Meet the Guinea Pigs
On this page are the guinea pigs (past and present) that you may see featured throughout this website or in videos. You can read more about them below.
Ace
He had this thing about feet when he was young....
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D.O.B: Late May/Early June 2015
Date Brought Home: July 24, 2015 Age: 2.5 years old Gender: Male Nicknames: Acey, Fuzzball, Motorboat, Buzzsaw Favorite Treats: Romaine lettuce, carrots.... anything really. Favorite Tricks: Basketball, Stand up, Weavewalk, Follow me around Number of Tricks Learned: 50+ Accomplishments: Champion Trick (Dog) Title, Featured on The Dodo & countless other pages & TV broadcasts internationally. |
Ace is an outgoing guinea pig who loves people, food, and learning tricks. He's pretty fearless for a guinea pig, and will approach new people with little hesitation (well, as long as you have food!) He has countless quirks and a silly, spunky personality. Ace can make you laugh and brighten your mood no matter what your day was like. Of course he gets into mischief (....all the time) but his cute quirks and innocent (well innocent looking) face gets him out of trouble before he even finds his next project.
He is also quite a chatty pig, but rarely squeals too loudly. However, he loves to purr happily while he's being pet, or at the beginning of a training session (he really loves training time. :) His tendency to purr so much is where he gets his "motorboat" and "buzzsaw" nicknames. He also likes to "talk" back to me when I ask if he's hungry. :) He is the biggest beggar, and will try everything from attempting to climb my leg, to following me around and jumping up on my lap to ask for (aka demand) more food.
As mentioned earlier, he really loves his training sessions. As soon as he hears me set up their pen, he's out from wherever he was sleeping and ready to go in an instant. He's learned so many tricks in just a short time, as he picks up on new ones so easily and naturally. He was the first (and only) guinea pig to earn advanced, expert, and champion trick titles (intended for dogs) through domorewithyourdog.com. He earned his champion title at just about a year and a half old. Many people assume he needs hours a day of training to learn everything that he has, but we never actually train longer than 15 minutes a day (and often less!) This, I think, is a big testament to his personality and how quickly he can catch on to new things. He is always learning something new, whether that is a new trick, or one of his own "self taught" tricks.
He is also quite a chatty pig, but rarely squeals too loudly. However, he loves to purr happily while he's being pet, or at the beginning of a training session (he really loves training time. :) His tendency to purr so much is where he gets his "motorboat" and "buzzsaw" nicknames. He also likes to "talk" back to me when I ask if he's hungry. :) He is the biggest beggar, and will try everything from attempting to climb my leg, to following me around and jumping up on my lap to ask for (aka demand) more food.
As mentioned earlier, he really loves his training sessions. As soon as he hears me set up their pen, he's out from wherever he was sleeping and ready to go in an instant. He's learned so many tricks in just a short time, as he picks up on new ones so easily and naturally. He was the first (and only) guinea pig to earn advanced, expert, and champion trick titles (intended for dogs) through domorewithyourdog.com. He earned his champion title at just about a year and a half old. Many people assume he needs hours a day of training to learn everything that he has, but we never actually train longer than 15 minutes a day (and often less!) This, I think, is a big testament to his personality and how quickly he can catch on to new things. He is always learning something new, whether that is a new trick, or one of his own "self taught" tricks.
Ceico
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D.O.B: Late January/Early February 2012
Date Brought Home: March 17, 2012 (St. Patrick's Day) Age: 6 years old Gender: Male Nicknames: Bugsy, Bear, Bugsy Bear Favorite Treats: Romaine lettuce, carrots Favorite Tricks: Circle, Give a paw, Painting with a paintbrush Number of Tricks Learned: 50+ Accomplishments: Advanced Trick Title, Featured on Animal Planet, The Dodo & more. |
Ceico is the guinea pig I've had the longest, and he is an easygoing little teddy bear for the most part. He is however, very much a one person pig. Despite being a total sweetheart around me, he wants nothing to do with strangers. He is always more than happy to let Ace take all the attention, and wait until people leave to come out and visit with just me. It usually takes him at least 5-6 visits to begin to come out of his shell around a new person. However, he loves training sessions (just like Ace) and he always appreciates a nice back scratch. :)
He was given the nickname Bugsy due to his dislike of nail trimming. Every time I clip his nails, he will sit still with his eyes wide, stuffing his face with veggies as fast as he can. He has the biggest eyes sometimes. While I'm doing his nails, I always tell him, "It's okay, Bugsy." He also looks like a miniature black bear (with the personality of a teddy bear!) so Bear seemed to fit him also.
Anyway, Ceico is generally the sweet, well behaved piggy between him and Ace. He generally doesn't get into things he's not supposed to, and when he does, he bolts as soon as he hears me walk into the room. Whereas Ace could care less and will sit there and continue chewing or doing whatever he wants, until I take said object away from him.... They are total opposites in many ways.
Ceico did initially take more time to come out of his shell and begin to trust me when he was young. It took a lot of patience (and was a bit frustrating at times!) but he has really blossomed over time. While Ace and Spartan have been quite easy to work with, I can still relate to people that are having trouble bonding with their guinea pigs, because I have been there and done that with this guy. I love him to pieces, but he was not nearly as easy to train or bond with as my other pigs. I have always been a patient person, but Ceico taught me a whole new degree of patience, and so many other things I couldn't have learned from my other pigs.
He was given the nickname Bugsy due to his dislike of nail trimming. Every time I clip his nails, he will sit still with his eyes wide, stuffing his face with veggies as fast as he can. He has the biggest eyes sometimes. While I'm doing his nails, I always tell him, "It's okay, Bugsy." He also looks like a miniature black bear (with the personality of a teddy bear!) so Bear seemed to fit him also.
Anyway, Ceico is generally the sweet, well behaved piggy between him and Ace. He generally doesn't get into things he's not supposed to, and when he does, he bolts as soon as he hears me walk into the room. Whereas Ace could care less and will sit there and continue chewing or doing whatever he wants, until I take said object away from him.... They are total opposites in many ways.
Ceico did initially take more time to come out of his shell and begin to trust me when he was young. It took a lot of patience (and was a bit frustrating at times!) but he has really blossomed over time. While Ace and Spartan have been quite easy to work with, I can still relate to people that are having trouble bonding with their guinea pigs, because I have been there and done that with this guy. I love him to pieces, but he was not nearly as easy to train or bond with as my other pigs. I have always been a patient person, but Ceico taught me a whole new degree of patience, and so many other things I couldn't have learned from my other pigs.
TJ
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D.O.B: Approx. November 2016
Date Brought Home: December 11, 2017 Age: 1 year old Gender: Male Nicknames: JayJay, Teddy Junior Favorite Treats: Romaine lettuce Favorite Tricks: Circle Number of Tricks Learned: ~10 |
TJ is the newest addition to the crew, and he's such a social and happy little guy. He was adopted from a local animal shelter, where he was seeking a new home (ideally with piggy friends to live with!) He's now being happily spoiled with two piggy brothers and lots of room to run around and popcorn! He seems like a smart little guy, and he really loves his veggies! He has become fast friends with Ceico, and overall seems to fit in really well. Connect on YouTube and our Facebook page to watch his progress as he learns new tricks!
In Memory
Spartan
Spartan with his favorite ball.
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Date Passed: December 14th, 2014.
Age: 4 1/2 years old Gender: Male Favorite Treats: Carrots Favorite Tricks: Fetch, Circle, Follow me around Number of Tricks Learned: 50+ Last Trick Learned: Flip up a triangle hoop & go through it Accomplishments: 1. Learning a ton of tricks despite my lack of training experience and..... 2. Being the best teacher/student I'll ever have. |
Spartan meant a lot to me, as he taught me nearly everything I know about training guinea pigs (and animals in general.) Not too many people saw videos of his tricks, and his videos didn't get broadcasted on television or become popular online, but he meant the world to me in so many ways. Spartan was every bit as smart and outgoing as Ace is now (in fact, they share many of the same traits and quirks!) He was a little puppy pig, always following me around without any real training, and he was always happy to try out new tricks as I experimented with different props and trick ideas. There were not many people training guinea pigs when I had Spartan (most people thought it was impossible!) so my training with him was almost 100% trial and error. We made up our own tricks, I built a lot of my own props, and he let me know in his own way if the methods I tried were effective or not. ;)
Overall, I learned a lot, and he learned a lot too. We trained for 5-10 minutes every night for over 4 years, sometimes successfully, sometimes not so much. Despite it all, we never gave up on a difficult trick, never skipped training sessions, and we both progressed significantly over the years. When he passed away, he took a piece of me with him. He was like my little dog, and I loved my little guy so much. He was special, and I never thought in a million years that I would find another guinea pig like him. Spartan was my superstar, my trickster, my Ace....
When I found my current piggy Ace, I wasn't sure exactly how things would turn out. It was hard to tell what he would be like at the beginning, and I didn't expect him to be like Spartan. I called him Ace before we even got home, and halfheartedly told him I needed him to be my new Ace. I guess he took me seriously, because he surprised me in a way I never expected. He was spookily similar to Spartan, and integrated himself into my life as if he had always been there. One day when I was sitting on the floor, he wanted to wiggle through a tight space between the wall and my back. He didn't quite have enough room, so, much to my surprise, he headbutted me!
And I burst into tears, because Spartan used to do the exact same thing when he wanted me to move, and I had never seen another guinea pig do that before. I couldn't believe how similar they were. Since then, I have noticed several more quirks and similarities that they have in common. Spartan was also the creative mischief maker (again, Ceico was the innocent one of the two!) and Ace picked up that role quite quickly when he came into the picture. Ace also learned tricks so naturally, as if he had always known them, and he seemed to bring back the piece that was missing since Spartan left. Both these piggies could make you laugh and sigh at the same time, and I'm so glad to have had them in my life.
Spartan may not have been as widely known as Ace or Ceico, but his legacy will always be remembered, and I will be forever grateful for everything he taught me about training animals.
Overall, I learned a lot, and he learned a lot too. We trained for 5-10 minutes every night for over 4 years, sometimes successfully, sometimes not so much. Despite it all, we never gave up on a difficult trick, never skipped training sessions, and we both progressed significantly over the years. When he passed away, he took a piece of me with him. He was like my little dog, and I loved my little guy so much. He was special, and I never thought in a million years that I would find another guinea pig like him. Spartan was my superstar, my trickster, my Ace....
When I found my current piggy Ace, I wasn't sure exactly how things would turn out. It was hard to tell what he would be like at the beginning, and I didn't expect him to be like Spartan. I called him Ace before we even got home, and halfheartedly told him I needed him to be my new Ace. I guess he took me seriously, because he surprised me in a way I never expected. He was spookily similar to Spartan, and integrated himself into my life as if he had always been there. One day when I was sitting on the floor, he wanted to wiggle through a tight space between the wall and my back. He didn't quite have enough room, so, much to my surprise, he headbutted me!
And I burst into tears, because Spartan used to do the exact same thing when he wanted me to move, and I had never seen another guinea pig do that before. I couldn't believe how similar they were. Since then, I have noticed several more quirks and similarities that they have in common. Spartan was also the creative mischief maker (again, Ceico was the innocent one of the two!) and Ace picked up that role quite quickly when he came into the picture. Ace also learned tricks so naturally, as if he had always known them, and he seemed to bring back the piece that was missing since Spartan left. Both these piggies could make you laugh and sigh at the same time, and I'm so glad to have had them in my life.
Spartan may not have been as widely known as Ace or Ceico, but his legacy will always be remembered, and I will be forever grateful for everything he taught me about training animals.
Spartan and Ceico
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Spartan and Ceico; when Ceico was still a young piggy.
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Teddy
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Date Passed: October 11, 2010 (Thanksgiving Monday)
Age: 4 1/2 years old Gender: Female Favorite Treats: Carrots Favorite Tricks: Stand up & Circle Number of Tricks Learned: 5 or 6 Accomplishments: Being very patient with me in my very early (but eager) attempts at trick training. |
Teddy was my very first guinea pig, and the very patient recipient of all my earliest attempts and mistakes while learning to train animals for the first time. She was the cutest thing (as you can see from her baby picture above!) I ended up with her sort of by accident, when a friend unknowingly ended up with a pregnant guinea pig, and gave me one of the babies. I've been hooked on guinea pigs ever since. :) Teddy was the sweetest pig, and was always cooperative and happy to oblige despite my inconsistency and lack of knowledge about training guinea pigs. She only learned a handful of tricks to a completed level, but we experimented with several different tricks, bouncing back and forth to different things, so she also ended up with several half finished behaviors as well. Teddy was the best first pig I could have ever asked for. She was so sweet, patient, and friendly with everyone (and she loved her carrots!) She also meant a lot to me in so many ways, as I might not have become so interested in training animals if she wasn't such a great and patient teacher.
