Introducing Puppy

Question
I have an 18 month old mini pot bellied pig.  We have had him since he was 10 weeks old and he has been raised in the house the entire time.  He is housebroken and has a very sweet disposition.  There are two dogs in the house and a cat, they all have gotten along fine since Day 1.  I just purchased a puppy (12 weeks old) and now my pig has been showing some signs of aggression.  He has charged the puppy a couple of times and now tonight he charged me.  I had been laying on the floor with the pig rubbing his belly.  The puppy was not near him but I had been playing with a stuffed animal that had puppy saliva on it; when I went to touch the pig again (without washing my hands) is when he charged me.  What should I do to get the pig to stop being aggressive to the puppy?  We have been reassuring the pig, spending extra time with him, giving him extra brushings and petting him more, putting the puppy in his crate so the pig is alone with us.  I don't want him to hurt the puppy (approx 15 pounds right now) and I don't want him charging the adults and kids in the house.  Thank you for any suggestions you may have.  

Answer
Piggies often have trouble adjusting to new family members. Pigs see their human families and other pets as their herd. A pig herd is like a ladder, every member of the herd has their place. When a new pig joins the herd, or in this case a new puppy joins the family, the order on the ladder changes. Your pig wants to keep his spot on the ladder, and is trying to show the puppy that he is boss.

Pigs and dogs are a tricky combination. It really depends totally on the individual dog and pig. Dogs are predators and pigs are prey, and they don't speak the same language. Often, something about the way a pig moves or snorts will trigger a hunting instinct in dogs, even timid dogs who have never shown any interest in hunting or aggression whatsoever. It isn't the dogs fault, that's just the way the dogs brain is wired.

Do not leave the puppy and pig alone together, do not feed them together, and, for now, don't let them play together, either. Do not let the pig act aggressively towards anyone. If the pig gets grumpy and charges, push back on his shoulder to make him back up, or squirt him with a squirt bottle. It works best when the person being charged is the person who squirts or pushes back.

Piggy is testing boundaries. Stick to the boundaries with consistent, gentle but firm discipline. Consistency is key. It may take a couple of weeks for the pig to get used to the new puppy and back to being himself.