. "Good girl!" I said. You should always reward your guinea pig with kind words (or the treat!) after they do a trick. This can encourage them to do it again! After a while, Pebby was able to collect the treat from my hand nice and high, without support of the hut (though Trixie sometimes uses the hut for support!). 

    Name-training: Start name-training your piggie once it's 8-10 months old. There are many, many ways to do this, but when I give my guinea pigs a treat I will say their name. Tip: Always call your guinea pig in the same tone and volume. (Interesting discovery I made: Calling your guinea pig in a high-pitched tone works better than in a low-pitched one!)

    I hope you enjoyed this post, and that you found it helpful! Make sure to subscribe (or follow) and if you have any questions, comments on concerns please say them in the comments section! Thanks and see you next time on Trisha's Guinea Pig Adventures!