Reasons You Should Think Twice Before Adding a Pig to Your Pack
by John Flores
Last year, Snack Pak was featured in an article named, “10 Reasons Your Pup Wants You to Add a Pig to Your Pack”. While it was pleasant surprises to see him in there, it also made me think about how much work, Snack Pak really is. So today, I’m going to give you a few reasons why you should think twice before adding that cute little piggy to your pack.
They Probably Won’t Be That Cute “Little” Piggy For Long:
Did you know pigs can get pregnant as early as 8 weeks old? Shady breeders will show you the parents and you will believe you will be getting that “tea cup” pig. Chances are, that “tea cup” will grow to the size of a keg or even bigger! Snack Pak will probably end 
up being at least 150lbs and that’s on the small side! Some pigs can get up to almost 1000lbs! These breeders will also tell you to not feed them the proper amount of food so that they stay “small”. So your pig either dies early or the pig ends up being abandoned because the owners weren’t ready for a commitment that big…literally. Pigs don’t stop growing for 4 years and their life span is between 15-20 years, which brings me to my next point.
It’s a Long Commitment:
15-20 years is a long time. Most of you reading this are probably dog owners so maybe this doesn’t seem like a bad thing but they will probably outlive your dog. Living accommodations are much different than that of a dog. You think finding a place to live with your dog is hard? It’s even harder for a pig! They need to root, roam and be outside. Yes, they are smart and can adapt but like dogs they have instinctual needs. If you cannot provide that for them you will have a very unhealthy, unruly and unhappy animal which brings me to my next point.
They Will Challenge You:
You think being a pack leader is hard with your dogs? Don’t even bother getting a pig. They will challenge you over and over again. Probably for the first 2 years of their life trying to figure out where they fit in the pack. And even once you’ve made your point clear that the human in the house runs things, they will challenge the dogs. They will try to dominate the weakest member in the pack in order to “move up the totem” pole, thinking that life is better! In my house, this battle is between Snack Pak and Fletcher. If I’m not watching closely, Snack Pak will pick on Fletcher. Fletch is my nervous dog and nervous dogs do one of two things: fight or flight. Fletcher chooses to fight which luckily has never resulted in anything more than a few scratches. Snacker is great at picking fights but he’s not that great at finishing them! If you’re having trouble getting your dogs to “listen” to you, a pig will own you. Period.
Don’t get me wrong, we all love Snack Pak around here. He’s family and he’s here to stay. He’s loveable, likes to cuddle, extremely smart (not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing!) and very clean. He’s understanding the rules of the house and it’s been over a month since he’s decided to pick on poor Fletcher! But when I decided to get a pig, I did my research and I was lucky enough to find a man who is now my “pig whisperer” who warned me of everything that I would encounter with a pig, especially a piglet. And everything he has told me has been spot on. He kept pushing me to get an older pig, one at least 2 years old, who’s already mellowed out but I wanted a piglet. I told him I wanted to raise him to be around my dogs and adapt to MY surroundings. He just laughed and said, “Remember I told you so.” It didn’t’ dawn on me until later that I sounded just like the people that want a puppy and have no idea the amount of responsibility and time that requires.
But we found Snack Pak at the pound when he was about 4 months old, fell in love and 
I’ve chosen to take on the responsibility of raising a pig, no matter how hard or challenging that may be.
I’m not telling any of you that you shouldn’t get a pig as a pet. I just want you to think twice before doing so. I’m not saying there isn’t such thing as a “mini pig” or “tea cup” pig but I’m also saying I’ve never seen a 10 year old mini pig, either. Talk to people, do your research and find out if this is for you. You either want the commitment or you want the fad. If you choose the commitment, realize it’s not always fun. If you choose the fad, stick to following the cute little pigs on your social media.
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Well written John. I do hope those contemplating adding a pig to their pack really think about all that you have said. You have been there done that, and have given first hand advise. Thank you for your stories, posts, and most of all everything you do for these loving animals.
I also run a website, http://www.teacuppig.info and your story is spot on! Please remind people that pigs and dogs always ALWAYS need to be supervised with dogs for the very reasons you wrote about! We get so many pigs without ears, near death and even dead sometimes as your pig has been lucky thus far but as they get older and bigger (they grow for 4 – 5 years) they will test their “herd”! Thank you for writing this story and thank you for your commitment to all your 4 legged family members!
So, I’ve adored pigs since I was a kid for a myriad of reasons. They’re just awesome. And having grown up in Farm territory up North during my childhood, I actually got to be around them and loved their larger than life personalities. The fact is I’ve always wanted a pig, always.
And I now live in the rural South where we’ve got shelters dedicated solely to pigs with occasional other “small livestock”. I was in complete shock when I found out because it had never occurred to me people would be abandoning those sorts of animals, but then again if there is one thing I know is true it’s that people are stupid about their animals.
My point is…..There’s an abundance here, and I seriously considered it for awhile but had to settle with the knowledge that I’m physically disabled, my husband works most of the day, we live in a not huge home with three larger than life dogs and a cat who could destroy us all. I also am currently raising my 9 year old niece.
So I did the responsible thing: I acknowkedged that there was just no way in hell. Would I foster a pig if I knew one was in imminent danger and we had a fostering system around here instead of just shelters? Maybe, if I could know for sure we wouldn’t do more harm by somehow failing him/her and not meeting their needs.
But the reality is I have my babies. They come first in our lives before all else (obviously this includes the human kid even though she’s not technically mine). I worry as is that I’m failing them, often, when I don’t have the energy to play or I yelp when one of them hurts me on accident or….. And even if they didn’t exist, sometimes you have to be brave enough to admit that some responsibilities aren’t right for you. That doesn’t make you a bad person, just someone smart enough to know their limits. Being sick from the age of 11 and getting worse all the time teaches you insane ammount of limitations and pushing those usually has a high cost. They suck. But knowing them, whether you’re able bodied or not, will make you more successful in what you do.
Thanks for the great post, John. I love animal lovers like you who do their best to put an honest foot forward so people don’t make bad decisions and cost more lives.