aggressive pot belly pig

Question
I hope you can help!I have a one and half year old male pot belly pig that has already been neutered the past couple of months he has become real aggressive charging everyone in my house and just the other week has bit my 8 year old in the leg i dont want to get rid of him but I'm worried he is going to hurt someone really bad please can you help me.

Answer
Pigs see the world as a ladder, with each pig, or person, on their own rung. Pigs also have a built-in desire to try to be on the top rung. This usually begins to surface when piggies approach adult hood, around age 2. This may be what is happening with your piggie.

First, make sure there's no physical reason for his aggression, such as pain. Make sure he's peeing and pooping ok. If you can, when he is napping, feel around inside his mouth for swelling or loose teeth. If there's any problem, he needs to see a vet. There's a list of vets that treat pot-bellied pigs here www.farec.org

Give piggy a "safe space" that he can retreat to, such as a laundry room, bedroom, or closet. Put his bed and a water dish in there.

Then, start a Move The Pig Program. In a herd, dominant pigs force subordinate pigs to get up or move to other spots, at random times. It's just the way pigs show each other who's boss.

When piggie shows any signs of aggression, such as charging or nosing at feet, push piggy back. Make piggy take a couple of steps backwards. At first, piggy may get really angry. Pigs learn quickly and unlearn slowly. At this point, he's learned that he can get his way by being grumpy. So, when it doesn't work, he will probably try to be even grumpier! If the situation begins to escalate out of control, make him go into his room for a quick time out. Just a minute, or two no longer. He won't understand staying in his space as punishment. The idea of the time out is to break the cycle of aggression.

If he isn't doing trick training, now is the time to start. It isn't about the tricks, it's about piggy and person learning to communicate with each other, and about piggy getting used to obeying instructions.

Make piggy do a simple trick before each meal, like sit or spin. Do not give piggy ANY treats unless they are training rewards.

Finally, do Move the Pig. If piggy is blocking a door or hallway, don't step over or around. Instead, make piggy move out of the way. If piggy is sitting or standing in a place where you want to be, make him move. Also, at random times during the day, make piggy get up and move. Again, he might be very grumpy at first, but soon you'll see a change in attitude.

Consistency is key. Piggy must be moved EVERY time he is aggressive. Also, every person in the household must participate in Move the Pig, including and especially your child.

Until your child has established his dominance over piggy, I suggest you do not leave them two of them alone together. I normally don't recommend squirt bottles for training, because pigs can quickly figure out when you have the squirt bottle and when you don't. But, in this case, your child might want to have a squirt bottle handy and squirt when piggy becomes aggressive. The trick here is to make sure that piggy is squirted only when really being aggressive, not when he's just being a pig. Children, especially ones that are frightened, can not always make that distinction.

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