In my first Instructable, i will teach you how to train your guinea pig to play dead. by "play dead", i mean he will lay on it's back and not move (dont worry, no guinea pigs will be harmed if directions are followed closely and precisely).

Step 1: Learn to Hold Your Guinea Pig With One Hand

depending on your patients, this can be either easy or difficult. for me it was easy because i had plenty of time to work with him.

what you will need to do is to place your palm under the guinea pig's belly so you have a hold of the guinea pig's mid-section (your thumb should be facing it's head). then, you will raise your guinea pig upward as if you were trying to make it stand on two feet. then, lift it upward where you have a grip of it under its arms; the guinea pig should be resting nicely on your thumb and pointer-finger.

once you feel confortable holding him like that, you need to have him rest into your other hand.

to do that, you must take your other hand and place it on its back. lean back your guinea pig so its now resting into your other hand. move the first hand away from your guinea pig and your pig will adjust itself so it is sitting up like a normal human. dont get frustrated, just practice practice practice.

Step 2: Learn to Have Your Guinea Pig Safely Fall Backwords

this is actually pretty easy if you keep a firm hand and dont freak out.

if your guinea pig is sitting in your right hand, take your left hand, and make it flat (your hand will be flat now, but then your hand will conform to the guinea pigs face). take your hand, and place it on your guinea pig's face. the middles of your fingers should be at the middle of its face. it is a guinea pig's instinct and reflex to push up so your hand is not on its face. when the guinea pig pushes upwords, you need to let him push a little, and slowly move your hand backwords. his head will stay with your hand sorta like a magnet would. continue moving him downword until both of your hands are horizontally parallel.

Step 3: Leave Him Upside Down on a Flat Cusioned Surface

now this will teach you to perfect the final product. by now, your guinea pig is upside down, where you are supporting both sides of its body. you will now lower him to the surface, the backs of your hands are now touching the surface. you need to slowly take your hands out from under him (quickly doing it will startle it). and if you continue to practice, you can do many similar things with your guinea pig!