Firstly let me say miniature pigs are adorable, lovable, playful and mischievous. They are very intelligent, easy to house train and can provide a lot of enjoyment to their owners. We love our Truffles and couldn't imagine our lives without her.
However, pigs are also very headstrong, demanding and persistent if they don't get their own way, and are always finding new ways to get into mischief!
Pigs love to dig and are absolute water monsters. Ours loves nothing more than walking around with her water bucket over her head then screaming out impatiently to us when she is ready for a drink and finds that the bucket is empty!
Pigs are also escape artists! Even the most “pig proof” enclosures seem to be no match for these cunning creatures. If they want to get out they will find a way (I did say they were intelligent didn't I?). Just when we think we have found all her escape routes, Truffles will miraculously appear in the adjoining paddock having raided the chook pen and eaten all of their seed and then, just to amuse herself, will chase all of our alpacas around.
Left unsupervised in the house, Truffles has upended the kitchen tidy spreading its contents all over the floor, found the dog food container and gorged herself on its gummy contents, gotten into my handbag eating all of my throat lozenges and headache tablets, and has even eaten a rat bait showing absolutely no signs of feeling the slightest bit “off colour” afterwards.
We have found that routine is very important if you want to live in harmony with your miniature pig. Our Truffles spends her day in the back yard with one of our dogs and, now she has learnt he is the boss, in the main they get along quite well. In the evening after she has been fed, Truffles is let into the house where she stops to eat some treats we have left on the floor for her and then she knows it is bed time and goes out onto the front verandah where she has made an old lounge her bed. There she spends the night quite contentedly (as long as we tippy-toe around the house so as not to wake her) until she decides its time to get up for breakfast.
Truffles can wake up anytime between 5.30am and 8am and once she's up its impossible to ignore her as she screams and bangs on the front door until she is let through to the backyard and given her brekkie.
So, back to the original question “Do miniature pigs make good pets?” Well, if you are house proud, take pride in your manicured lawns and garden, or don't have time to devote to meeting the demands of your pet, then a pig is definitely not the pet for you. Similarly, if you couldn't see the funny side of having a muddy nose rubbed against your clean trousers just before you are about to leave the house, then perhaps you should rethink getting a miniature pig. However, if you can appreciate the funny side of all these antics, I guarantee a miniature pig will provide you with lots of laughs and entertainment, can be very affectionate (on their terms), and, if you get them into a routine, can fit very well into your current lifestyle (as long as you have adapted it to revolve entirely around their requirements!).
