I wanted to share with you all my typical day so you can get a glimpse into what life is like with a mini pig!
My day starts around 7am when my mom wakes up. She takes me outside to do my business then I start vocally letting her know that I am ready for breakfast. When she brings me back inside I know I have to be in my pen for breakfast so I sprint to my pen and wait. Sometimes mom makes me wait even longer if I am being vocal. No idea why I am just trying to tell her I am hungry!
After breakfast I get some much needed outside time since I have been asleep inside all night. Depending on my mom's schedule for the day I usually get at least an hour outside in the morning before we have to go do something, but sometimes my time is cut short. That's okay though because any outside time is important for a pig! My mom tries to clear her schedule in the morning though so I can get plenty of outside time to burn off my pent up energy. If I don't get to burn off my energy outside I usually get into a lot of mischief in the house.
Typically my mom brings me with her when she leaves the house because her job allows her to do so. But sometimes she has other appointments to run so I can't go. If I can't go with my mom then I go into my pen while she is gone and boy do I wreck havoc! My mom leaves a rooting rug in my pen for me with some hidden treats for when I get bored but that doesn't always do the trick. I like to root up and attempt to destroy whatever I can in my pen. Unfortunately my mom has pig proof'd my pen so there is nothing for me to get into, no fun, but I still try. I am especially destructive if I didn't get enough outdoor time and then get put in my pen. But if I can go to work with my mom I load up in my car kennel and off we go to explore!
We sometimes go to stores that I am allowed to go in and I practice my socialization with other people. My mom wants me to be really friendly so she tries to get me out in the public at least twice a week. Other times we go to her office and I get to explore which is my favorite thing to do. Her office is filled with new smells every time we go and that keeps me very occupied. My mom makes sure the office is also pig proof'd so I can freely explore without getting into anything I shouldn't or something that could harm me. People also visit me at her office which gives me more time to socialize and become more confident in humans other than my mom and dad.
The more time I get socializing outside of my home the better I will react to new environments and situations. My mom knows this so I am lucky because I get to get out of the house almost daily!
After our fun adventures, it's lunch time! I get really excited when I know I am being fed so my mom always makes me calm down and do a command before she actually feeds me. It is paying off because I am starting to understand I cannot be vocal or causing ruckus, and I am always sitting patiently waiting for my food when my mom comes up to my pen with it. I am sitting because my mom has been making me sit for all of my meals so now I just sit on my own. Usually my mom makes me do another command too just to keep me on my toes. It's important that every meal we pigs get is earned and not given. That is why my mom makes me work for all of my food meals and treats.
After lunch it's playtime at home with my little human and the dogs or my mom puts me outside in my pen if it's a nice day. I don't really play with the dogs, I more pester them and try to establish myself as top hog over them right now, but my mom always interferes and ruins my attempts at being top hog of the dogs. I will keep trying though because I am a very persistent little pig but my mom says she will keep interfering and making me stop. Maybe one day, when I am older, I will learn to just leave the dogs alone and co-exist with them. If it's nice out and I get to go outside I will stay out there for hours and I absolutely love it. I will sprint around my play pen, root everything, and sun bathe to take a nap.
If it's raining outside then I would prefer to be inside playing with my little human. Her and I give my mom a heck of a run for her money together! Since I am basically a toddler 24/7, it's like having two toddlers running around. She always has to keep her head on a swivel and I am constantly being told no and redirected for bad behavior. My mom is hoping one day all of the redirection to good behaviors instead will pay off and I will start exhibiting more good behaviors than bad. I guess we will have to wait and see as I get older! We play and play and play, and get into trouble, and play and play until it's time for my little human to go to bed. Since my mom doesn't leave me out unsupervised with the dogs when my little human is going to get ready for bed I know I have to go into my pen. Mom says "Winnie pen" and I run to my pen from wherever I am in the house because I just know a treat will be waiting for me. I'm such a good girl.
After my mom gets my little human to bed I know it's dinner time. I know I have to be quiet and do my commands then I can chow down. And after dinner I get to go outside again! Right now since we are in a neighborhood when it gets late and dark I don't stay outside very long without my mom out there with me in case I get vocal. My mom doesn't want me waking up the entire neighborhood due to me having a tantrum. So we go back inside and we do training! I love training because I get so many yummy treats. My mom loves training because it helps us bond and will help make me a lovely pig as I get older. We train for a good hour, if not more. If I'm still not tired after training my mom will hide frozen peas in my rooting box and I get to root around my box inside. Usually after my long day and all of my enrichment training and rooting I am finally tired by the end of it all. So I snuggle up in my bed, sometimes my brother joins me, and I call it a night.
That is a typical day for me! As you can see, pigs require a lot of time and attention in order for us to be properly cared for and raised correctly. If a pig is being destructive or aggressive, boredom can be an underlying reason why so my mom makes sure I always have plenty of activities. We require a lot of patience and did I say time? You have to have a ton of time for a pig!
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