I understand that there is a lot of stigma attached with keeping pigs as pet. The fads that are used to describe these poor fellow’s behaviour and nature are preposterous. With the exception of eating like a pig, which, of course is true,  sayings like “sweating like a hog”, “dirty as a pig” or “stinking like  a pig” are just plain unfortunate, not to mentioned deeply biased. In fact, pigs do not sweat, are not really dirty if provided a clean shelter, and they definitely do not have body odour!

The first thing that you need to know about pigs are that they are extremely genial, compliant, clean and astute. They are very hearty pets and are always eager to socialize. This habits are probably formed by living in a group with other pigs. However, just because pigs are friendly creatures, it cannot be said of them that they do not get angry. If a pig is peeved, he or she screams loudly or even throws its head in a side- sweeping motion. Of course when it is happy, it happily ouffs around in sweet pleasing tones.

A very important thing to remember about keeping a pig as a pet is the establishment of hierarchy. You must have read the quintessential novella Animal Farm by George Orwell. If you have, you must understand that you should establish yourself at the top or your pig will, in a few days, determine that he or she is the “top pig” !
Now it might seem a tab bit absurd but, trust me, there is nothing worse in the world than a brash pig. For all these reasons, you need to keep your pig engaged. Distractions might come in the form of some creative exercises you might make your pet do. You might even consider adopting more than one pig to ensure that your pet is not lonely or bored.

Pigs are extremely intelligent creatures, which is one of the reasons why they form excellent pets. They have great communication skills and range, making them interesting to watch. In fact, there is gamut of distinctive sounds that pigs make to communicate. To warn others of impending danger, the pigs bark. While feeding its young, the mother pig makes mild grunting noises. It can also squeal to indicate displease or hunger. This is not all. Their communication skills are so advanced that they go on to voice individual sounds like “aroo” to show impatience, and a sound akin to “ha ha ha” to show pleasure.

Piggy- postures are nonpareil. A satisfied pig rarely shows body postures. However, a spoiled and overtly pampered pig may display certain behavior traits like throwing its head, face off, or clicking her jaws in response to a disagreeable situation or another animal annexing its territory.

I cannot root for cats but pigs sure are curious. In fact, if they have access to the earth, they are happy to spend hours foraging and rummaging to find any stray titbits of food. This actually has a positive side to it since they can be easily trained by stimulating them with new ideas, and of course, food!

Pigs, in contrast to the general idea, are very affectionate animals. They love companionship and, in case of pets, always want to be around their humans. There display certain affection traits that can often link them to dogs. In fact, if you agree to let your pig share your bed, you will experience the most porcine sleeping partner who is not only warm and cuddly but does not squirm or fidget.

Pigs have a sharp sense of smell. In fact, it has actually been accounted for that pigs can smell odour that are more than fifteen feet under the ground. Habituated in unearthing truffles in that way, they can even be used to sniff out drugs. However, pigs have one impairment that makes them inferior to dogs. Although they have acute sense of sound and smell, it does not see very well.

You should not consider its sight an impairment to its intelligence at all. In fact, the pig has been actually rated as the fifth most intelligent animal after man, monkeys, dolphins and whales. One of the reasons why their sight is not a hindrance is because they generally function by instinct, intuition and memory. As a matter of fact, they are more like our children. They have no conscience of good or bad but they are astute learners and diligently follow what is taught to them. However, like children, they can also be manipulative at times. It is therefore important to maintain a loving but stern attitude towards your porcine pal so that it does not take undue advantage of you. This is however very rare. Interaction with pigs are more often than not, rewarding. They are friendly and extremely social and they just love company, porcine or not. Trust me, if you really want to get an outgoing pet who is gifted too, pigs are your thing!

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Teacup pigs are cute and adorable animals that are kept as pets by many people. Originally, they were developed for use in medical research. They were used for research in the fields of toxicology, pharmacology and aging. This breed was developed because larger pigs were difficult to work with because they weighed more than 500 kilograms. Before teacup pigs became popular, potbellied pigs were in demand. They were being adopted kept as pets in apartments and farms but later people realized that they grew up to be huge animals and shortly thereafter many pigs were abandoned in animal shelters.

These pigs are also called miniature pigs and micro pigs. After Paris Hilton bought a teacup pig in 2009 and after that it became a trend to keep these pigs as pets. The problem with keeping these pigs as pets was that since they were not a specified breed no one could actually guarantee that they could remain small all their life. Some unscrupulous breeders tell their customers to keep their pigs on a strict diet which results in the pig starving most of the time and this results in stunted growth. Pigs have a lifespan of 10 to 15 years so bringing one would mean taking responsibility for the animal for quite some time. They are adorable little creatures that can be house trained. Like dogs they can bond with their owners but they also need our love and attention. If they are not trained properly they can become aggressive so if you do bring one make sure you take some time and train it well. Most people blindly follow a fashion trend and get teacup pigs home without knowing a thing about how to take care of them. So when the pig grows up and weighs about 100 kilograms they get frightened and abandon it in animal rescue homes. If the animal shelters cannot find a home for the pigs soon then most of them are euthanized. Why should a poor animal suffer just because its owner was stupid enough not to know that the teacup wouldn’t remain small throughout its life?  Was it only the size of the animal that mattered and not the bond between the pig and its owner? Just because the pig grew up does that mean that it should be abandoned and then euthanized? If this is the case then teacup pigs should not be sold in pet stores anymore. The breeding of teacup pigs should be banned and people should not be allowed to keep them as pets.

THE TRUTH ABOUT TEACUP PIGS

Teacup pigs are not another different breed but they are malnourished and underfed pot bellied pigs. They are kept on a strict diet regime so that they don’t increase in size and remain small little pigs but this ultimately leads to their death or erratic behaviour because they remain small but their organs grow and due to their starvation they become aggressive. To prevent breeders from producing more teacup pigs neutering and spaying is the best option. The logic behind this is simple…..why bring more pigs into this world when there are already so many abandoned pigs looking for someone to love them. Every year thousands of pigs are abandoned because their owners fail to realize that the teacup pigs wouldn’t fit in teacups forever and will one day grow up and become normal sized pot bellied pigs. Another reason that they are abandoned is that people bring them without checking if keeping farm animals is permitted in their area or not. The local municipal bodies don’t allow people to keep pigs because they aren’t sure whether they are clean or not and they fear that pigs might pose a threat to the health of humans.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR PIGLET FEEL COMFORTABLE

Pigs are highly intelligent animals and if properly motivated (with treats) they can learn to do any trick. It is also true that some pigs do like to watch the television and can get mad at you if you dare to switch off the television while they are watching it. Pigs love soft blankets and carry it around with them. They love to keep warm so make sure you get your piglet a warm and soft blanket. If you plan to leave your pig alone for some time make sure it has a playpen where adequate water is there with a litter box. Don’t expect your pig to learn how to use the litter box in a day, you have to be patient and train it well.

Pigs do not have fur; they have hair so people who are allergic to other animals won’t be allergic to pigs. Pigs love to play in pools but they can drown too so make sure they know how to reach to the steps so that they can come out of the pool. Pigs can be kept inside or outside the house, so if you decide to keep your pig outside the house make sure that it has a dog kennel which has warm blankets and water to keep your pet comfortable. Pigs can also be trained to walk around in a leash so it becomes all the more convenient to keep a pig as a pet. They are exactly like dogs and they make wonderful pets. All you need to do is love them whether they are small or huge.  Pigs can be called the perfect pets as Winston Churchill once said “I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down upon us. Pigs treat us as equals.”

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