Pigs do enjoy car rides. If they are taken often, especially at a young age, and it is a good experience then they can enjoy car rides just like a dog. Pigs can be very social and if they are taken out of the house consistently they love to go places. One pig residing in Southern California has even been trained to ride in a Harley side car with goggles and leathers and all. Banks went across country this past summer and was slowly introduced to the loud Harley as an 8 week old piglet. She loves to ride!

Pigs are not very athletic or playful animals like cats or dogs. They will not run after and chase your cat or jump in the air and catch a Frisbee. When owning a mini pig there is a lot of down time as they love to cuddle, if well socialized young. Owners have found that fuzzy blankets, stuffed animals, and anything soft to the nose they will play with by rooting. Organic things that make noise when monitored like a half filled water bottle that they can roll around and crinkle, or bubble wrap. Pigs love to rip paper or play with dog toys like a Kong that you can put treats in. You can get creative with toys instead of spending a lot of money, for example a used spaghetti jar half filled with oats that they can roll with their snout. Occasionally a pig will run fast or in circles in short sprints, which is hilarious to watch.

You will see a discrepancy here when reading in research or in articles. Some say 3 years, other say 5 years. Although most of their skeletal growth is done by 3 years old, you can see mini pigs fill out and still add a few pounds in that 4-5 years. Mini pigs are considered full grown or mature at 5yrs. old

Pigs can grind their teeth for a few reasons. Most often they grind their teeth for contentment or self comforting (like a child sucks their thumb.) They can grind their teeth when they are teething and or if they are in pain. Sometimes they have been known to grind their teeth as a sign of aggression or annoyance.

How often you bathe your pig really comes down to your lifestyle and discretion. If your pig is mainly indoors and does not get very dirty or muddy, then you do not have to bathe very often. As well, if your pig is on your furniture and in bed with you, you may want to bathe them more. Keep in mind pigs can get very dry skin. Using baby shampoo as piglets and a shampoo like Mane and Tail when they are older, coupled with Skin so Soft made by Avon can help with the dry skin. As well, giving your pig Vitamin E Tablets and or Coconut oil can also help keep their skin healthy.

Rooting is a natural and common behavior in mini pigs. When a piglet is born they immediately find their way to mom’s teat and begin to root on her belly to get milk to drop and release. Many times it can be a sign of affection as piglets. Most can get really addicted to rooting on your limbs, blankets, floors, etc. Other times pigs will root to get what they want like food. You can also see rooting at times as a sign of aggression. Although you do not want to stop pigs rooting, you do not want them growing up rooting on you. Instead give them a stuffed animal or blanket and have them root that and tell them “good root.” Rooting boxes have also become popular in the pig community, which is a short box or container filled with smooth river rock. To train them to use the rooting box you can scatter pellets that will fall down to the bottom encouraging them to get to it and in turn moving the river rock around, and tell your pig “good root.”

These are not breeds or types of miniature pigs. Teacup, micro, nano, etc. are all terms used as labels for ads and marketing to describe sizes. Miniature or mini pigs come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Breeders, owners, shoppers will use theses marketing terms or labels to distinguish different sizes within their farms breeding stock. Problem? None of these labels have a standard size linked to them that are consistent from person to person or pig to pig. This causes confusion and misinformation. If you see these terms then be sure you ask specific measurements for the pigs and their ages to ensure that you have an accurate understanding of the full adult size of the parent pig.

Mini pigs come in many shapes and sizes and have different genetic origins and backgrounds. All American Mini Pigs are essentially mixed. Miniature pigs have been sized down and cross bred over many generations and mixed with different miniature pig breeds including Potbelly, Juliana, Kune Kune, Gottingen, Hanford Miniature Swine, Ossabaw Island Pig, just to name a few. By definition any breed of pig averaging 350 pounds and under is considered a “Miniature” breed of swine. Any breed averaging 150 pounds or less is considered a mini pig.

There are four main reasons for why dogs howl. Ancestry, communications, sickness or injury, and separation anxiety. Because dogs are related to wolves, they could still have the urge to howl. They might not even know why they’re doing it. Howling is a normal thing for dogs to do as long as it is not chronic, pervasive or invasive.

Though chocolate is a tasty treat for humans, for dogs it is poisonous. Chocolate’s toxic component is theobromine. Dogs process theobromine very slowly, which allows for it to build up in their system to toxic levels. Different types of chocolate have different amounts of theobromine, but chocolate should always be out of reach of dogs.

Dogs will often lick their owner or other people as they like the taste of their skin and as a sign of affection. For dogs, licking releases pleasurable endorphins and releases stress.

Most people have heard that dogs wag their tail when they’re happy, but this isn’t always the case. Dogs use their tails to communicate all of their emotions with humans, other dogs or even

Back in the days before fluffy pillows, dogs had to make their own bed. By flattening the grasses and brush for themselves and their young, they made a comfortable nest and drove out critters such as snakes. Scratching imparts a scent to their bed expressed by the small glands in the feet, further defining the space as their own.

Anal glands, which secrete a foul-smelling liquid, are used for scent marking and identification. Because of their complex olfactory system which includes a component called Jacobsen’s organ in addition to their nose, they can also process scents that have no detectable odor like pheromones. A butt sniff is the equivalent of a human handshake enabling dogs to recognize each other as individuals and identify sex, age, variabilities in health and social order.

This is a gross one, especially if you witness the event and then your dog wants to plant a big, sloppy kiss on you. From an evolutionary perspective, dog moms eat the poop of their young pups to keep the den clean and free from odors that may attract predators.

Some puppies bring this behavior to their new home, though most grow out of it as the dog matures; if they aren’t on a well-balanced diet or experience digestive disorders such as intestinal parasites or pancreatic disease, the behavior may persist.

We are back to the unique distribution of sweat glands in your pup and his ability to cool down. Because they don’t sweat like humans, excessive heat is lost as air moves through your dog’s airways. While normal respiration in dogs can be up to 30-40 breaths per minute, a panting dog can exchange air up to 300-400 times per minute.

Some causes of abnormal panting can include stress, pain, endocrine diseases, heatstroke, and heart or respiratory disorders such as tracheal collapse. If your dog doesn’t need to chill out in a warm environment, bring abnormal panting to your veterinarian’s attention.

A dogs’ ability to detect scents is up to 10,000 time more sensitive than the human nose. As an example, they can sniff out one rotten apple among 2 MILLION barrels of apples. A wet nose enhances the ability to trap olfactory chemicals in the secretions produced in the glands of the nose. Some dogs lick their nose, contributing to the “wet nose” look and enhancing the process of scent detection as those chemicals are processed in olfactory centers in the roof of their mouths. Dogs also produce more secretions from their nose as a way of regulating body temperature. Sweat glands are found in the feet and nose and as such, a wet nose helps keep them cool. Should I worry if my dog has a dry nose? Nope! If the dog is otherwise happy and healthy, without dried discharge around the nostrils, a dry nose is not an indicator of illness.

A group of cats is called a clowder, and a group of kittens is called a kindle.

Cats like boxes because it makes them feel safe. In the wild, places like this protect them from being seen by a predator or having one sneak up on them. It can also be useful when stalking prey. Because cats associate small spaces like this with safety, boxes are helpful in times of stress. They also provide a warm, cozy place for them to sleep. A great way to provide your cat with a box and help them overcome their fear of the carrier is to leave the carrier somewhere in your home where your cat likes to spend their time, open the door or take it off, and place bedding inside of it for them.

Most veterinarians think cats like to eat grass to relieve gastrointestinal issues or to get rid of parasites since grass has a lot of fiber. It also provides nutrients (i.e. folic acid). Other cats, however, may just like the taste of it. Just make sure your cat isn’t eating any toxic plants or grass that was treated with chemicals, and if you notice they’re eating large amounts of grass, talk to your vet because there could be an underlying problem.

Many cats dislike water for a couple of reasons. First, most cats have very limited experiences with water, and they’re often negative (i.e. a bath). In fact, since they evolved in desert climates, they’ve never been very familiar with water. Their fur also isn’t designed to repel water so it becomes uncomfortable if it gets too wet. Not all cats hate water, though. There are certain breeds of cats that love water, such as Abyssinians, Turkish Vans, Bengals, and Maine Coons.

Catnip is an herb in the mint family, and whether or not a cat responds to it actually depends on their genetics. Surprisingly, only about 50% of cats have this gene. Researchers believe that the smell of catnip triggers receptors in a cat’s brain that make them feel happy. Eating it, on the other hand, tends to make them calm. (Note – While cats are unlikely to overdose on catnip, it can make them sick if they eat too much.) If your cat likes catnip, you may find it helpful when teaching them to use a scratching post or encouraging them to play more.

Whiskers, also called vibrissae, are very sensitive tactile hairs that connect to a cat’s muscular system and nervous system and provide them with a lot of information about their environment, particularly about their position in space (like whether they can fit through a tight space), distance, or air currents, but they are especially useful in low light or darkness. They can also be used to communicate. For example, when they feel scared or threatened, they will pull them against their face, and when they feel excited, they tend to point them forward. Note – Never trim or pluck a cat’s whiskers!

Cats sleep up to 16 hours per day in short increments that alternate between dozing and deep sleep. Some cats, especially seniors, can sleep up to 20 hours per day! One reason they sleep so much is because they are predators that use a lot of energy in small bursts when they hunt. They’re also crepuscular, which means they are most active at dawn and dusk so you’re more likely to see them sleeping throughout the day.

Kittens knead on their mothers while they nurse to stimulate milk production, and they often continue doing it as adults when they feel content or want attention. Others believe it could also be linked to preparing their bed for rest or to mark their territory with the scent glands in their paws.

Generally, outdoor cats live for 2 – 5 years while indoor cats live an average of 15 years. This is due to the fact that outdoor cats are exposed to many more dangers than indoor cats, including getting hit by vehicles, encounters with other wild animals, ingesting a poison, the availability of food, various diseases and parasites, and the elements. Other factors that tend to affect their lifespan are preventative care, nutrition, and lifestyle. For example, being overweight or obese can shorten their lifespan by over 2 years!

Purring is usually associated with some kind of enjoyable activity, such as nursing, being pet, grooming a fellow cat, or just being in a comfortable environment, but cats also purr when they’re sick, injured, or stressed. This could serve to soothe them, but researchers have found that purring actually helps them heal because of the low frequency of the vibrations. Some behaviorists believe that purring serves as a method of communication too, such as from a kitten to its mother or when they’re hungry (which is often combined with a meow).