I was at the pet food store today and I saw a sign for a website about potbellied pig rescue. They are trying to give away potbellied pigs whose owners don’t want them, from babies all the way up to the big old full-grown ones. The site is very comprehensive, warning that pigs can get up to 120 pounds, they need a special diet, require exercise and mental stimulation, discipline, and TLC. They need a child-safe home, a place to root, a big litter box, and a bed. They are also smart, affectionate, and sound like they’d be a stimulating pet to have when I move into my new house next summer.
Keeping in mind that I know all this and think I could provide a decent home, what do you think I need to know about having a pig as a pet? I’d want the pig to live mostly indoors but he or she will have time to graze and root outside. I have 4 cats already, so there are litter pans to consider as well as smaller, more fragile pets who I could not bear to see hurt in any way. Would I be best with a baby pig who is raised to respect the cats? Is it hard to train and discipline pigs? Are pig litter boxes gross? Any info would be great.
I’ve never owned one, but a friend did. They do not appeal to me as pets for a variety of reasons, but the biggest reason was that their bristles are thinly distributed over what amounts to a lot of sweaty pigskin. They’re not particularly nasty-smelling, but they have a definite “sweaty” odor AND appearance that I find less than pleasant.
Personally, I do not even want to contemplate a litter box for a 120 pound animal.
How can they be sweaty if they actually cannot sweat at all? That’s why they need to wallow in cool water or mud in the summer, because they have no sweat glands. They also need to be moisturized regularly so they don’t get too dry.
Well, as to that, I can’t help you. I’ve been pretty close to two of them, and I would describe them both as sweaty. Or maybe oily. And thinking about the odor, I would compare it to ferret, sort of, but with an undertone of, well… sweat.
That might not be possible due to the inherent nature of the pigs to exert dominance over the rest of the household. As noted by Amberlei in an earlier thread on the subject, there is a history of people getting potbellied pigs without realizing what they are getting into then pass off their pigs onto someone else. Some of them even replace the adult pig with a baby one, thus starting the cycle all over again.
I think I probably wouldn’t be able to do a pig justice as a pet. However, those pygmy goats look like a lot of fun… Thanks to everyone who posted and helped me make a good decision.
Heh, you know I just gave my pygmy goat away? His big problem was that he was lonely after one of my dogs died, but he was far from the perfect pet either.
Don’t get me wrong, I liked him a lot, and he was good with the kids and the dogs. But it will be nice to have landscaping again. And the house head-butting did get a little old.
He’s living on a nice dairy with three other pygmies now, happy as can be. Goats aren’t really meant to be solo critters.
How do they taste? Seriously, is there any way that pot bellied pigs, after they lose their cuteness and start getting big, could be used by food banks or something?
I am still interested in having the goats (I’d probably get two), but not until I have the house. I’ll be sure to keep the goat away from my car and find places for him to climb. I have never mown a lawn in my life, and I imagine with a couple of little goats, I’ll never have to. This is all quite theoretical, of course, since I don’t have the house yet.
I’m not really interested in having this conversation in my thread. If you want to talk about eating people’s pets, start your own thread that I don’t have to read, OK?
I have a co-worker who had a potbellied pig she loved but gave away. She said they’re almost too intelligent to be pets- they suffer terrible separation anxiety, can (like a problem child) become deliberately destructive if they get mad at you, are generally high maintenance and gelding is absolutely essential for the males as they are total ALPHA when it comes to other non-humans in the household. Also, finding kennels to board them in a small city is next to impossible. (OTOH, she said he was incredibly affectionate and could be hysterically funny when he was in a playful mood- the fact that they are more intelligent than most dogs allows them much more personality, which is double edged.)
Sorry for the hijack, but had to mention: there is a blind (or at least very seeing-impaired) student at my college who uses a mini-horse as a guide animal. Supposedly they are better than dogs.
PS- here’s a really good intro to the pros and cons of pig ownership by current pigowners. (Did you know that in some neighborhoods you can’t legally have a pet pig?)
My parents had a pot-bellied pig after I left for college. When I came home for breaks, I loved playing with “fluffy” He was a smart little sucker and loved to play chase and hide-and-go-seek. His only bad behavior was that he would “root” on your feet with his nose while you were sitting down doing something. My mother had to give him away eventually because she travels a ton. I wouldn’t mind having one later though.
It would break my heart to get a pig, love him or her a lot, then have to give him away later. It would probably upset the pig too.
Oh my god, that is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen! A miniature donkey! A miniature goat! And I’m a miniature person (well, not really, just kinda short). It would be a menagerie of tiny creatures. My new house should be a hobbit hole.
Not so much “better” at doing the job as a better value for the user. Horses live a lot longer than large dogs like the Golden Lab (the most common breed used by blind persons), which means they can do the job for many more years than any dog can. If it takes a few years to fully train a Lab or German Shepherd as a guide dog and it can only do the job until it’s 8 or 9, well, you have a rather small period during which it’s useful. A healthy horse lives to be 25 or so, so it can probably do the job for nearly 20 years.
As for pigs… well, the Austin Zoo has a large number of animals of all kinds, from pot-bellied pigs to lions and tigers, and MOST of these animals came from the homes of people who tried to keep them as pets. I’m sure there are people who’ve had wonderful experience with pet pigs, but… bear in mind that if people are trying to give them away, there must be a reason. The single biggest reason is that they don’t like being cooped up indoors… but if you let them in your yard, they can completely uproot it in a few days.
I just read an interesting article about minature ponies being used as seeing eye guides. It’s still pretty rare but the idea is catching on. The only catch is if you get one, the pony has to have a little pony friend or it will get depressed. When they get depressed, they get mean and start tearing up their living space, etc.
I guess there’s no such thing as little pony Prozac …
I had a little pygmy goat once. It wasn’t a very fun pet. Just ran around and head-butted me (which really hurt once it got bigger!). Not a cuddly pet! Those things get pretty big!
As for the OP, I thought about getting a potbellied pig once too. That was before I realized they got really big! And they probably don’t smell too good either. Now I’m sticking to dogs. I have a weakness for Cocker Spaniels.
