9 week old pig

Question

  QUESTION: Hello,
We purchased a pot bellied pig two weeks ago and he has been having some behavioral issues.
When we first got him he did not let us hold him. Now he will gladly jump in my lap and let me hold him.He is slowly getting used to being picked up but does not care for it. He is 9 weeks old, nuetered, and is eating mazuri baby pig pellets twice a day.

He is pooping in his litter box but seems to have learned that he should pee in his water bowl. after he has peed in the water bowl for the day he will no longer drink it so he doesnt get water while we are gone other than the water we put in his food. we have since purchased a new water bowl which he no longer pees in but he will occasionally have accidents on the floor in between peeing in the litter box.

We have read that you should keep piglets in their own personal area when they fist come home so we have been keeping him in our bedroom in a confined metal pin. he has room for a bed with blankets, toys, a water bowl, and a litter box. he seems to try to get out of his pin by ramming the bars with his head or trying to lift it off the ground. we have read that when he is doing something inappropriate we should stomp a foot on the ground and say no. we have been doing this but it doesnt seem to work. should we acknowledge him and tell him no or ignore him? we have found that when we put him in the pet carrier with a pillow over the door he will quite down. but this is not a good permanent solution because he will not learn to stop hitting the cage and eventually he will outgrow the pet carrier. we would like to know good ways of getting him to stop hitting his pin. when he hits his pin he will either make low grunting noises/growls or he will make short squealing/screaming noises.

we have been letting him about about once or twice a day to socialize with him and recently he has taken up a fascination with trying to eat wires. we have seen and read about pigs that can freely walk around the house without eating everything in sight however, we are unsure how to accomplish this. at times he will lay calmly in my lap and at other times he wants to try to escape to eat something that is not food.

in the past few days we have put his harness on him to begin leash training him. he does not like the harness and tries to take it off. he does not like to walk on a leash and will try to pull in the other direction if he does not want to go where i am going. when we start walking he will sometimes walk where i am leading but when we reach tile he will run the other direction. do you know of a good way to make him more comfortable walking on his leash?

we have purchased numerous dog toys with squeakers but he does not seem to care for them. can you suggest any toys which pigs love?

We have heard various suggestions about outdoors time. we are unsure how much time to give him each day. and we have also read that you should not let them outdoors until they will readily obey you.

he seems to be aggravated but we can not figure out what we are doing wrong. it breaks my heart to see him upset and i just want to find a way for him to calm down and be comfortable with us.

i think he may be teething because he makes sucking noises and has a bit of foam coming out of his mouth. i have read that this is a sign of teething. could this be a reason why he is so upset? if so how can we make him more comfortable so he will calm down?

i know i have made him sound horrible but he is very loving and sweet when he chooses to be. we are just new pet owners and no matter how much you prepare for your new arrival you are never ready! we just want to get him off to the best start so he can be a happy part of our family. I would hate to do him the injustice of training him poorly and making a bratty pig. any advice you have would be greatly appreciated!

ANSWER: Pigs have three sets of teeth in their lifetimes. So yes, your piggy probably is teething.

The sucking could be one of two things. Pigs usually wean their youngsters at about 12 weeks of age, so your pig was weaned early. He could be exhibiting nursing behavior, which should drop off sharply in a few weeks and disappear completely by the time he is 6 months old. Or, he could be doing the "air sucking" thing that pigs sometimes like to do, especially after they've eaten something really tasty, like a mint.

The foam is normal. Pigs often foam when they are upset or excited or smell food, or know food is coming, or are just thinking about food.

It's ok to let your pig play outside as long as he likes, provided the weather is nice and you are there with him and he is in a fenced area or on a leash. If he gets cold or hungry or tired, he'll want to come inside. Normally, piglets like to stay very close to their humans anyway, and, unless he is threatened or frightened or chased, will probably happily follow you inside when you're ready to go in.

Learning to walk on a leash takes practice. The special harnesses made for pot-bellied pigs that go under the body and snap or fasten on top (the harness does not go on over the head) makes it easier to get the harness on and off. These harnesses are available from pigstuff.com

It's difficult to predict what any particular pig is going to enjoy. Usually, they enjoy toys that make noise when pushed, rather than when squeezed. Dogs enjoy toys that squeak when squeezed or bitten because (sorry to be blunt) it appeals to a dogs natural hunting instinct, the toy responds the way an animal would. Pigs can bite, but really prefer to push things around with their snout. Some people have good luck giving their piggy used infant toys from garage sales and flea markets. Or punch holes in an empty plastic soda bottle or milk carton, and put some bits of food in it (small enough to fall through the holes). Piggy will push the carton around eating the bits that fall through the holes.

Piglets are naturally obsessed with food. They fight with each other for the best teat and the most food in the dish. Sampling things that are not food is how he learns about the world, just as human babies put things in their mouths.

Pigs do need their own "personal space", and it's a good idea to put him in his crate when you are not home to watch him. But the rest of the time, he is lonely and wants companionship. It's much better to keep him with you when you are home. He struggles to get out because it's his natural instinct to stay close to his family for protection, and that's you.

The peeing on the floor issue is a little more complicated. Make sure he can get into his litter box easily. Pigs do not like to step up to go into a potty box, so cut one side down really low. Or, try moving the box to the spot where he pees.

I highly recommend the book Pot-Bellied Pig Behavior and Training by Priscilla Valentine. Pris really understands how pigs think, and explains a lot of ordinary pig behavior that can be baffling to us humans. She also has excellent training tips, and goes into much more detail than I can here. Her book is available from her website valentinesperformingpigs.com or amazon.com

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello Helen!
I must tell you that your advice worked very well. We immediately let him run around the room and his mood improved. We also found toys at petco which make crunching noises and baby toys that he seems to like.

I would like to see if you have any further advice about the peeing. We moved Winston's box and water bowl and he will now go out of his way to get his butt in the water bowl and pee in it. The litter box is accessible but he chooses to pee in the bowl.

Also do you have any suggestions for when we put him back in his pen to leave? He gets very upset when we have to go anywhere. We tried giving him some paper to shred but we were told after he finished the paper and we were gone he was pushing on the pin and squealing.

Again I would like to thank you for all the advice you have given us before. It has helped so much!

Answer
Is he actually standing in his bowl to pee? Pigs will pee or poop when their feet get wet. In the wild, pigs go potty in water, like streams or ponds, so predators will not be able to smell the potty and find them. So if he's getting in his bowl and his feet are getting wet, that is the problem.

You mention that you "were told" he continued to push and squeal after you had left. I am guessing this means that there were other people around. He probably heard them and wanted to be with them, it isn't normal for a baby piglet to be all alone.

You might try putting a radio or small tv where he can see it, and leave it on for him while you're gone. Classical music is usually pretty soothing.