bernardthepig

[bernardthepig]

The past four days.

I'm not even going to lie a little bit, they have been hell. He is exactly as a new baby of any species is except he squeals like a jet engine. He knocks his water dish over regardless of no-slip bowls and he just wants your attention all the time, and if he doesn't get it he stands at his gate grunting and squealing for at least twenty minutes. 

He's gone down the stairs once, his area is upstairs because we don't have an area to section off downstairs. I've taken him outside once and he quite enjoyed it, but picking him up lately has been quite the task. One day I let him come in my room and hang out on my bed which was nice, so I mean, we have good days, we have bad days. Today was definitely a bad day but I'm sure things will improve over time. Sorry this post sucks, been overall busy.

If any of you pig owners have any tips for how to deal with them as a baby I'd be reaally stoked.

#bernardthepig #mini pig #pigs #training pigs #help me

[bernardthepig]

Bernards first day at his new home.

[bernardthepig]

Day two.

Bernard had a big day. It was our thanksgiving dinner and we had about ten people coming over, I was a little scared about stressing him out but he did very well, he's fairly social but will back away from your hand a bit when someone tries to pet him. Today was the first time he's crawled up onto my lap and after a few minutes I was able to pick him up without him squealing and carry him downstairs for a few minutes. He's getting better with my whole family but his biting is a bit of an issue so I will be trying to fix that over the next few days. He almost comes right when you say his name.

He's not too worried about being left alone, he'll usually take a nap or push around his food dishes, I gave him some celery and kale today for a snack and he really likes kale. He crawled on my sister as well today and fell asleep on her lap so he's becoming much more comfortable with my family. He had a busy day full of new people and smells but he made it through just fine, no one stepped over the gate aside from me when new people met him so that was good. He was sleeping but is now too interest in my bath than his comfy bed.

#bernardthepig #life with a mini pig #mini pig #dailybernard

[bernardthepig]

Day one.

Bernard came in on a flight from Edmonton, Alberta at 8pm on Friday October 11th. First rule that was learned; don't let your mom try to take your piglet out of the kennel, he will freak the hell out. 

The car ride home wasn't so bad, I kept him in the kennel and was able to pet him a little while we drove. Once home I put his kennel on the floor of the room we had sectioned off and took the roof of the kennel off. Let me tell you, pigs are fast. He jumped out of the kennel and tried to hide behind anything he could, we let him calm down and eventually my boyfriend was able to scratch his belly and he flopped right to the ground and was grunting and quite happy. That was about as good as it got as far as touching him went. He didn't eat anything and he only had one accident on the floor before he found the litter box. He went into his new kennel all on his own and went to sleep.

In the morning he ate his food, making sure to get both little hooves in the bowl, and was much more comfortable. He ate out of my hands and I was able to touch him without him jumping. I tried to stay around him but I didn't want to smother him so I just brought my computer in and let him romp about and come to me. He bites when you try to pet him so I've been trying to stop that by tapping him on the snout or hitting the ground with my hand to make some form of noise. He's almost coming to his name, and we found out he really likes celery. Today was sort of a over indulgence in treats day for him because my whole family met and fell in love with him and how can you not want to give him all the treats? Thankfully my family is respecting that he needs to be trained and his treats need to be restricted. He took a few naps and is getting used to being left alone for periods of time, he has plenty of stuffed animals to play with while he's alone.

My Mom tried to introduce our four dogs to him one at a time today (3 chihuahuas and 1 Italian Greyhound) and while being worried that the dogs would attack Bernard, he actually bit my dog in the side and on her bum so needless to say they are terrified of the little guy. I asked the breeder how to deal with that and she said he was most likely trying to figure out the pecking order, which made a lot of sense considering he didn't bite at the "leader" of the pack. 

All in all it was a fairly good first day, he's calm enough to eat and comfortable enough with me that I can sit in the room and pet him and he's okay. He still needs to learn not to bite or be pushy for food but tomorrow he'll be starting his feeding schedule and some form of training. 

#mini pig #bernardthepig #day one #life with a mini pig

[bernardthepig]

Bernards first day at his new home. 

#mini pig #bernardthepig #pig #tuxedopig #cutestthingever