Guinea Pig Camp by Roger Abrantes

The Guinea pig, Cavia porcellus, or domestic guinea pig, also known as cavy or domestic cavy, is a species of rodent belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus Cavia. They live from four to eight years of age. They are very active, up to 20 hours a day, sleeping only for short periods. They are social animals living in small groups.

Like all prey animals, they startle easily but recover quickly. They show good learning abilities as our Guinea pig camps demonstrate. We teach them to deal with various obstacles and scent detection. They perform as well as dogs or rats. We train them using clear finger pointing signals and tapping sounds, sound reinforcers, mainly our customary ‘dygtig,’ and food treats consisting of bits of various vegetables.

To learn more about animal training, the scientific way, go to our course The 20 Principles All Animal Trainers Must Know.