The Incredible Collapsible Pig

Pig loves us, I can tell.  When we get home from work and let him out of his pen, he is overjoyed to see us.  When we call him to dinner, he races across the yard at top pigspeed, barely touching the ground.  I marvel at how a creature with Pig's shape and short legs, can run so fast.  Pig is happiest when we are out in the yard with him, even if we're not directly interacting with him.  Henry occasionally will get down on all fours and make pig noises, and he and Pig will "talk" together for awhile.  Pig loves being scratched behind his ears, and Henry has discovered that when he scratches him behind his front legs, Pig will collapse in apparent ecstasy and lie there, completely still, for a long time, as if to keep the ecstatic bubble from bursting.  Henry will sometimes lie down next to him, and I will discover them, basking in the warm sun of early summer, a man and his pig, together.  It makes me laugh and love them both all the more.

Adolescent Aggression

Pig has started behaving aggressively toward our 14-year-old son, charging at him and trying to bite his legs.  This behavior occurs without provocation, but so far, he has not been aggressive toward me or Henry.  We've done some research on pigs and have learned that pigs are often aggressive toward litter mates, as they compete for the alpha position.  Does he think Hank is a litter mate?  Does he sense increased hormonal changes in our adolescent boy and interpret these as a threat?  That's my theory, anyway.  For now, we have instructed Hank in how to discipline Pig when he attacks, pushing him backwards firmly while yelling "NO!"  This seems to help for a while.  It's disappointing though, and we won't be able to take him to school any more because of it. 

Pig Missed Daddy

Today Henry and Hank went with a church group to do the Virginia Creeper bike trail. They returned around 5:30 p.m. Pig had spent a good deal of time out in the yard rooting around, but when they got home, he was in his pen. Henry let him out and gave him some dog biscuits. Tired from his day on a bike, Henry lay down on his side on the grass while he was talking to Pig. Pig grunted in response, and then just flopped down beside Henry, and they lay there for several minutes, chatting. Pig is very devoted to Henry. They have a game they play, where Pig will walk between Henry's legs and Henry will try to squeeze him with his legs. Pig will squeal and run a few steps away, and then turn around and come back for more. Funny Pig. We just got a new weathervane for our garage -- a flying pig!

Pig Gets In Trouble

Poor Pig. He didn't mean any harm. After all, the man next door was feeding the horse, and threw some corn on the ground for Pig. Any self-respecting pig would have done the same thing -- eat up the corn and then return the next day for more! Unfortunately, this time, the man's granddaughter and little yippy dog ran up, and Pig was scared. He simply cannot ABIDE barking dogs! It just, well, it brings out the wild boar in him, and (as the man's wife told us later) Pig chased the dog acting as if he would bite him (he would have), and the granddaughter (about age 6) was terrified. Why do folks give food to animals if they don't want them coming around again? Oh well. Now Pig has to stay in his pen unless we can be out with him to keep him away from the neighbor's property. I guess a fence is in our future, since, as Robert Frost tells us, they make good neighbors. We're thinking of an electric fence, since that is much cheaper than completing the existing chain link fence. I wonder if an electric fence would stop a pig who just wants some more corn.....?

Sitting for Treats - Dogs and Pig

Today we snapped this photo of Pig and his "sisters", Arwen and Susie, sitting nicely in hopes of a doggie treat. Henry and I are cooking crecey greens aka field cresses, for dinner. I gave some to Pig, but he did not like them. I guess he prefers his carrots and apples....

We are under a tornado watch tonight, and the horse next door is running at top speed back and forth across his pasture. Pig is out in the yard grazing. Hope the storm isn't too bad....this is when I really wish we had a barn! Later...

Ding Dong! Pig at the Door!

A December 28th excerpt from Facebook:

I opened my front door this morning to go get something out of my car, and Pig was standing on the front porch, as if he had been waiting for the door to open! So I invited him in, and we walked through the house to the back door (grabbing a couple of dog biscuits on the way), and out to the backyard. He is a funny guy.

Pig does like to come in every once in a while, but he loves being outside where he can root around and not get into any trouble. When he was little and living in the house, his rooting skills were so powerful, he would turn over furniture, open cabinets, and make quite a mess. Outside, he roots around in the grass for hours, and sometimes plays chase with the cats. Boots the kitten has jumped on his back a couple of times during one of these games. One day, I went out and called for Pig, as I couldn't see him from the deck. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye, and saw him, running down the hill next door, with a couple of horses in pursuit. He ducked under the barbed wire fence (as much as a pig can duck) and made it to safety. He LOVES his mealtimes (he IS a pig, after all), and I try to make his meals colorful and balanced nutritionally. He gets a cup of pig feed, topped with sliced apples, carrots, some raisins, some lettuce or other leftoever veggies, and a couple of dog biscuits, twice a day.

The Anatomy of a Piggy Pirouette

Pig has no neck. This is, I suppose, completely normal for his species, and I believe this fact to be the major component of the phenomenon we call the "piggy pirouette". Pig can be out in the yard, rooting around, when a loud noise such as a passing car will frighten him. Because he can't turn his head as we can, to look behind him, he will make a sudden, 180-degree turn with his entire body, seeming to pivot on his front feet and swinging his backside around. If the offending noise is really loud, he may make a second 180-degree turn. He then runs - fast - in a circle. If I could figure out how to get it on him, I'd make him a piggy tutu and videotape this feat of barnyard ballet. . . but I will just have to add an un-costumed video later. Stay tuned. . . .

My husband has always been the one to train our dogs, and he was the one who trained Pig to sit. He and Arwen, our Golden Retriever, that is. Arwen responds to the American Sign Language command "sit" and Pig, being a very intelligent pig indeed, took his cue from her and learned this trick quickly. My son taught Pig to go up and down the steps to the deck, by leaving a trail of doggie treats on the stairs (reminiscent of E.T. and Reese's Pieces). My next goal for Pig is to teach him to shake hands, and I still want to train him to paint.