Do Guinea Pigs Know Their Owners?

piggl

piggl

Forum Donator 2024/25
Joined
Oct 2, 2019
Messages
1,649
Reaction score
2,033
Points
955
Location
NE Scotland
I’ve made the hard decision to give one of my boys up for adoption, and what i’m wondering is does he recognise me.

He knows a specific sound I make to mean treat time, and he wheeks everytime the stair creeks because most of the time it means foods coming, but I assume he won’t/doesn’t miss me specifically.
He does know my voice, if he gets spooked when having a cuddle I can speak to him and he’ll calm down/be more comfortable.

Everytime I go on holiday I have to work to get my bond back with the pigs, but I can’t help but imagine it as the same situation you see when an owner surrenders their dog or cat, and they’re so confused as to where their friend is. But I think Remis only connection to me is that I being food LOL.

Just wondering, maybe trying to find a way to ease the guilt. If anyone else has had to give up their pig/s, if you’d feel comfortable sharing your experience I would love to hear it. I just feel a bit alone (obviously i’m not the first to ever have to give an animal away, but it was always the one thing i would “never do”) because I told my grandmother today and she said why would you ever do that to him (give him away), but i’m doing it to try and give him a better life with a lifelong friend.
 
I know exactly how you feel as I rehomed my last remaining piggy earlier on last month after making the difficult decision to end the piggy cycle and not wanting Esme to live her life alone.

I do believe that they know who their owner is by the sound of their voice and smell etc. I am very lucky that a good friend of mine who is also a mod of this forum, Wiebke is the home that Esme went too. I have been getting regular updates from Wiebke and Esme has now settled in with her new friends and takes food from Wiebke’s hand and squeaks at her so I now know that Esme knows Wiebke is her new mummy x
 
EDIT: I think you have already seen my posts regarding Esme and how difficult it was to rehome her but we have to do the right thing for our piggies. I know how difficult the decision to give him back to the rescue is for you but as you can not have them living side by side and they won’t bond, it really is the kindest option x
 
piggl said:
I’ve made the hard decision to give one of my boys up for adoption, and what i’m wondering is does he recognise me.

He knows a specific sound I make to mean treat time, and he wheeks everytime the stair creeks because most of the time it means foods coming, but I assume he won’t/doesn’t miss me specifically.
He does know my voice, if he gets spooked when having a cuddle I can speak to him and he’ll calm down/be more comfortable.

Everytime I go on holiday I have to work to get my bond back with the pigs, but I can’t help but imagine it as the same situation you see when an owner surrenders their dog or cat, and they’re so confused as to where their friend is. But I think Remis only connection to me is that I being food LOL.

Just wondering, maybe trying to find a way to ease the guilt. If anyone else has had to give up their pig/s, if you’d feel comfortable sharing your experience I would love to hear it. I just feel a bit alone (obviously i’m not the first to ever have to give an animal away, but it was always the one thing i would “never do”) because I told my grandmother today and she said why would you ever do that to him (give him away), but i’m doing it to try and give him a better life with a lifelong friend.
Click to expand...

Hi

Yes, guinea pigs can differentiate their owners; some develop a marked preference for a family member for instance. We all smell differently and sound differently. My piggies also know from the tread whether it is me or my husband coming down the stairs in the morning and whether it is worth starting a food wheek or not.

Piggies also know their human names and their mates' human names. They are a lot cleverer than you would expect.

It is tough to hand back a failed bonder or let piggies of yours go to other places. Been there myself once or twice. Try to think of it as giving your boy a chance to find the perfect home for him, which you sadly aren't - but you have given him at least a chance.

As somebody who has over the years given a home to a fair number of widowed piggies in search of a new home (mainly by rescue adoption), I can also assure you that the piggies will form a new bond with the humans in their next home. ;)


PS: Esme has already spent several holidays here so she knows me. It's been a very long standing promise that @Claire W 's last piggy could come here. Myrddin/Merlin is one of my Cornish family adoptees, so they are the only two piggies I am making an exception for as I am gradually working down my own numbers due to health and age reasons.
 
They definitely know their humans by smell and voice. I always remember having to leave one of mine at the vet for surgery... when I picked her up she got excited in her carrier as soon as she heard me talking to the front desk staff. She knew my voice and was glad I was back to get her. That said, rehoming a pig is sometimes necessary to give him a happier life with a piggie companion, and although he may wonder where you went you've given him the safe baseline to trust humans and he will very soon form a new bond with his new owner and a new piggie friend on top of it. Try not to feel too bad, you're doing what's best for him in the long run.
 
Luckily, I have never been in the situation having to give up a piggy. It's an incredibly hard decision, but it can be in the best interest of the piggy. So try not to feel guilt.

But yes, my piggies know me, can tell me and my mum apart. They usually stay with friends of mine when I go on holiday and they clearly recognise those friends when they come to visit. Tessy remebered a friend that she stayed with once before the pandemic when she came to visit after the pandemic. So they have pretty good long time memories as well.

And they also remember their home. Many years ago one of my girls was spayed and had to stay at the vet hospital for nearly a week. When I was allow to bring her home, they said that they couldn't really do anything to make her get better. Her blood values had improved but she was still very weak and not eating....
But when I turned the key on the door to my flat, she did happy sounds inside of her closed transporter. I don't know if she could smell home through the closed door or just went by the sound of my keys in the lock, but she knew that she was finally home.
 
My Caron went to live with a close relative of hers in a friend's home when she ended up bullied by my then large group (the only piggy of mine that ever was) in the wake of an unsuccessful leadership takeover attempt. Unfortunately, she was also too fear-aggressive/confrontational for my then cataract group and my frail oldies group and I had to find her a place elsewhere (with the permission of the rescue I had adopted her from). She was a complex character herself, to put it mildly, but she settled well into her new home and found true love eventually.

However, Caron very much remembered me when I visited and she also visibly relaxed whenever I spoke to her on the phone even over a year after she'd left.

Esme will always remember and recognise @Claire W for as long as she lives. :)
 
Thank you all for your replies. I truly hope he settles in fast, I’m going to try and give as much information about him to the rescue, for example his birthday. Many rescue pigs ages are just an estimate, so most will never celebrate a birthday, but I hope my boy will be spoiled each year.

I also hope part of him remembers me forever, although we will never meet again, his little paw imprint will never ever leave my heart, for as long as I live.
 
It’s a tough decision to make, to give up a piggy.
Even if we know it’s the right decision it still hurts.
Holding you in my heart ❤️
 
After some delay, the bonding/surrendering is happening this Thursday. My heart is so split, as I know/can see how badly he wants to be with Reggie, so I know he wants/needs a friend, but having to give him up is so bittersweet.

I just hope he finds the right piggy/family for him. I have made up a goodbye package and a piece of paper with all his important information to hand over to the rescue.
 
Wiebke said:
BIG HUGS
Click to expand...
Can I give him a blanket that smells like him with him? It wont have his ex-friends scent, just his, or would it not make a difference. I am just wondering if that little bit of home comfort might help him in his new environment, although I am not sure if he will even notice the change, haha.
 
piggl said:
Can I give him a blanket that smells like him with him? It wont have his ex-friends scent, just his, or would it not make a difference. I am just wondering if that little bit of home comfort might help him in his new environment, although I am not sure if he will even notice the change, haha.
Click to expand...

Hi

Yes, please do. I have also returned failed bonders to a rescue with their favourite cosy from my home.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top