Love bites???

[mach1girl]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and to being the owner of 2 pbpigs. We have 2 girls, Sassy & Susie, who are about 8 weeks old. We've had them for about 3 weeks and they were very shy & afraid of us to start with. We keep them in a fenced area of the yard and they have their own little doghouse and kiddie pool. I have been working with the girls every day and take them food in the morning and at night and spend time at night playing with them. These girls have totally different personalities even though they are siblings. Susie warmed up faster and she is a little sweetheart. She lets me pet her and scratch her belly and she is fairly gentle with taking food from me. Sassy, on the other hand, is a little stinker. She doesn't want to be petted much & is much more aggressive about taking food and occasionally biting a finger. She has recently been acting like she is jealous when I am scratching her sister's belly. She will sneak up on me and tug my hair or for instance, tonight she jumped up on my back. She sort of attacks me but I think it is totally playful. I just can't figure her out though--does she think of me as another pig??? When I am sitting in their pen with them & after they've had their food, she will come up and root at my foot and then try to bite my toes. I tell her no quite firmly and I swear she gives me attitude. She persists on trying again, then shakes her head and runs if I tell her no again. It's all rather comical but I don't know what kind of behavior this is that she is exhibiting. Anyone have any similar experiences? Susie is just a little sweetie, but Sassy is such an unpredictable little girl. Should I force myself to pick them up and hold them so I can bond with them more? The squealing always makes me feel bad. They are still really shy of other people but are more comfortable around me. Any suggestions for the new mommie? Thanks!

[Chaplin]

Hi. My name is Jennifer and I have a 10 month old PBP named Chaplin. I got him at 5 weeks old and he was scared to be held and loved at first, too. I did hold him as often as possible even though he squealed and it was only about a week of consistent holding before he was used to it and not long at all until he would seek me out to hold and snuggle with him! Chaplin lives in my house and now he loves to snuggle on the sofa with me. It broke my heart to listen to him squeal at first, but he was never hurt, I always rewarded him with Cheerios, and the end result was so very worth it. He's still nervous around people he doesn't know, but he's getting more trusting. He's so smart - he does remember people after he's met them once or twice. Good luck with Sassy and Susie! I'm just curious - what made you decide to get the little piggies?

[mach1girl]

Thanks for the reply Jennifer. I saw the pics of Chaplin--very adorable and loveable looking. My son's girlfriend's mother had just gotten one and he was so sweet looking that I decided to get one too. She has worked with animals before and knows how to give shots and also how to catch the little stinkers so that was helpful. We've had numerous funny incidents with the "girls" already. We had to move them around a few times since we didn't really have a place for them when we brought them home. I would have liked to bring them in the house but we have a 15 year old Sheltie who is very anti-social with other animals. Which is why I thought 2 might be better than one--they would have each other to play with. We have about 4.5 acres and have a little fenced area under a tree for them and they have a little doggie house (for now) with a big blanket to keep them warm. We will have to build them a bigger "house" and put heat lamps in for them in the winter. I have been working with them every day for at least an hour but I wasn't very successful in trying to pick one up the other day. She started squealing and I lost my grip when she tried to run and scratched me with her hooves. They will crawl across my lap and come up to me no problem--just don't want to be held. I know I should do it before they get any bigger. I've also learned the look when Sassy is about to get spunky with me. She gives me this sly sideways glance and then pounces on me. Has Chaplin ever done that? I think she is just playing. Do you feed Chaplin the mini pig food? I've been trying to cut back on the treats as I think mine are already getting spoiled. Would love to hear more stories about Chaplin if you have time to share them. Thanks!

[soraya joyal]

my name is soraya i own two pot bellies the one that is a stinker is smarter than the other and is testing you to see wha t she can get away with i have a boy and a girl and talulA is the stinker but once she saw i would not let her gfet away with it shenow is my best