Cold Guinea pigs

[phoebe jenkinson]

I have 4 guinea pigs in 2 different cages in my garage. It’s snowing where I live and I’m worried about them getting too cold but I have a Labrador. He has never shown aggression to my guinea pigs but when he’s in the garage he sits and looks at the cage wagging his tail he’s never growled or barked at them and he is a friendly dog but he likes to sit watching them I think he’s just curious, but I want to bring the guineas into the house for the winter, is it safe as I’m worried about them being too cold?

 

[Piggies&buns]

If you can bring the piggies into a room which you can be sure you can keep your dog completely out of then it would be safe to bring them in.

Are your piggies actually cold in the garage?
What measures do you take to keep them warm - ie thermal covers and blankets on cages; snugglesafe heatpads etc?

Are your piggies active in their enclosures?
Are your piggies maintaining their weight at each check?
These are often a nice sign that they are warm

 

[phoebe jenkinson]

If you can bring the piggies into a room which you can be sure you can keep your dog completely out of then it would be safe to bring them in.

Are your piggies actually cold in the garage?
What measures do you take to keep them warm - ie thermal covers and blankets on cages; snugglesafe heatpads etc?

Are your piggies active in their enclosures?
Are your piggies maintaining their weight at each check?
These are often a nice sign that they are warm

We live in a 2 be bungalow so the dog goes in all the rooms I did think if they where in the house he mite not be at the cage all the time he’s not always aloud in the garage so only sees them a few times a week in the garage I put blanket in but they just use to kick them about never slept on them I put littler his away houses witch they chewed up and thought was food so at the moment I’m giving them extra saw dust and hay in there bed if I put them in my conservatory, the dog only really goes through there to go outside for a wee

 

[weepweeps]

You could put a baby gate on that room so your doggie can’t get in unsupervised. Or can the cages go on tables so your doggie can’t stare at them all the time.

I have a dog. He’s a border terrier. So small furry things running about would definitely not be a good idea. He wouldn’t be able to stop himself. Luckily he’s not a tall breed so my cage is raised and he can’t get to them. So it’s definitely doable. You’ll love having them inside. Mine lived in my garage. But you can interact with them so much more often if they are inside.

 

[Piggies&buns]

We live in a 2 be bungalow so the dog goes in all the rooms I did think if they where in the house he mite not be at the cage all the time he’s not always aloud in the garage so only sees them a few times a week in the garage I put blanket in but they just use to kick them about never slept on them I put littler his away houses witch they chewed up and thought was food so at the moment I’m giving them extra saw dust and hay in there bed if I put them in my conservatory, the dog only really goes through there to go outside for a wee

Outdoor piggies do need lots of hay as bedding. Fleece blankets cannot be used as bedding for outdoor piggies.
However I meant they need blankets put on top the cage to stop draughts from getting in.
They also need microwaveable snugglesafe heatpads to be able to be outside.

I agree, a baby gate is needed.

Any dog is a risk to piggies at all times

 

[phoebe jenkinson]

You could put a baby gate on that room so your doggie can’t get in unsupervised. Or can the cages go on tables so your doggie can’t stare at them all the time.

I have a dog. He’s a border terrier. So small furry things running about would definitely not be a good idea. He wouldn’t be able to stop himself. Luckily he’s not a tall breed so my cage is raised and he can’t get to them. So it’s definitely doable. You’ll love having them inside. Mine lived in my garage. But you can interact with them so much more often if they are inside.

We have baby gate but my dog can jump over then he can even reach the back of the kitchen counter if there’s food he wants he’s never tried to hurt the piggies he just like to watch them in the cage both cages a rather big they have an upstairs and a down stairs in them my big worry is 1 of the piggies keeps escaping and we don’t know how coz we always lock the cages both cages are the same but my oldest piggie gizmo keeps getting out

 

[weepweeps]

We have baby gate but my dog can jump over then he can even reach the back of the kitchen counter if there’s food he wants he’s never tried to hurt the piggies he just like to watch them in the cage both cages a rather big they have an upstairs and a down stairs in them my big worry is 1 of the piggies keeps escaping and we don’t know how coz we always lock the cages both cages are the same but my oldest piggie gizmo keeps getting out

It’s not impossible to keep them indoors but as you have a dog that can jump and a piggy that can escape it would mean you have to make sure the door is 100% closed 100% of the time and that’s when accidents happen.

BUT …… years ago when we had indoor piggies and my husband kept leaving the door to the piggy room open we used to put a sock on the door handle to remind him that he had to close it. It worked. lol. You will have to be very vigilant.

 

[Piggies&buns]

We have baby gate but my dog can jump over then he can even reach the back of the kitchen counter if there’s food he wants he’s never tried to hurt the piggies he just like to watch them in the cage both cages a rather big they have an upstairs and a down stairs in them my big worry is 1 of the piggies keeps escaping and we don’t know how coz we always lock the cages both cages are the same but my oldest piggie gizmo keeps getting out

It still can be scary for the piggies to be watched by a predator so that is another consideration.

You just need to be very careful if you are bringing them inside by making sure you dog is not left unattended.

What sort of cage are the piggies in?

 

[Wheekallweek]

I wonder how he is escaping? It would be worth giving the cage a thorough check over and securing any gaps or loose doors etc.

 

[poopie]

Hi, my pigs live outside in a shed where they have nearly 50 sq foot. But with the very cold weather, i brought them inside in a cat carrier for the nights. I have 3 dogs, so I put them up on the top in my inheated utility room. They were fine. Hope this helps.

 

[Mrs Tiggy Winkle]

We had a Lab when I was a child and she was never, ever a problem with the guineas, who were on the kitchen floor in an open-top cage, tho under a counter. I can't say in retrospect how frightened the guineas might have been when Jenny, our Lab, leaned in wagging her tail at them. Our Lab wasn't a trained hunting dog, but historically Labs were used to retrieve animals like ducks shot in the water, without damaging the duck, so there's not such a kill instinct. That seemed to be the case with our Lab, even tho she was never trained to do that. Once she caught a baby magpie and brought it to my mother and dropped it when told to. There were no injuries on the magpie, no blood, nothing. She somehow knew how to carry an animal in her mouth without injuring it. I wouldn't want a guinea pig of mine to be carried by any dog, but saying that even with an animal in her mouth, she didn't physically harm it.

I've heard similar about Golden Retrievers - the hunting instinct has been bred out of them. otoh we had guineas before the Lab, who came as a puppy and grew up with the guineas so to speak whereas your dog, Phoebe, is already there in the house and doesn't 'know' the guineas on face-to-face terms so you can't know if he sees them as pack members, or not.

Is there any way of putting a large board on top of the guinea housing so your dog can't jump in? Wouldn't be very handy as a permanent measure, but if it's just for a cold spell, might work?