7 Steps to Follow for Grooming Potbellied Pigs

Although potbellied pigs don’t have as much fur as cats and dogs, grooming is still necessary to keep the pigs feeling and looking their best. It is essential to maintain the condition of a potbellied pig’s skin, tusks, hooves, eyes and ears, ensuring that all parts remain healthy.

Follow these simple steps to properly groom your potbellied pig.

1. Because potbellied pigs have naturally clean skin, they only need an occasional bath. To get rid of excess dirt, rinse your pig off with a garden hose.
2. Adjust the temperature of the bathwater when bathing your pig, making sure it’s not too hot or cold.
3. Take your pigs to a wading pool or large showering area for bathing. Scrub your pig with a grooming brush, applying a small amount of mild shampoo mixed with water.
4. Use a damp cloth to eliminate crud in and around your potbellied pig’s eyes and eyelashes. Be sure to do this on a regular basis.
5. When removing ear wax, use a damp cloth or Q-tips. Use extreme caution when cleaning out your pig’s ears.
6. Pay attention to your pig’s tusks (if applicable) and monitor the growth. Your veterinarian should trim the tusks every few years.
7. Keep your pig’s hooves groomed by trimming or filing with a large emery board or hoof trimmers. If you don’t feel comfortable trimming the hooves on your own, your vet can do also do this for you.

By following these grooming techniques, your potbellied pig will stay happy and healthy for years to come.

7 Easy Steps for Teaching Your Pot Belly Pig Tricks

Your smart pot belly pig can learn tricks quickly and easily. Photo compliments of PotBellyPiggies.com

Pot belly pigs are very smart and eager to learn. This makes them very easy to train. Your pot belly pig can easily be potty trained as well as learn tricks like shake hands, sit, blow a horn and fetch. You can also train a pot belly pig to use the bathroom on command as well as practical things like be gentle and calm. Since pot belly pigs love food, using cheerios as treats is a great incentive to get your pot belly pig to learn quickly. Follow these steps to train your pot belly pig provided by EHow.com.

* Before you begin any training sessions, make sure you have created a strong bond with your pot bellied pig. A pig that doesn’t trust you won’t listen to you, so it’s important to create and maintain this bond to keep you and your pet happy.

* Decide what tricks you want to teach your pot belly pig. Start with potty training first because that’s the most important, then move on to sit, then more difficult things like shake hands and fetch.

* Pick a time of day when you have the full attention of your pig. If your pig isn’t interested in being taught a trick, he or she will not pay attention. Remember, pigs are very stubborn by nature so don’t try to force training on them during a time of day when they don’t want to.

* Use commands. Use one or two words for each command such as “sit,” and make them distinct so your pig can understand the difference between them.

* At first, give your pig a treat for obeying each command, then one treat for a series of commands, until ultimately, your pig will do the trick for no treats, just praise and affection.

* Use small treats so you don’t accidentally make your pot belly pig overweight during training. Cheerios and grapes are great because they’re small, low fat and pigs love them.

* Do all training in short sessions of 3-5 minutes. Pigs get bored easily so long training sessions may make them lose interest which will lead to failure and frustration, which will discourage your pig from wanting to learn anything new.

Following these easy steps will help you train your pig quickly while also building a stronger bond that will help you live many years happily together. For more information, read the full article on EHow.com.