An obedient pig is a pretty rare site.  Just look at a Pet Pig Facebook group.  I see a ton of messages asking how to get a pet pig to actually listen when they are called or told NO.  But an obedient pig is extremely important – not only to the safety of the pig but on the sanity of the family.

Teaching a pig to listen can feel a little bit like rocket science.  The key is beginning when the pig is young.  Trying to teach an adult pig to listen is going to take a lot more patience because pigs are like people, they get comfortable in their role in the family and don’t like to change.  It can be done, but it takes more time and positive reinforcement.

Set your pig up for success

The number one best thing you can do to get your pig to listen is to reward good behavior.  Pigs are extremely food motivated so when it comes to a reward, you can’t do much better than a treat.  It can be one Cheerio, piece of fruit, piggy treat or salt free popcorn.  It really doesn’t matter – unless your pig is picky, then just use what they prefer.  Take that treat and use it to reward them when they listen.  When they follow you, enter their crate, exit their crate, or whatever is in their daily routine.  Reward them for doing what they should be doing.  In that way, you are actually imprinting on their brain a happy treat with listening to what they are asked to do.

Another way to teach your pig to listen is by reinforcing “COME.”  Stand a few feet in front of your pig and say “come.”  If your pig doesn’t listen very well, you may have to start out very close to your pig to get them started.  Once they get the hang of it, take a step back and call them again.  Continue moving backwards to connect the word “COME” with a treat.

By teaching your pig to listen when called, you are setting them up for success.

Use Keywords

In our house, we use keywords to motivate Topanga to listen immediately.  We do that by repeating a word over and over while directly giving her a treat.  The words we chose to use are:  come, good girl and here.  We use the word COME when we want her to come to us.  We use the phrase GOOD Girl when she isn’t listening closely or we need her to come quickly.  We use the word HERE when we drop food on the floor that is free game.

I already described how we teach COME.  The way I reinforced GOOD GIRL is very similar.  I would say those words when she would enter her crate while giving her a treat.  It got to the point where I don’t have to give her a treat to get her to listen when I say these words.  HERE is something everyone in our house uses when they want to give her a treat.

It is not difficult to put these simple commands into a daily routine.  Having your pig actually listen to you doesn’t happen over night but if you are consistent and patient, it will happen.  Topanga was around a year old when I realized that she was consistently listening to me when I called her.  Now she is to the point where she usually listens.

A well behaved, obedient pig is a joy to be around. They are happy and loved and spoiled.  But on the other hand, a disobedient, misbehaving, crazy pig is very stressful.  No one is happy in these situations and most times they are either locked up somewhere or they are rehomed.  Taking the time to teach your pig to actually listen is a much better option.

For more tips, check out my YouTube Channel.