Saturday, November 5, 2011

New Agents



Real Name: Woody

Secret Agent Name: Agent Otter

Why did you chose your Secret Agent Name: Mummy says I look like an otter, what is an otter?

Where do you live? In my pod.

Who do you live with? With my mummy, my Lady, my beloved Boomer, Starbuck and my new friend. I was adopted by my new family after not having a very nice start in life.


Favourite Food? Red pepper.

Favourite Hobby? Being cuddled by my Mummy, purring at other pigs.

Favourite Toy? Cardboard rolls which I destroy in a manly way.




Real Name? You all have to guess. My full name has three words, I am named after the lead male character in a recently ended long-running television series. The first word in my name is a title awarded by the Queen and my second name is a diminutive of Henry. 


Secret Agent Name? Thames


Why did you chose your Secret Agent Name? The river often features in the television programme.


Where do you live? Too close to that idiot Otter


Who do you live with? See previous answer.


Favourite Food? I do something of a fondness for hay.


Favourite Hobby? Attempting to ignore Otter, looking inscrutable.


Favourite Toy? My pigloo, I like to reject the toys Lady buys us in favour of cardboard rolls, this helps to remind her who is boss. ME.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Mystery Agent Ted

Meet Agent Ted. He looks suspiciously like Agent Curly but is not! This
enables them to pull off some secret missions together. In addition to being
a secret agent, Agent Ted's hobbies include eating his favorite food,
parsley, keeping in shape by running stairs, and pining after the 4
beautiful sows next door.







Agent Ted's real name is the same as one of the boys from the Narnia stories with an extra T added in somewhere........get guessing

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Vote for the Halloween piggie!

You can vote for your favorite Halloween piggie pigture! Fill in the poll below, you can vote until November 7th (midnight, CET)
We hope you all join in on deciding who is our favorite Halloween piggie!

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Lily's Halloween entry

This is Lily after eating some
red bell pepper or tomatoes...

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Anita and Adriana's Halloween Pigtures


Anita Misfit



Adriana Misfit

These two agents in training are very lucky as the Misfits Mummy and Daddy made a 4 hour round trip to bring them to their forever home.

We think they are adorable and look forward to watching them grow up to become fully fledged Agents.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Lola and Buffy's Halloween Pigtures


Buffy


Lola

Great costumes girls Lola and Buffy have their own blog click here to view it.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Flower's Halloween Pigtures





I think you will agree Flower is a lovely sheltie, maybe she is shy and is not sure about being a secret Agent as we think Flower is her real name (we are not sure thought perhaps she could confirm in comments)

Good work Flower

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Halloween Competition

Agent Minty reporting in.
 
These pigtures are of a venerable old gentlepig here at Piggyfriends. He is my next door neighbour and his name actually is Halloween, as it was on that day, 6 years ago, that our Slave brought him home. He was an adult piggy then so we have no idea how old he really is.
 
As the weather was warm last weekend, Slave took him out into the garden for a photoshoot. She only some wanted pigtures to commemorate the day, before the weather turned, to share with the GPDD readers so they are not of competition quality but as you announced the competition, I thought that I would share them with you anyway.
 
Halloween is much to old to be an agent or to be dressed up in a Halloween costume but, in between lengthy naps, he posed for these pigtures. Slave made the jack-o-lantern in her pottery class many years ago. When she was due to glaze it, the class was cancelled that week due to snow and the tutor, thinking to do the class a favour, glazed everyone's work for them. Shame about the colour but it was too late to do anything about it!
 
Happy Halloween every one!

Friday, October 21, 2011

Guinea Pigs row tiny boat



This is a cute video, if you ignore the fact the cage is a hamster cage complete with wheel and a few other details.

If Mummy thinks we will do this she can think again!!

Monday, October 17, 2011

Igor's PLAY: vegetable Hide-and-Seek

This wheek I am meeting with Lady Guinyvere. A beautiful and mature lady, who promised to share her experiences with her invention Veggie Hide-and-Seek.

Although our conversation takes place through the cage bars (Slaves thought it couldn't be done *tssk* Apparently, auntie Guiny is a spunky little lady), she soons whispers it is okay for me to call her auntie Guiny. Lucky for me, she isn't as bad as our slaves made her out to be. Next to being spunky, Auntie Guiny also has a reputation of being very intellingent. To illustrate, she understands the concept of 'opening a door'. When she sees a door, she will think first, and then she decides whether she should push or pull. That's pretty smart, I think.

(Igor:) Dear aunt Guiny, what is Veggie Hide-and-Seek?
(Guiny:) Veggie Hide-And-Seek is a hunt for hidden veggies. The special thing about my version of Veggie Hide-And-Seek is that I make my slave use small cups in which she has to hide the veggies. With these cups, Slaves can upgrade the difficulty level. I really need intellectual stimulation (your should hear the mindless chatter in the cage.. *sigh*) so this is one of my favorite games. Also, the game complies perfectly with my natural need to rummage for food.

 (Igor:) What materials can you use?:

(Guiny:) In theory, you don't really need the cups. But once you are used to them, the cups enable you to increase the difficulty level and it becomes more challenging than just gobbling down those veggies. Send your slave to the attic and let her check between the children's toys and kitchenware. You can also send your slave to a rummage sale, a cheap household store etc. 


You also need veggies. Preferably different kinds and small amounts. One piece a cup is enough. Otherwise it is very likely that you pigs out there will lie down after one cup to let the food digest comfortably in your tummy. If you play it like this, it is not much of a game.
As for the veggies, I prefer a bit of cucumber, paprika (bell pepper) and chicory, but that is personal of course.
You also need a large space in which you are allowed to run around. Your slave might need to use a fence or newspaper/blankets in order to protect the floor and furniture.

(Igor:) How should guinea pigs from all over the world apply this?

(Guiny:) I'm happy you ask that question, dear Igor. When you start playing this game, it's best that you start on a low level. This can be achieved by placing the cups in such a way that they are easy to find. Your slave should put them in a position so that you can easily see and reach the veggies.

Once you have mastered this, you go on to the second level. Now your slave can then put them in harder to find places, so you have to try harder to find them. On the third level your slave can start to vary the positions of the cups. For example, when these are upside down, you cannot smell the veggies as easily and you will have to find out for yourself if something tasty is in there. You will also have to find out how to turn the cup in order to get out the veggie. Another difficult position is a cup which is placed just upright. With our cups it is kinda hard to put our noses inside. The final level is a combination of difficult positions and locations. I faced some challenges with cups that were on top of houses, or almost buried underneath a pillow. Needless to say, I conquered them all.

(Igor:) What about the Do-it-yourself-Factor?:
(Guiny:) Veggie Hide-And-Seek is not for sale in pet shops and your slave has to make it herself.

 (Igor:) Lady Guiny, does this game have different versions?:

(Guiny:) Well, as I already explained, there are several difficulty levels. Your slave can also use toilet paper rolls instead of the plastic cups, for an old fashioned game of shred-the-cardboard-to-pieces after you're done eating the veggies. By the way, this game is at its best when you do this with your cage mates. You can do a match, and whoever finds the most veggies, wins (and she who wins gets to eat them as an award *giggle*).

(Igor:) Who is the target audience??:(Guiny:) Well look, Igor, I myself am an intellectual cavy. I don't know if you have ever considered this target audience, but stimulation is very important for my type of guinea pig. We become very bored without it. Playing games like this really cheers us up. Another target audience that will definitely appreciate this, is of course the food oriented cavy.

 (Igor:) Is this dangerous?:

(Guiny:) Slaves have to pay attention to the safety of the cups (Sharp edges, edibility etc.) For this game you will always need a supervising slave, in the case we get stuck. By the way, our own slaves really enjoy watching us play this game...

Professor Igors experiences:
(Igor:) I have to say, I am excited about this game. I have played this game about five times with Suus and Yaya. Especially Yaya is very good at playing, usually I will just trail behind her and hope that there is more than one piece in her cup. We are currently playing this game at level 3. I do find it a bit scary, but it is definitely very exciting.

Dear auntie Guiny, thank you very much for this interview and hopefully I will seen you soon!

Professor Igor

Friday, October 14, 2011

Foodball

Bo has a new hobby, she likes foodball! She likes it so much, she doesn't even eat the treats that fall out..
(the black things on the floor are treats, not poop)

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Igor's PLAY - Houses

This wheek it is time for evaluating houses. Because there are so many different kinds of houses, I'll do this a bit differently. After an evaluation of houses in general, I will discuss the houses we have and award them with a rating expressed in golden guinea pig poos (1 bean for a really bad house, 10 beans for an absolutely awesome house).

What is it?
        Concept: Well what can I say… a house. A roof, walls and holes in it...
        Material: This can be practically anything. The houses I evaluated were made from wood, cardboard, plastic and grass. Auntie Guiny and her herd even have a little tent, which is made out of fabric.
        Application: This is very simple. Your slave places the house in your cage, you walk in and lo and behold!
        Do it yourself-factor?: This is pretty high, depending on the material you use. With a cardboard box even the little or the clumsy slaves can build you a cool house. Slaves that are a bit more skilful, can build a house out of wood. Do pay attention that you use materials that do not splinter and do not contain any harmful substances. Us guinea pigs like a house that can be ehm...altered.

Target audience?

Great for the relax cavy. Go inside and plant your furry behind in front of the entrance and you can lounge in complete privacy (also a good tip for the foodfocused guinea pig) If the house happens to have a flat roof, it is also very entertaining for the climber cavy. Climb on top and enjoy the view while wheeking your slave out of bed (or the couch..) Stressed cavies also appreciate a nice and safe house. It will offer a safe place in your cage from out of which you can observe the surroundings and build up confidence to go exploring later.

Dangerous?:

This depends on the house. Tell your slave not to buy or make a house that, when being gnawed on (and you know we cannot resist), are harmful to us. Also remove pointy ends sticking out. Your slave always needs to consider your safety when she buys you toys, because some piggy toy designers are just not the shiniest poos in the pigloo. Your slave should also pay attention to the holes in the house, they ought to be big enough. Most of us aspire to become a LAPS Pig one day, and getting stuck in the door opening or window is not very convenient. With cardboard this is not really an issue. Here, I actually prefer it when my slave makes the holes slightly too small because then I like it to decide (and alter) what the size of the window should be. Your slave should also remove tape and staples, especially around the edges.

Golden Poos?

        House 1: (Suus:) House number 1 is a bit small, but secretly aunt Guiny and auntie Lotje like it to be stuffed in the house together. (We call this position the Double PigMac... *snigger*). Jan the boar loved to sit on the roof of this house, he said it made him feel like he was the king of the cage.
Score: (Igor:) 7 Golden guinea pig poos
        House 2: (Yaya:) House number 2 is comfurrtably big, which is absolutly great when you are lying in it. The only downside is that when you are not allowed inside, there is so little cage space left. The roof also offers no climbing uses, but the window deserves points in favour. It is really nice to rest your little head when you are studying for your master's degree in piggin out (yes, very hard work indeed).
Score: (Igor:) 7,5 Golden guinea pig poos
        Houses 3, 4 and 8: (Suus:) These are made by Granny's boyfriend. He added a little bit of extra lovin' to these houses, which makes them extra special. They are all very tasty and have two exits. This comes in very handy when auntie Guiny snaps at you because she wants to lie in the house. With an extra door, there is always a way out...
Score: (Igor:) 7 Golden guinea pig poos
        House 5: (Igor:) This house looks really nice but looking back, this wasn't such a good design. Colored cardboard can be hard on the stomach. The size was nice though.
Score: (Igor:) 5 Golden guinea pig poos
        House 6: (Suus:) Wheeeeek, this was an excellent house! It had a big door (I'm a LAPS girl after all) and I could easily climb on the roof and spy on my slave. It had very edible, yummy cardboard.
Score: (Igor:) 8 Golden guinea pig poos
        House 7: (Yaya:) On the pigture you can see Granny's handsome boar Robbie peeking out of a pigloo. This is not an actual house, but us guinea pigs don't really understand the difference between a house and a toilet. (Just take a look inside our cage *evil grin*). Aunt Guiny refers to this house as The Blue Carriage. After an evening of running around in the living room, our slave had to very kindly beg our Lady Guinyvere (as she likes to call herself..) to proceed into The Blue Carriage. After which she was comfortably transported towards the cage (whereas us plain guinea pigs just had to climb into the cage ourselves). This is an advantage of the Pigloo, because it has a bottom, which makes it perfect for carrying around a guinea pig (be careful to cover the opening though. We are not really built for extreme sports liked base jumping.) I myself think the house is very tasty, but my slave won't allow me to eat it and has removed it from our cage. I guess she is right.. it was a bit hard on my belly.
Score: (Igor:) 5,5 Golden guinea pig poos
        House 9: (Guiny:) This tent is nice and big, it easily fits two of us, and we can even squeeze Woopy in there with us as a third. The bottom of the tent is very comfy, it's made of some kind of wooly stuff that is nice and soft. It can also be taken out (it's attached to the tentbottom with velcro, so your slave can easily take it out and wash it), which is very convenient for the slaves to clean it. The only problem with this tent is that it's made of fabric, which we can chew. I know who made the holes in our tent (right, Igor? *chatter*)..
Score: (Igor:) 6 Golden guinea pig poos
        Bahama shack: (Igor:) Yummy, greawft!... Vwery tastyf. Thoshe dfoorsf ougfwt to be a little biw biggerwsf...*chewchew*...*swallow*.
Score: (Igor:) 8 Golden guinea pig poos

Cheers!
Professor Igor

Thursday, October 6, 2011

World Animals' day: present Winkyteam style

Our mom was inspired by auntie Janneke's post with Coco and Bo in it,
and decided to make us a box of veggies, hay and pellets (in our case).
She used mainly the same concept as Auntie Janneke, cut the holes in the box,
filled the box with hay, chicory in small strips, freshly grown herbs (did we mention slave is starting our (ehm her?) own veggie garden?) and also added some of our appreciated pellets.
That is the kind we don't have in our cage at the moment, as mom says those pellets are not very good for us, but we love them anyway!

Here you can see a video of us investigating the box:

(if this doesn't work, you should be able to watch the video here: http://ustre.am/:1cbs4)
Be sure to watch the highlighted part where Daisy really gets into our present!

Here are some pigtures of us investigating as well....


What is this box?!?

Yum yum
Daisy getting into the box..
Daisy in the box, first picxk at the veggies.
The rest now eating from side bottom, as hay was sticking out there now...
Content wheeks,
The Guinygirlz: Agents wheeker, lily'explorer and lil'woop and Agent Valentino

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

World Animal Day; the Presents

Hi all!
Nomnomnom
We got a veggie surprise box for World Animal day! Below you can see how the box was made by our J.

First, cut a hole in a cardboard box
Next, fill up the box with hay and veggies.
J did this lasagna-style;
hay with layers of parsley and shredded carrot
Close the box (don't use tape or staples!)
Happy World Animal Day!
Go away! Guinea pig @ work

Wheekz!
Coco and Bo, the shredding, chewing and nomming piggies

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Meet Undercover Agent 007GP



My friend Sammy invited me to become one of the Undercover Guinea Pigs. I thought that sounded like fun, so I decided maybe I would try it out. I chose Agent 007GP as my undercover name, since I am the 7th member of the Story Piggy herd. Also, since I have been told that I am such a smart and handsome guy, I guess my spy name fits me. My hobby is eating, and my favorite food is fresh hay. I love to play with it, bury myself in it, and, of course, eat it. I am a newly adopted member of the Story Piggies, so I am not quite sure what my favorite toy is yet, but I know that one of my favorites is my hay bowl. I love to head butt it around my cage and flip it over. I just can't leave it on my shelf with all of that good hay sitting in it. I have to bring it down to the floor of my cage where I can run through it, hide in it and play with it. When I am tired of that, I eat some and fall asleep on it so it will be right where I left it when I wake up. I have to get my beauty sleep so I will remain such a handsome boar. That way I will be able to live up to my spy name "007GP". I look forward to some exciting cases with the other Undercover Guinea Pigs.




Can you guess my real name?

Friday, September 30, 2011

Home Improvement

Today I'm gonna show you how to build your own wooden house (we had to throw away the previous one because something white and fluffy was growing inside)

The wooden panels
Hurray! First wall is up!
The door goes over here..
Checking the inside before the roof goes up
Tadaaaa!!
When you're finished you an use this house for shelter or as a lookout.

Wkz!
Agent Chanel

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

PLAY: Hammocks

In Memory of Agent I, we'd like to repeat all the PLAYs (Piggies Like Activities and Yummies) Professor Igor wrote before he became an undercover agent. Unfortunately all of the piggies in this PLAY have crossed the rainbow bridge by now.. But as former owner of these piggies I love looking at their pigtures.

PLAY 1: Hammocks

This wheek I evaluated hammocks for you guys. I must admit, hammocks turned out to be an extraordinary versatile and interesting study object.

Agent I inspecting the hammock
I asked my slave to put up the hammock in my cage and have been studying it thoroughly. There was also a lot of photo material in the archives, I did not want to deprive you guys of that..

What is it?
Concept: Hammocks are little mats in which you can hang around. It is a square cloth, raised a little above the ground and you can lie comfortably in it.

Material: My hammock is made of fleece. Hmm..nice and soft. But it is also possible to find or make hammocks made out of other materials. Small towels..... pieces of fabric. Nowadays my slave usually makes a hammock with a bottom made out of fabric to which no sawdust will stick, and the top made of a softer fabric like fleece. Attached to the mat are cords which can be attached to the cage bars. These can be made of fabric, but there are also mats available that have little chains.

Application: Your slave should first set up your hammock. There are several ways of doing this. First of all, your slave can attach the hammock to the ceiling of the cage. My slave usually ties the hammock cords to the side cage bars or she ties them around the bottom part (knot underneath the cage, against the floor) and then puts the cage bars on top. Choose whatever you and your slave finds convenient and pending on the possibilities of your cage. The knot-around-the-cage-method is ideal for cages with a plastic top. But this will not work when the cords are too short. When the mat has been installed, us guineas can get to work. Climb on the hammock (that can be quite a challenge! :-D) and relax.. lie down like a true pig.. ehm did I just say that? I meant start studying for you masters degree in piggin' out.. But be careful of cage mates that will try to bounce you out of your hammock.
Top left: Suus, Top right: Yaya and Jan, Bottom left: Lotje,
Yaya and Guiny, Bottom right: Suus and Yaya
Variations
Other applications of a hammock include; a nice place to study under, or as food storage. Every guinea will appreciate an extra roof above his or her head. And eating from it, is quite a challenge. Imagine balancing while everyone in your cage is pushing and pulling, trying to nibble from the veggies or hay. Ah well.. a little cavy exercise, there's nothing wrong with that, right?

Do it Yourself factor?
Top left: Lotje, all other pigtures: Suus
It is very convenient when your slave knows how to handle a sewing machine. Because if she can, it is just a matter of sewing a square rag and attach the cords to it. For the less gifted slaves, guest towels are ideal (tie shoelaces or something else to the corners and there you go). Slaves can also buy hammocks in a store. There is loads to be found on the internet and some pet stores sell hammocks. If you cannot find any, try looking for ferret toys, the ferret section usually contains some nice hammocks!

Variations
There are also hammocks with pockets in them. These are very comfurrtable. There's the oven mitt model, with an opening in the side But there is also a model with an opening in the middle. The one Lotje is showing on the pigture has boning in it, in order to keep it open. I really thought that was a useful addition, because balancing on the mat while you try to stick your head in an opening is hard enough already. Suus is a big fan of the bunk hammock (see pigture). But I have the impression that Suus is a rat inside a guinea pig body. In my opinion, the bunk hammock can be dangerous. Suus is a very good climber so she can manage, but this concept is not suitable for everypig and your slaves should consider this.

The hammock is a tool that is suitable for both the climbing guinea pig and the relaxing guinea pig. Your can pull the funniest pranks in a hammock (Suus: popcorning in a fleece hammock will launch you to greater heights, Squeeeaaaak!!). But above all, it is very suitable to study for a master's degree in imitating a fireplace rug. In other words, it's really perfect for guinea pigs who like to relax. When your slave puts some food in the hammock, it is also good for the munching guinea pig.

Top: Suus, Lotje and Jan the Boar, Bottom pigture,
from top left to bottom right: Jan, Lotje, Yaya, Guiny, Suus
Well, getting into a hammock requires some practise. I actually find it quite scary. Although I have to admit it's not really dangerous in our cage because I won't fall very far. Yaya used to eat the hammock cords. In the past this has lead to diarrhoea, so now our slave uses materials that are simply not edible (like metal chains) or aren't harmful (like sisal rope).

User experiences?
Suus: I am very pleased with our hammocks. I find it an ideal way to explore the surroundings, while bouncing in it. It keeps me fit, and I like to practice my climbing skills. But relaxing is also very nice. Though it could use a defense mechanism, that would enable me to not get pushed out of it by Yaya.. or accompanying earplugs.. because if I do not make space for Yaya she will start to whine really loudly..

Yaya: I think the hammocks should be made of a more edible material. The fleece is so heavy on my stomach. The material of which my lil' Bahama shack is made would do perfectly... hmmm... SLAVE!!!

Igor: Well this was my first PLAY report, if you have any user experiences, photo's or remarks, let me know!!

Wheeks and lots of Play-sure!
Professor Igor

Monday, September 26, 2011

Guess the Heaviest Piggy Agents Avatar and Firenze.



Here are two of the Piggyfriends. From left to right you can see Agents Firenze and Avatar.

Here is another pigture of them - a risque shot of them in the bath just for the boars. In this pigture Agent Avatar is on the left. This is really just an excuse to plug the best ever shampoo for piggies, Vet Sect Repel, as well as to give the readers another clue. This time Agent Firenze is on the right.



And here is a shot from the rear. This time Agent Firenze is on the left.




Which is the heavier of these two girls?

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Guess the Heaviest Piggy Agents Pirate and Acorn


Left to Right Agents Pirate and Acorn

You may have spotted that Agent Pirate is a totally new Agent so here are the clues for her real name, this is a tough one we have been told she is named after a female pirate but when we googled the name for more details she appears to be a computer character whose full name is Two Hands Rebecca Pirates real name is the characters nickname.

Good luck

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Hungry piggies!

Hi all,

We just wanted to let you know that we are very hungry piggies too! (starving really..)


We have a nice little routine worked out to get the most out of our slave J;

- in the morning we wheek her out of bed, especially Bo is very good at this (we suspect that she'll become an opera singer when she grows up). As soon as we hear the alarm clock we'll start wheeking. After we've had our fill, J's toilet breaks and trips to the kitchen are a good cue to start wheeking again.

- when J comes home from work, Coco will sit on the wooden shelf in the left hand corner of the cage for a good view and she'll hit J with her most adorable smile when she comes up the stairs. Then Bo starts squeaking up a storm and tadaaa... veggies!

Ow and don't forget to show off paws, noses, and or cute lips ;-)

How do you guys beg for food?

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Sleep Research: Pepper in the corner

My friend Pepper is showing of some of her sleep research. Not only is it a very nice version of the banana position, it's also clever because with her head in the corner it's harder for cagemate Jimmy to bother her (ghegheghe.. well done Pepper!)

Agent Chanel
p.s. extra point for the cute paw!