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Do your piggies come to you and let you pet them

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CCPig

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Do your piggies come to you and let you pet them

I am jut wondering and if they do can you give me tips on how to make them let you pet them and is there a way to potty train them?
 
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lchap87

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nope

im no expert ill say that much but my pig doesnt come to me. when i try to pet him he runs. i think is part of the animal of prey thing. i dont really know. but thats what my pig does. like i said im no expert. if im wrong im sorry but thats my little bit of knowledge.

~Laura
 
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alilporkbun

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Come Here Pigger

Actually, I've gotten my pigs to come to me- kind of.

If Frank sees me, he comes running. But this is probably because he wants food, not to see me or be pet. I don't know if he actually recognizes me, or assumes any huge thing on two legs is going to feed him. You don't necessarily have to feed them a treat everytime. Frank loves it when I hand-feed him hay.

If either Frank or Zoe hear me, they come running. The moment they hear me speak a certain way, they pop out of their pigloos to see if I am around. But this is also probably related to food. They do recognize voices. All you have to do is to assocaite your voice with food or something like that. My mom thinks I'm nuts, but sometimes, just sometimes, I talk to them while I feed or pet them.

As for letting you pet them, I don't know if you can train that. I suppose if you show them that you are nice and gentle, they won't freak out and run. My pigs let me pet them sometimes, and sometimes not. They pretty much choose. I usually start petting them on the bridge of their noses to the top of their heads very gently and that tends to warm them up for more.

And they do not always welcome me picking them up. Again, they kind of choose whether they want to be picked up. Some times they make it easy and some times, they just run. Sure they love plopping down on my lap and being pampered. But they don't always like the transition from being on the floor to being on the lap.

This is only from what I have found. If anyone has anything to add or any suggestions, please post them.
 
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janiexo

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I have to disagree

I think pigs can be very affectionate.
My blackberry isn't to fond of me but she likes my parents. she's really my dads. she loves to be held and hugged, but not pet. she purrs like crazy too when we hold her. she is also doscile so i sleep with her sometimes. i just plop her on one of my pillows (i have a queen bed so there's room) and she sleeps there under my blanky.
As for cleopatra she's a different story. she likes me more then anyone, even blackberry. if i try to put her down or let someone else hold her, she leaps into my arms.
i always talk to my pigs too. they recognize voices and sounds, and the sound you make when you walk. cleopatra runs out of her house when i walk into my room.
and i had no trouble litter training them either. sometimes blackberry forgets but not cleopatra. as a matter of fact i didn't even teach her the litter box was next to me when i was holding her and she just jumped off me and went in there to pee. and now she knows to go there. the best advice i can give you is when u see they are about to pee, put them in the litter box. i don't keep it in their cage, i only use it for floor time. there cage i just clean, i have no problem with that.
picking them up is a challenge. sometimes they don't mind, sometimes they run. it depends on their mood i suppose.
every piggy is different, but if you show them that you love them and they have a good time they should learn.
 
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lchap87

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kinda

When i come up the stairs to my room Buster, my pig, hears me and comes up to the side of the cage to see me. He sometimes will let me pet him and sometimes not. But at flooftime he wont come near me. i think its because he knows im going to put him back in his cage sometime. hehe. hes funny sometimes.

~Laura & Buster
 
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pregasaurus

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Re: kinda

My pigs definatley know my footsteps and my voice. Every morning my hubbie gets up before me and they just ignore him. But when I walk down the stairs (a couple hours later) tehy start squeeking like mad pigs! They can't see the stairs from their cage either. I am not sure if they know my footsteps or if it is a scheduling thing. They also squeek when I come home and they hear my voice for the first time. Oh ya they also freak out when they hear plastic bags being crumpled in the kitchen. I keep their lettuce in a plastic bag and they always think that it is veggie time when they hear that noise.
OK I know that this has not answered your question so far. But Fred doesn't run when I reach in to pick them up. Chip does though. I guess that is as close as I have gotten to having them come to me. Oh ya... Fred will come to me when he is out on floor time (most times).
 
C

codyandme

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Holding and Training

I always pet my Cody while he's in his cage. I pet him on the bridge of his nose and the top of his head. Then a little while later, I'll go in and do the same thing, then pick him up. If he wants to be picked up, he'll just let me, if he doesn't, he'll run to his house. Or I'll just pick him up anyway. While I'm holding him, I use a soothing voice and pet him on his head. Petting him out of the cage as well as inside the cage gives him a feeling of comfort, I think. Also... usually before I pet his head, I'll let him smell my hands so that he knows it's me. He knows it's me because I used to do the same thing (having him smell my hands) when I gave him carrots. And i know he likes to know if it's me or my husband petting him (he's not to fond of my husband :) He lets me pet him all the time now in his cage, and I hold him every day so he's used to that too. I loves it in the morning when the light is still off!

As for litter box training. I just would pick up his pee shavings and poop and place them in the litter box with more shavings. He's a smart little guy because from then on, he just went! He was young though. Another thing that helped was keeping the cage all shavings with the litter box in there too. Once I saw him using the litter box. I made the base all towels (no shavings except for in the litter box). I just have to clean the litter box 1-3 times a day because he doesn't like to go in there if there's too much pee. So.... yeah... sorry for the long post. I hope some of this helped.

*reyanna*
 
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d0llm0uth

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re:

My piggy always used to come to me for attention, and squeak when he wanted food, but ever since I got the other guinea pig he no longer pays attention to me :(
 
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tggdan3b

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Petting the Pigs

I've found that different pig personalities lead to different reactions to petting.

My pig Gizmo will stretch up for me to pet him, and will purr as I do so.

My pigs Butters and Scratch will run from me if I try to pet them

My pig Peep will allow me to pet her, as if she really doesn't care one way or another.

My pigs HollyBean, Strawberry, Mohawk and Asia will allow my hand to come down, but will run when i touch them UNLESS my had comes directly at them from the front (rather than reaching down from the top or behind of them), and they can see it coming, then they will let me pet them. (Asia even licks my fingers as I pet her)

I think it all has to do with how much you've bonded with your pig prior, the pig's personality, and how often you pick them up as opposed to pet them. Think about it, they squeak when you rustle bags because they think they're getting food. Likewise, they may run when you pet them because they think they're getting picked up. If you pet them in the cage more than you pick them up, they might not have a problem with it. (Of course, some LIKE being picked up.)

-Dan III
 
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hezzy1972

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Re: Do your piggies come to you and let you pet them

mine sort of come to me when i walk into the room especially when she hears the plastic bag rustling. she knows its food. but they dont always come to you. in time though, they wont run away from you either. heck, mine became so lazy that they wouldnt move lol. dont worry too much about it. in the beginning they tend to run away a lot and be skittish but i promise you that over time they will get used to you and let you pet them without a problem. mine even purrrs. :D
 
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2steps

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Re: Do your piggies come to you and let you pet them

My pigs run to the front of the cage when I'm there. Though I think there after any food I might have :rolleyes: Sometimes they will stay for a while being stroked and other times they won't. I have one boar and one sow who love being stoked and hugged :)
 
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IceyStylez69

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;-P

My first piggie Binx always would run from me. It took a little over 3 years before he wasn't dashing to the other side of the cage to avoid me.. haha! Most pigs run... Mine now runs like the wind alot revolving around he was an abused pig from a friend of mines Sister. So he doesn't like being handled so much... hopefully he will soon, but I take each day at a time! ;)
 
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faeriedebbie

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Re: piggy affection

my boys haven't been with me very long so they have a strong mixture of shyness and curiousity. they are so shy that they hide in their little house if they so much as see me roll over in bed at night when they're running around, but if they're running around free, they'll run right over me! so they're very scared still, but still very curious about me. they hide if I put my hand in their cage, then a few seconds later come sniffing around. they run up in my lap if I sit on the floor, but if I so much as twitch they squeal and run away. no matter what they never have trouble eating out of my hands...food supercedes any fear.
 
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LisaJ429

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Re: Do your piggies come to you and let you pet them

I have two piggies, Piglet and Snickers, and they usually will just run when you reach in but if you pet their nose and head they will stand there and let you pick them up. What is funny though is Snickers loves to be held and the longer you pet and hold her, she will stretch clear out and just mellow out. Piglet on the other hand just sits there. Either way they are both very gentle and are good lil'piggies! Life would be dull without them. :D
 
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IceyStylez69

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:::

I had recently noticed that my piggie Spunky does actually come to me! It really depends, but if I go towards the cage, and call for him he runs out ... I believe it's because he is now used to me giving him treats, so when I call him he runs out to get his grub! :rolleyes:
 
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easterjellybean

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Re: :::

My piggie Jellybean comes to check for food. If I slowly slowly put my hand in she'll let me put her nose. When she's really feeling great she'll lift her nose and let me stroke her chin. Then she looks at me and runs in two circles. The last circle ends up in her pigloo and that's it. :evil:
 
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