Getting used to being held

Question
HI I was wondering if you could give me some advice on ways to get my pbp used to being held?? She is about 4 months old.


Thanks Myca

Answer
Moma pigs don't pick up or carry their babies, so little pigs are instinctively afraid of being held or lifted. In the wild, this happens only when a predator is about to eat them!

Work with her in a confined, isolated area, as often as possible. Use her natural love of food to motivate her. The only food she gets should come from your hands, or her bowl while it's held in your hands. Do not give her meals in her bowl on the floor. Limit snacks to training treats only until she's comfortable being held.

Take her to a small room, like a bathroom or laundry room. Sit on the floor, and hold her dish with her meal in your hands. Let her come to you and eat. As she eats, rub and touch her. Be sure to tell her before you touch her, for example, say "Touch piggy ear" before rubbing her ears. Do not put her dish on the floor.

At the next meal, do the same thing, except hold the dish close to your body, coax her to step into your lap while she eats. Continue to talk to her and touch her. At the next meal, when she's in your lap, start trying to cuddle her lightly.

Continue doing this at every meal, until she's comfortable being in your lap and held or hugged. Take your time, don't rush her too much. At this point, you can start lifting her off the floor if you want her to learn to be carried. But, I would suggest working on harness training instead. It can be difficult to lift and carry a full grown pig, it's much easier for pig and person if piggy learns to walk nicely on a harness and lead.

I highly recommend the book Pot-Bellied Pig Behavior and Training by Priscilla Valentine. Pris really understands how pigs think and why they do the things they do. She goes into much more detail than I can here. Her book is available from Amazon.com.