14. RE:  harness

From: Michelle
Category: General Discussion
Date: 4/30/01
Time: 1:19:07 PM
Remote Name: 128.123.79.57

14.1. Comments

Sounds like your piggie has you trained, instead of the other way around! They're so smart, before you know it - boom! They've got ya just where they want ya!

Can you get a harness on your pig? If you can, try putting it on him and just leaving it on him for awhile. It should be snug, but not too tight so that it's uncomfortable. You're right - prolonged stress isn't good for these guys, but I don't think that he'd be upset for too long with the harness. Once he figured out that he couldn't get out of it, and that you weren't going to give into him, he'd probably settle down.

The next step would be to get him to lead on a leash. You might initially have to "bribe" him with food treats to get him started, but I think that, once he got started, his natural sense of curiosity would do the rest. Just start small and work your way up to long walks, etc.

If this doesn't work, get in touch with Richard Hoyle at rhoyle@minipigs.org and see what he thinks. He might have some other ideas which could be helpful...

Good Luck! Michelle