Aggressive pot bellied pig

Question

Nicanor   Hi, my boyfriend and i  are from Mexico city and own a male potbelly pig named Nicanor he's 1 year and a half and is not neutered, this past months has turned very protective with his food and kind of aggressive. Also we think he has some kind of bother with his teeth since he bites his toys more than usual. Most of the times he behaves well, but we are afraid he might hurt our other pets or ourselves.

We would like to know if there is a way to let him release all the energy and sexual tension he has, since we are not sure if neutering him will be a solution or if it will bring problems for his health when he gets older (it has happened with other pets). We would like to know the pros and cons of the procedure and the consequences in its system, behavior and weight.

Answer
Intact male pigs are driven by hormones. They have little control over humping behavior. Also, intact male pigs have a strong odor. Neutering reduces the hormones, and will make the humping and smell go away. There are no long term complications from neutering a male pig, as long as it's done by a veterinarian who is familiar with mini-pigs (their anatomy is slightly different from farm hogs), with painkillers and antibiotics.

Pigs have three sets of teeth in their lives. The last adult teeth will come in when piggy is about 2-1/2 years old. So he may be getting new teeth now, or he may have a problem with his teeth. The veterinarian can check his mouth when he is put under for neutering.

Piggy needs to understand that aggression is not allowed. Pigs see the world as a ladder, with each person, place and pig having his or her own rung. Pigs show their position in a herd by making lower ranking pigs move. For example, a low ranking pig may be sleeping under a tree. A high ranking pig might come by, and make the lower pig get up and move away. The high ranking pig may or may not take the spot under the tree. The point wasn't who gets to sleep under the tree, the point was that the high ranking pig could make the low ranking pig move.

So, that is one way to control piggy's aggression. Make piggy take a couple of steps back. If piggy is sitting or sleeping with people and gets grumpy, make him get up and stake a couple of steps away.

I highly recommend the book "Pot-Bellied Pig Behavior and Training" by Priscilla Valentine, and the dvd "There's a Pig in the House" from tophogs.com