Oink Oink - Keeping A Pig for A Pet

A majority of us are meat eaters that love bacon and other pork products. However, there's been a current craze about keeping pigs as pets. It's not so much as an animal-rights thing (I'm pretty sure many pet pig owners still eat pork) then a tread. A-list celebs like Megan Fox, David Beckham, Paris Hilton, George Clooney, and Miley Cyrus have pet pigs, and do they like to talk about how fun they are as pets.

But could you take on a pig as a pet? Many still find it strange keeping an oinker at home as a companion. Before you do run off and buy the closest pig you can find, here are a few things to know about keeping them as pets.

Teacups Are Not True
You might have heard or seen videos and photos of these little, tiny, precious little pigs that are called teacup pigs circling around the net. They've definitely been a major contributor to the popularity of pet pigs, but be warned, what you see is often times not what you get with these teacup pigs.  These pigs are marketed as pigs that will never grow and weigh more than a human baby. This ads to the cuteness, making them very attractive to those looking for cute pets. However, these pigs don't stay that small for long. In fact, there really is no such thing as a teacup pig (they're also called micro-mini, Juliana, and a few other names).  There are real miniature pigs, which don't grow as large as the usual 600-pound farm pig, but they don't stay in that "teacup" size for long. So-called teacups are actually potbellied pigs who are either underfed to stunt their growth or who are sold under false pretenses.

Potbellied Pigs

The most common pet pig breed, the potbellied pigs ( Sus scrofa domesticus) are actually cousins of wild boars from Vietnam. Compared to a regular farm pig (which can weigh more than 1,000 pounds) or wild hogs (which usually weights at 450 to 700 pounds), a potbellied pig grows to between 100 to 150 pounds on an average. Some do grow to only 60 pounds, but it's still nowhere close to how small teacup pigs are being marketed.  They come in a variety of colors and are intelligent animals. This makes them easy to train, so they might just give Fido a run for his money.

Early Breeders 
Pigs are social animals, so if you're planning to have one as a pet, you might want to get another one to keep them company. But you'll have to be careful when you're caring for potbellied pigs though. These guys can start breeding when they are as young as 6 to 8 weeks old. Have them spayed and neutered or you'll have to deal with caring for more piglets.  Potbellied pigs can grow until they are 5 years old and reach well over 100 pounds. Expect your little piglets to grow and grow fast.

Feed Them Well, They Actually Need to Grow 
Some breeders try to keep pet pigs in a small size by inbreeding them until the produced offspring stay small. This can actually cause a number of heath issues from reduced genetic diversity. This is similar to how some pure breed dogs tend to develop health problems since most of them are inbreeds. Aside from health issues, it can also lead to a shorter lifespan. Other times, people also purposely underfeed their pet pigs which causes them to become underweight and starve. Malnourishment can cause heath concerns such as weak immune systems, sensitive skin and hoof problems, so make sure you're giving them enough food. Diets should include fruits and vegetables. Consult your vet if you're planning to feed them pellets.

Keep Them Happy

Aside from a healthy diet, potbellied pigs need other piggy friends as well as a good amount of space to roam around to stay happy. Pigs love to dig, root, roll around in mud, and play in water (sounds a lot like a golden retriever). Being a smart animal, they're always curious about their surrounding and will not hesitate to explore. They can also get moody and territorial, so it's important to give them their own space. Make sure they have their own dry and sheltered sleeping spot where they can enjoy hay as their bedding. Piglets burrow into a deep litter of hay to stay warm. An adult pig will be satisfied with wood shavings (not sawdust).

Mind the Expense

You might think that keeping a pet pig won't cost as much, but these little pigs don't stay small for long. It's like expecting to care of a small Yorkie but end up with a Great Dane. Not everyone can afford to handle a 100 pound pig in the house. You have to consider the price of the pig, which could be hundreds and can even reach thousands of dollars. You'll also need to budget the proper food (dog and cat kibble won't work), space needs, sterilization costs, and vet bills. Keep in mind that not all vets specializes or knows how to handle pet pigs. You might end up spending a lot when looking for a vet for them.

They Might be Illegal 

In some places, keeping a pet pig is illegal. Pigs are usually listed under the law as livestock, as in it belongs in a farm and shouldn't be running around in a residential area. Many local governments that have no or little farm areas forbid the raising of livestock, so it's best to check with your local ordinances about keeping pigs as pets. Also, condos and apartments usually won't let you keep them as pets, so keeping them as a pet in the city is going to be difficult.

Long Life

There's a misconception that pet pigs will only live up to 5 years. The truth is, potbellied pigs can live to around 12 to 18 years. Potbellied pigs can be great pets for kids since they can enjoy growing up with them. Sadly, a number of pig owners who bought their pigs under the assumption that they don't live longer than five year or have become too big for them to take care often call animal shelters to take their pet pigs. Some of them are taken in by foster homes, while stay in shelters for the rest of their years.

Whether you think their cute or you just want an exotic pet, a pet pig will turn heads. Take good care of one and you'll have a happy, contented pig to greet you when you come home.
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4 of the Best Starter Pets for Kids

Any kid would want a pet. Giving them a pet helps them learn about responsibility and respecting life. Most parents are scared to hand an animal to their child because they fear that the child might end up hurting the creature or even themselves. However, with proper education and guidance, you kids can start taking care of a pet.

Fish

Fishes are known to be the best “starter” pet. You won’t have to worry about allergies, scratches and bites. They’re also very easy to take care of and they need little maintenance compared to dogs and cats. Goldfishes are the most common choices. However some fishes, like the Betta or Siamese fighting fish is a better choice since these are very low maintenance and they prefer to be alone. They also don’t require complicated, and sometimes expensive, tank accessories like heaters, filters and aerators. A bowl and stagnant water is all they need.

Reptiles

They may be cold-blooded, but it doesn’t mean that they make bad pets. Reptiles like turtles and tortoises make great pets since they can live as long as a person, and like fish, they’re low maintenance. Russian tortoises, for example, can live to about 50 years and they only need insects and green, leafy veggies. For a more exotic take, you can have iguanas and chameleons as pets, but it’s best when the child is a bit older so they can fully understand the responsibilities and does and don’t when it comes to taking care of these animals. Health wise, they’re also great for kids who have allergies with fur.

Birds

Although they’re more demanding than fishes and turtles, some birds make excellent pets. They’re very intelligent. In fact some species of parrots have the same learning ability as a 3 year old. Birds are also highly sociable and they get along with others very well. However, this does mean that you have to pay close attention to them. Birds like parakeets and canaries are good to start with. If you have some money to spare, more expensive breeds like cockatoos are an option.

Rodents

For those who want something small and fuzzy, rodents like gerbils, guinea pigs, and hamsters are relatively easy to care for. Most of these animals will be fine with small living spaces, and only requires rudimentary care. When buying them in pairs expect them to multiply very fast, so you might want to keep them separated or at least place a boundary between the both of them.  Regular and gentle handling helps make them friendlier towards humans. But be warned, these animals do bite when they feel threatened.

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Natural Pet Foods

Pet lovers are well aware of how valuable proper nutrition is in keeping their furry and scaly buddies healthy and happy.

Natural pet food options tend to be often talked about when discussions on healthy meals for pets are raised, with most discussions delving into their upsides and downsides over their mass produced and commercially distributed counterparts.

Here’s a quick take on one downside and one upside known to be often encountered with natural pet foods.

Shorter Shelf Life – When comparing natural pet foods with their commercial counterparts, shelf life tends to be a downside.

Given the fact that natural pet food options are generally not made with preservatives, their keeping requires pet owners to pay attention on their expiration dates, a requirement which means that pet owners will have to necessarily supply and resupply their natural pet food stocks on a regular basis.

Generally, natural pet food options can stay for as long as a week, with some even staying fresh and unspoiled for two. As opposed to commercially made pet food options, these products are known to last for a month, just as long as they are kept in dry containers in cool and dry spaces.

Healthier, Lesser Chemicals and Preservatives – Since natural pet food options are made with the least amount of preservatives (with others even made without), they are significantly healthier and better than those made to last in storage bins.

Also made using natural ingredients, natural pet food options, while not as storage-friendly as commercial pet food varieties, are more packed with vitamins and nutrients, leading to healthier pets who are not susceptible to diseases and medical conditions.

While regularly supplying pet food can be a hassle for some pet owners, opting for natural pet foods is far better than simply depending on commercially mass produced pet foods for one’s pet.

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DNA confirms ancient Asian origin for American dogs

Research has challenged the idea that dogs already present in the Americas when Europeans arrived were swamped by animals brought in by the settlers.

The genetic study suggests modern breeds from the Americas largely trace their ancestry to dogs brought to the continent from Asia by native peoples.

Source: Here

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The Alpaca

Though they do bear certain similarities with llamas, Alpacas are different in these sense that they are significantly smaller in shape and size, with Alpacas not kept as “beasts of burden”.

Typically found in domesticated enclosures and habitats in South America, Alpacas are more favored for their “fiber source” purposes, with Alpaca fibers generally used in the making of various fabrics and textiles, just as with wool.

With the average Alpaca weighing somewhere between 48 to 84 kilograms, the Peruvian Alpaca is quite famous in the textile industry, with the general Alpaca fiber category known to come in more than 50 natural color shades and hues in Peru.

Alpaca herds are typically found in the Andes in Peru, northern Chile and in northern Bolivia, at above sea level heights of up to 3,500 meters. Sociable and generally easy to domesticate, they are known to have issues with being physically touched, but this doesn’t mean that they are impossible to keep.

Also known for being “tidy”, Alpacas are also known to eat just about anything, with different accounts telling of Alpacas actually chewing through tins and cans, though their staple diets would mostly consist of hay and grass.

As already mentioned, the Alpaca’s physical characteristics are quite similar with llamas, leaving many in associating the llama and Alpaca as one and the same, without realizing that they are actually different from each other.

With their distinct looks and the variations of their coat colors, Alpacas are certainly interesting creatures, whose fleeces are often shorn on regular intervals, used in making different textile-based items such as blankets, scarves, hats, gloves and more.

 Alpaca Video

 

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Sled dogs

Though reindeers are typically associated with sleds during the holidays, there aren’t all that may reindeers drawing sleds generally encountered nowadays, with more people more inclined to used motorized sleds as opposed to the use of animals.

However, sled dogs are still quite prevalent, mostly used for recreational purposes and not as a primary means for transport.

The 1994 Walt Disney feature, Iron Will, stands as a representative to the still-ongoing popularity of sled dogs, with the movie telling the tale of how a young man took part in a cross country sled dog race.

Though the time and setting of the story can’t be described as the most modern of tenses, the film managed to look into the world of sledding, along with significant focus and emphasis on sled dogs.

The term sled dogs doesn’t exactly denote a certain dog breed, but it does refer to a working dog type, with the practice known to have been around since 2000 BC. One of the most popular dog breeds used as sled dogs would be the Greenland Dog, which is characterized by its dense coat and wide-padded paws.

The Alaskan Husky would be another popular sled dog breed, along with the Canadian Eskimo Dog. When talking about sled dogs, two traits are generally considered to be basic attribute, the first being a dog’s strength, the second, a dog’s endurance/stamina.

Since sled dogs are expected to draw sleds through snow or iced surfaces, their strength, matched with their robust endurance capacities are highly valued.

As with most working dogs, sled dogs are quite smart and intuitive as individual dogs, making them popular in different households taking the role of the household’s pet. With their generally cool temperaments and quick-to-adapt traits, they continue to be iconic fixtures in the world of sledding.

Sled dogs Video

 

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In Memoriam: Obituaries for Rich Singapore’s Pets

(While some people are overlooked)

The Straits-Times “Pets Corner” will now host goodbye obituaries by loving owners to their beloved pets.

This move was said to be motivated by wealthy Singapore’s rich population having less and less kids, the attention instead being devoted to pets.

This is just an extension of Singapore’s famous lavish doting on pets. This attention and loving care for pets resulted in the rise of industries catering to consumers wishing to give “premium” everything to their pets. Hence the rise in the popularity of premium pet food, premium pet accessories and premium pet fashion.

The obituaries carry premium prices too, each at about S$50 ($40.94) with an added 7 percent in goods and services tax.

Meanwhile, this pet doting boom in Singapore also led to the rise in migrant workers hired solely to take care of rich pets. Which, in a way, can be said to be also a boon for poorer countries.

When roles get reversed

But sometimes the love of animals can exceed compassion for people. Witness this comment from a Singaporean pet forum:

“I was riding my bike back home from office towards and before Great World City that stretch of road and I saw two beautiful Golden Retrievers crossing the road handled by a maid. This STUPID maid was pulling hard on the leash of one of the Retrievers, The dog refused to move on and the pull was hard.

“I really hope the owner of the dogs should handle the dogs personally. Maid [sic] cannot be trusted. I feel like putting a leash on the maid and give a hard pull and let her knows [sic] the feel of it.”
In fairness, other members of the forum chimed in to soothe the original thread poster, telling her golden retrievers are naturally stubborn so she shouldn’t jump to conclusions.
But then there’s no denying the spirit of the times, as shown in the tagline of one of the forum’s moderators:

“Children are for people who can’t have dogs - Anon”

Treating pets like people while people are treated like animals cannot be called progress. It is a form of poverty — of the spirit.

But all is not lost

Recent protests over Singapore Zoo’s newest Giant Panda Pair is a sign of Singapore’s growing animal rights advocacy community. With this kind of compassion at hand, there’s still a chance it would trickle down to Singapore’s sizable (roughly one out of three) migrant worker population.

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Komondor Dogs

As a dog hailing from Hungary, the Komondor is one that comes with different names, formally known as the Hungarian Komondor or the Hungarian Sheepdog, but more popularly referred to as the “mop dog”.

As its “pet name” would imply, the Komondor dog’s thick matted and corded fur gives it a mop-like “sheen”, one which can be described as similar to humans sporting dreadlocks as their hairstyle, only that the “dreads” of the Komondor are natural and not cosmetically induced.

Also known for being one of the largest dog breeds around, the Komondor is quite famous for its “natural guarding instincts”, making them the perfect sheepdogs, or dogs designated to watch over different livestock.

In fact, the personalities of Komondor dogs is so akin towards being guards that they are typically calm when things are okay, springing into action when things are awry or simply off.

Typically, Komondor dogs are kept as working dogs, given their natural guarding inclinations, but instances of them being kept as pets are also quite common. Well built and athletic, the breed is known to have a particular exercise regimen.

Given the dog’s large size, Komondor dogs are typically introduced to training methods and modes early, designed to help control them as they grow older. But unlike most dogs, training sessions with Komondors require a certain “edge”, one which suits well with the dog’s attitudes – particularly how easily they get bored.

As a dog, the Komondor is considered to be one of Hungary’s national treasures, a dog breed whose breeding status is well kept from any modifications.

Powerful, strong and simply unique with its matted-corded fur, Komondor dogs are certainly one of the world’s more unique dog breeds.

 Komondor Dogs Video

 

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New Zealand’s Driving Dogs

New Zealand’s local SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) gives dogs driving lessons to drive up dog adoption.

Meet Porter, Monty and Ginny, the world’s first driving dogs. They have been trained how to drive modified cars by the New Zealand SPCA. The aim was to demonstrate that rescue dogs are not only as good as dogs obtained from breeders, sometimes they could be even better — as they have shown by their driving skills recently.

SPCA is hoping the resulting publicity would raise the rate of adopting rescue dogs like Porter, Monty and Ginny.
Porter, a 10-month old bearded collie cross, was an abandoned dog. Monty, an 18-month old Giant Schnauzer was given up by its owner to the SPCA (apparently too much to handle). Meanwhile Ginny, a bearded whippet cross, was literally a whipping dog — coming from an abusive home.

And now they have become internationally famous.

Porter and Monty made their unassisted driving debut in their first live driving test (December 10th) at an Auckland racetrack. Strapped to a modified Mini Countryman, Porter and Monty used their paws to do all the driving work: from starting the modified ignition key, hitting the brake, setting the car into gear, steering the wheel, to turning on the accelerator (there was a speed limiter so the car could not go above walking speed).

Ginny didn’t take the live test drive but her driving skills were similar to Porter and Monty’s.

And the offers for adoption poured in — for Porter and Monty. Ginny got less interest — possibly because she had less airtime, mused SPCA CEO Christine Kalin.
Which is understandable. People flock to the superstars. They missed out seeing more of Ginny, so many didn’t know she was there.

But the point of the campaign was not to produce dog superstars but to gain attention to the plight of rescue dogs who need ‘forever’ homes.

As the Drivingdogs admin posted back in December 12:

“If you are looking, there are loads of dogs at the SPCA, not all can drive, but all are just as amazing!.”

And slowly but surely, the option of getting rescue dogs is getting popular with those who are looking for pet companions. And getting there may be the best drive of all.

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Lemurs

Lemurs are typically mistaken to be monkeys, but this assumption doesn’t define them as such, in the sense that the lemurs are not descendants of ancient primates, even if they do bear certain similarities with them.

Found in the island of Madagascar, the 2005 animated hit Madagascar doesn’t miss on its Madagascar-based premise, a credit to the movie’s creators.

Telling the story of how a group of New York Zoo animals managed to find themselves in the island of Madagascar, the adventures of Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Melman the Giraffe, and Gloria the hippo are the main focus in Madagascar, where the four encounter a group of merry lemurs who are simply out to live the “good island life”.

Though not exactly responsible for sparking interests on lemurs, the movie did manage to stoke the fires of interest in them, effectively putting lemurs on the map.

As creatures, all types of lemurs share a set of basal primal traits, characterized by tails and divergent digits found in their hands and feet. Highly social and very interactive, these characteristics have once made them popular as exotic pets, but their status as a pet is well guarded by officially sanctioned wildlife conservation agencies.

The fact that they were quite popular as pets has actually driven different organizations into officially monitoring and controlling lemur populations, giving focus on emphasis on how properly housed they are, how pet owners are in the capacity to provide them with their dietary staples, etc.

Though it is not generally illegal to keep lemurs as pets, there are certain considerations and restrictions involved in keeping them, something which someone who is entertaining the thought of getting a lemur should be well aware of.

Do you own a lemur? What did you have to do to legally keep it?

 Lemurs Video

 

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Collies

As a dog, collies have long been considered as a dog breed, but that title is actually incorrect in the sense that collies are not exactly a breed but rather a type of herding dog that hails from the Northern parts of England and Scotland.

Lassie, from the 1943 released feature Lassie Come Home, has become iconic for collies, with the name Lassie loosely used as household term that defines the dog type, in general.

Essentially a “Rough Collie”, Lassie, as a character, has defined a lot of doggy attributes which countless households look for in the ideal family dog, steadfast in its resolve, strong in its overall constitution and intelligent in assessing situations and scenarios.

In Lassie Come Home, Lassie is separated from her family, a separation which was caused by the fact that her family had to sell her to a new master. Ever loyal to her masters, Lassie managed to escape from her buyers, going on an adventure in finding her way back home from Scotland to Yorkshire.

A lot of Lassie’s positive attributes stand true with collies in general, with most collies exhibiting significant capabilities for intelligence, stamina and generally “trainable” temperaments.

Though not exactly the poster-dog for all collies, Lassie’s popularity has defined collies in a lot of ways, leading to the organization of different collie types for shows, with a known number of mixes known to exist.

As a herding dog, collies are quite popular in the United Kingdom, and with Lassie Come Home, it has also become popular in different parts of the world.

Collies Video

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Funny & Cute Animal Pictures

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