guinea pig udjusting to a new dog

Hello all.
I wonder if anyone can help. We are adopting a dog (we are on a trial adoption stage). She is good little beagle about 2 yrs old. We have a guinea pig at home, she is in the cage and is not roaming around but she feels very nervous since we got a dog. she stoped eating her treats (carots, brocoly) and she just not being herself. I wonder how I can hel her adjust to having a dog around. The dog was very interested in her at first (probably more as a pray than anything else), but now calmed down and does not show much interest in the guinea pig. Any Ideas are welcome.

Thanks

Hi and welcome to the board!:)

Is your guinea pig's cage high enough? If it's on the floor or at eye level with the dog, this will make her extremely nervous. As you know, beagles are hunting dogs and guinea pigs are prey animals, so it's normal for her to be nervous.

If the cage is already up high, you might want to cover the back of it, to give the guinea pig a feeling of security she may not have if the cage is completely exposed.

Since she spends so much time in her cage, is it large enough? Does she have a house in there for her to hide in?

If you want to get her interested in something, go and pick some clover (make sure it comes from an area that is not treated with chemicals) Guinea pigs LOVE clover.

Very nice to see someone who cares about how a guinea pig feels!:)

Great ideas LR - I'm sure she will adjust in time, but you need to make sure she has a safe place like a wooden or cardborad box she can make a nest in.
We had a chinchila (sp?) name Cindy that loved to play with the dog - the bottom of her large cage was at eye level with the dog - but it was quite high with lots of landings for her to climb on and her house was at the top. Cindy would come down to the dogs level and sniff her (this is my rottie BTW) - then she would run all around and up and down the cage - and get the dog going (Rosie would be jumping up and down and mumbling watching Cindy) - then she'd stop at the bottom and just stare at the dog and until the dog settled down - then she' do it again. Really funny to watch.

My mother had a guinea pig when she was a kid that was always loose in the house - he appearently got along well with the dog they had back then and would put the dog in his place is he started to get too rough.

So it is possible for them to get along, it'll just take some time.
Good Luck