When did potbelly pigs become a must-have pet?

They’re bred to be small, there’s a big market for owners who don’t want to trade in their Gucci doggybags now that they got bored of their chihuahuas. Mini dog’s are out, mini pig’s are in. Pigs are awesome pets though, having one at a more manageable size sounds like a nice pet.

When George Clooney became a star, it was reported that he had one.
The madness began then.

They were all the rage back in the 80’s When a character in a tv sitcom “Designing Women” had a pet pig.

Sadly many ended up abandoned in rescues when people realized they were not purse-pets or dogs.

Be sure they research well. A potbelly pig can make a great pet but you have to educate yourself before getting one.

By the way- they get larger than some think. :) They won’t fit in a Coach purse at all!

Because they’re sooo cute! But with the whole swine flu thing going on, I’m not too sure I’d want one for Christmas! :)

@mclaugh You’ll be fine as long as you’re able to resist the urge to French kiss it :p

Like @Dog, I’ve seen the fad come and go a couple of times.

Here’s a Chicago Sun-Times mention of a 1991 potbelly pig dispute between a couple and their condo association.

After looking up some more things, apparently Paris Hiltion got one.

I guess coming from the country, I never thought of having a pig as a pet in the city.

Did they? That’s not the case around here.

My aunt had a pet Poland China sow some years ago in one of the villages of Houston. She was very bright and a real sweetheart and got along well with the dogs, cats and horses, but she broke the couch once she got to 600 pounds. Some of the boys get to more than 1000 pounds! She used to run with the dogs through the neighborhood, raiding garbage cans.

Pigs can make great pets, but having a smaller-sized pig is a good idea if you ever want to let it into the house, or if you want to take it to the vet. They are still heavy, averaging between 120 and 150 pounds, but compared to a regular farm pig they are real lightweights.

Unfortunately, pet fads come and go all the time, and the poor animals are the ones that suffer. Way too many end up in rescues because folks don’t see beyond just owning one. Pot bellied pigs typically live at least 12 years, so you need to be prepared to live with it at least that long. At least one has made it to age 19.

@Darwin She used to run with the dogs through the neighborhood, raiding garbage cans. I really enjoyed the image this conjured up. You put a smile on my face, thank you.

Can they be house trained (poos and wees)?

Am I just being naive?

@Rachienz They can be litterbox trained. and leash trained too.
Pigs are incredibly smart.

I fostered three pot bellied pigs that had been dumped by their owners till they were placed in adoptive homes.

One was nearly the size of a Golden Retriever but weighed a lot more. He had a nasty attitude and refused to be housebroken, often deliberately urinating as soon as he got inside. Naturally we gave him outside quarters.

The other two were smaller- about the height of a medium sized dog and both were skittish and needed a lot of patience to get them to let me pet them.

They are very very smart. They can be housebroken.

They are very social and need attention and they are unintentionally destructive by nature. An example of the latter was when I came home from work to find that they had pushed out the locking panel on the dog door and gotten in the house.

When I came in I startled them and both tried to exit the dog door at the same time in such a panic that the door cracked and needed replacement. The damage to the house from their time inside unsupervised was:

The couch had been “rooted” across the room knocking over an antique marble top table cracking the marble in two. The pantry had been nuzzled open and the new bag of dog food was torn open, scattered everywhere along with the dried pasta. A dried flower arrangement was eaten and scattered.

As I said it was not intentional but they are very strong and very smart.

On a cute side they can be great little companions.

@dog LMAO… I can visually imagine the destruction. Reminds me of the movie “Home Alone” :D

We had a pig roaming our neighborhood, I think she eventually became someone’s bacon. But we had some exciting times on our mornings walks while she was still around. Here is a pic of my akita and little brown dog meeting up with Miss Piggy and her lab mate.