Boar Dominance

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THORanLOKI

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hey,
I wondered if guinea pigs try to 'dominate' an owner. As i noticed Thor doing a lot of head raising around me and not my bf.
Another thing is when i was holding Thor, he settled down in the crook of my arm all cute and cuddly like. Then when Loki was picked up, he ran straight to Thor who reacted by repeatedly lunging at him. Eventually it ended up with contact and Loki squealed in what i assumed was pain. So I pulled Loki away and comforted him.
They settled down eventually, both lying with me an watching t.v.
There have been no more squabbles or any proper fighting. I'm just a little confused.

x
 
Guinea pigs do seem to dominate an owner. All mine try to eat my hair and will bite me but not my partner! It is almost like they think a male has more power.
 
piggyfan said:
Guinea pigs do seem to dominate an owner. All mine try to eat my hair and will bite me but not my partner! It is almost like they think a male has more power.
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Lol :) It's the opposite for me! I get lots of piggy kisses and nose rubs but my partner is constantly getting nibbled and peed on :x
 
Don't get me wrong, i get cuddles and love. As I'm the one who mainly feeds and handles them, Loki is the nipper thou, Thor rarely nips, only goes for my nails.
Does your piggies go under your chin and then head butt you? Even thought they are the ones who run under there in the first place!

x
 
Sometimes the headbutting can be painful! An i thought guineas are prey animals! Seems like the other way around to me!
Any ideas on how to get the message across that this behavior is not acceptable? Other than picking them up and putting them on a lower part of my body?
In my first post i wrote about Thor lunging for Loki, is this territorial?
x
 
I am not sure about what Thor did but I strongly feel that in my home my piggies let me know I am the bottom of the hierarchy!
 
You can do a few things that convey dominance in piggy body language.

I give my piggies a little nozzle or lick on the ear - that translates as a friendly dominant "welcome to MY herd, I am the head piggy" gesture. If they head butt or tweak me, I make my sound for displeasure (oh, uh, uh) firmly, but I otherwise, I am not reacting, so they soon leave off as their behaviour is not getting any results. Positive behaviours I encourage with lots of praise.

I let the piggies tell me though how they prefer to be cuddled and petted and put them back whenever they had enough.
 
I usually just say 'no' firmly, it would be funny to see Loki react to me licking him as he is the one who tries to dominate me.
I cant let the head butting carry on, I'm surprised at how strong my piggies are!
 
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