[Gpdd] CARE: picking up reluctant/skittish piggie

[rmalsberg at comcast.net]

Hello, All & Sundry........

Regarding recent posts on picking up skittish or reluctant piggz:  mine are usually OK, although even my old lady Sundae may retreat further into the cage when I want to take her out, and I have to coax her out and up the ramp to her balcony to pick her up.

But it's Tosca who's the real pill, when I want to take her from the laundry basket and put her back into a cleaned cage.  She is OK to pick up, but when she sees the cage, she wants to do a flying leap, and although she's never appeared to be hurt, it makes me very nervous.  So what I do, which could be the solution for y'all with problem stated above, is I put their cardboard tube in the laundry basket, Tosca generally steps right into it, and I pick up the tube, with both hands securely covering the ends.  Then I place the tube on the balcony, take away the "front end" hand, and she walks peacefully out and into her cage ("YAY!!! fresh (special) hay!!!").  

If this helps, don't thank me, thank an old (sorry, forgot name) pigdig contributor from back in the day who gave me the idea.  Oh, yeah, oatmeal container might work too.

:-)

Wheeks,

Rayna, Sundae and Tosca and Taffy in mem