[Gpdd] BEHAVIOR: Mounting and Dominance

[Conklin Kacee]

My first guinea pigs were a boy and a girl named Kack and Kaz.  I had
not planned on getting them fixed until I read how prolific these little
rascals could be.  Kaz, the larger of the two, was always mounting Kack
so I assumed that Kaz was a boar.  I arranged to have "him" neutered but
just in case, brought Kack to the vet with me the day the deed was to be
done.  The vet picked up Kack and said oh yes, he's a male.  I was
dumbfounded that Kack turned out to be the male.  When I told the vet
why I thought Kaz was the male, he said that piggies also mount to
establish dominance.  Kaz would continue to mount Kack and he seemed
un-phased by it.  I was a little concerned when I rescued Kodee and
Korkee because they seemed a good bit larger than Kack and I was a
little afraid he might be the butt of a bunch of mounting not only by
Kaz, but now Korkee and Kodee.  As it turned out, my little Kack ended
up being the Alpha pig ... he would put up with Kaz mounting him but not
Kodee and Korkee.  They all got along great from the day I brought them
home but if Kack wanted a certain spot in their pen, the other Munchees
would get out of his way.

As for rubbing those piggy butts, rub away.  "Purring" comes in
different sounds.  Kiki sounds entirely different than Kramer or Kia.
Like people, piggies have different "voices" from one another.
 
Kacee