Scared Pig

Question
I recently adopted a male potbelly who is 6 months old. I was trying to get him used to me. He was doing well then out he nipped my hand when I was petting him and my natural instinct was to slap him in his head. I know it was wrong to hit him. Another instance occurred when I was sitting on the sofa eating and he ran over and jumped on me, crawled all over nipping at the food and hit me in the eye, I knocked forcefully of the sofa. I have used the squirt water bottle method on him as well for discipline. Needless to say, he now seems very scared of me. Will this last forever or will he become more trusting of me later on?

Answer
Hello,
Actually you reacting to his biting was a good thing.  That is exactly what would have happened if he were with other pigs.  When you bite you get bit back!
His biting could be from a couple of different reasons.
He may have been taken from his mother too young.  Piglets need the interaction with the sow and other piglets to teach them manners.  if this doesn't happen like nature planned it can cause on going problems.
I strongly suggest you purchase an Infinity Plus Training Harness/Leash with the video link to show you how to train your piglet.  It is a self discipline technique which will teach your piglet that you ar the good guy and to trust you.
There is nothing else like it and it will fit your pig for his lifetime.
You can find it at the royaldandie.com web site on the product page.
I also suggest that you make sure he is being fed properly.  Often nutritional factors will cause bad behavior.
Hope this helps,
Patty