I can hardly believe it, but Oscar is 20 months old! Honestly, the past five months since his last weigh in have flown by. I feel like we are in a good, stable place with Oscar these days. That doesn’t mean we don’t still have our challenges or that every day is easy, but I feel like I’m slowly figuring this pig parenting thing out.

We are finally past the days of worrying about potty training or getting Oscar’s harness on which were some of our challenges in the past, and these days we worry more about keeping him stimulated with enough rooting time, finding his lost teeth in the house, and attempting to pick him up. Oscar is finally big enough that I simply cannot lift him. In retrospect, I think I was in denial that there would be a day when I couldn’t lift him. Although we’ve had to make some logistical adjustments with a ramp and figuring out how to get him from point A to point B when he is being stubborn, I don’t mind him being bigger. Sure, it’s more inconvenient at times, but there’s also more of him to cuddle!

Our biggest challenge at the moment is that Oscar still head whips and sometimes attempts to bite when we touch his right side by his face. It’s something that he has done for a long time, and we have tried everything but haven’t figured out how to stop that behavior. He has also started charging at guests in just the past few months and I worry about that issue escalating with time, so we are working on that as well.

I really am enjoying this time with Oscar now that he’s a little older. We seem to have figured each other out more, and we’ve settled into a better routine. I’m still surprised by how much more challenging the journey with Oscar has been than I originally expected, but I’m happy to be where we are with him.

Our little Oscar is still growing! At 20 months old, Oscar is 59 pounds, 17″ tall, and 33″ long. 

Oscar is 15 months old, so it’s time for his weigh in! After Oscar’s first birthday, I decided to stop posting his weight every month and just update once every three months. Although mini pigs can grow for up to three to five years, I figured his growth would slow enough after his first birthday that the posts wouldn’t be interesting. I sure was wrong!

Right after Oscar’s one year weigh in, he had a big growth spurt. In fact, he grew so quickly that he started looking a little thin, so we increased his pellet amounts to make sure he was getting enough. After a while, his growing seemed to slow and his weight caught up, and now he’s back to his happy, healthy self.

We’ve had some of our biggest behavior challenges with Oscar in the past three months. Oscar’s snipping and head whipping really increased after he turned one. He was attempting to bite us and the dog on a daily basis for a while, and I eventually hit one of my highest points of frustration with him. We weren’t sure if he was in pain and lashing out from teething or if he was just being mean, but we were really frustrated and left wondering where we went wrong with him.

After a ton of frustration and research, we decided that Oscar has Spoiled Pig Syndrome and tried to address his behaviors accordingly. I put Oscar in mini pig behavior bootcamp by restarting Move the Pig, making him work for his meals, not allowing him to nip at toes, and by being more firm with him overall. Due to those changes, we have seen a huge improvement in his behavior. He’s not perfect and still has an attitude and nips at times, but everyone in the house, including Oscar, is much happier.

Our big lesson throughout the past three months is that we will always have to stay on top of Oscar’s behavior. The hardest part is keeping up on Oscar’s structure and discipline, particularly Move the Pig, when he’s sweet and loving. But, when I forget, Oscar takes advantage of those moments and starts challenging for hierarchy again. This is a pattern I expect we will deal with forever with Oscar, and it’s been a hard lesson to learn. In order for him to be the best pig he can be, I need to embrace and live in his world of hierarchy with him. When I am acting as his leader, the house is much more peaceful and happy.

The upside to Oscar’s recent behavior issues is that I feel more bonded than ever with him. The bond helps balance out the behavior problems and gives us sweet, happy moments with him that we love. Oscar still loves cuddling, and he approaches us and wants to be around us more than ever. He used to be more independent, but he follows me around the house much more now and even greets people at the door sometimes. We are firmly in a routine with Oscar these days, so day-to-day tasks are easier and we can spend more time enjoying him.

After a year with Oscar, owning a mini pig is much more challenging than I ever imagined, but it’s also much more rewarding. I never expected the highs and lows that have come with owning a pig, but he has made me cry and laugh more than any pet I’ve owned. Someone mentioned in a comment on here that pig parenting is not for the faint of heart, and I agree 100% with that statement. In a year, Oscar has made me yell, cry, question my sanity, leave the house just to get some space, cry some more, smile, experience joy and, most of all, laugh. These mini pigs are a ton of work, but they are also amazing little (and not-so-little) creatures.

At 15 months old, Oscar is 37 pounds, 16″ tall, and 29″ long. 

Oscar is one year old! Oscar celebrated his first birthday a few weeks ago with a fun and delicious party. Now that he’s one, he’s really keeping us on our toes. We officially have a toddler mini pig, and he’s busy, busy, busy all day. He’s more curious than ever and wanders around the house most of the day checking everything out and getting into anything he can.

While it has been fun to have a more active mini pig, it has also been more tiring. I constantly worry about Oscar chewing on or eating something dangerous, so I follow him around making sure he’s not chewing on cables or discovering toxic foods in the pantry. This is definitely a new stage for us with Oscar, so I plan on writing more about his toddler phase as we experience it.

Oscar is also really enjoying Spring lately. Now that it’s warm out again, Oscar loves getting outside, rooting around and exploring. The grass is green again, so he’s back to eating grass, which makes him happy. Even though he’s keeping me busier and more anxious than usual with all of his (potentially dangerous and toxic) explorations inside the house and out, it’s fun to watch him wander and experience the world around him. Sometimes it’s even a good reminder for me to stop and take time to wander and explore with him.

Now that he’s a year old, I often look back at his baby pig days and reflect on our journey with him so far. Although he was adorable as a piglet, I don’t miss those early days as much as I thought I would. I enjoy the bond we’ve built and being in more of a routine with Oscar. He still has the curiosity that I loved so much when he was a piglet, but his personality has really developed and shows through more than when he was a baby. I’m curious (and a little terrified!) to see where the next chapter with Oscar takes us as we adjust to life with our toddler mini pig.

At one year old, Oscar is 28 pounds, 26″ long, and 16″ tall.

Oscar is 11 months old! Although we’ve had some challenges with Oscar over the past few months, life with him is pretty calm these days. The biggest breakthrough in Oscar’s behavior has been due to Move the Pig, and I am both surprised and pleased with how much Move the Pig has improved his behavior.

Oscar’s aggression has a tendency to come and go from one month to the next, but right now he is showing almost no signs of aggression. After dealing with his persistent head swiping and air biting for several months, I am amazed that he hasn’t done either of those behaviors in quite a while. I have heard some people describe Move the Pig as magical, and so far I agree with that description. What amazes me is that Move the Pig doesn’t appear to deal with mini pig biting because it’s done at a different time than biting and doesn’t involve handling the snout or mouth area, but it still works. My favorite part of Move the Pig is that it’s done at random times of the day and doesn’t have to be done when your pig is being aggressive, allowing me to walk away from a tense situation and handle it later by moving Oscar.

Things between Oscar and his dog sister, Rylee, have even improved. When we first started Move the Pig with Oscar, the relationship between Oscar and Rylee got worse initially. Although I’m not positive, my theory is that Oscar was fighting even harder for his spot in the hierarchy against Rylee since he was losing his battle with the humans in the house. Fighting with Rylee gave him hope of remaining higher in the hierarchy than at least something. However, over time, he just calmed down and stopped instigating battles with her. They still have occasional “checks” with each other, particularly around food, but it doesn’t escalate and Rylee seems back to her normal self and at ease in the house again.

As I’ve learned with Oscar, shifts in his aggression can happen at any time, but for now things are calm and happy. Everyone seems to know their place in the hierarchy, and there isn’t a constant struggle going on for position. We still do Move the Pig a few times each day as maintenance, but I’m really happy with Oscar’s behavior these days.

Our little guy had a small growth spurt this month due to me increasing his food just to make sure he was getting enough. He now gets a mid-day kale salad for extra nutrition, and he’s thrilled about the addition.

At 11 months old, Oscar is 25 pounds, 15.5″ tall, and 26″ long.

Oscar is 10 months old! Our little piglet is growing up so quickly, and he has transitioned from being a scared, squealing baby to a confident, challenging toddler. Looking back, his days of adjusting to home and potty training seem so distant. Although I loved when he was tiny and cute, it has been fun watching Oscar develop his personality and interact with the world around him. We’ve had our challenges with him recently, but overall I’m so happy with the little toddler pig he’s become.

Our biggest challenge with Oscar last month was his biting. After working with him daily to correct the behavior, we have it mostly under control for now. The first time Oscar started biting, he was a baby and responded well with some simple positive reinforcement. This time, however, Oscar’s biting was more frequent and took more serious intervention. I have spent a lot of time over the past month learning about methods to stop mini pig aggression, and my husband and I have both been working to train Oscar using those methods. The main technique, which I will discuss in a future post, is move the pig, and it has really helped us better understand Oscar and significantly reduce his aggression.

Although there were challenges, we also had a lot of sweet moments with Oscar last month. Oscar finally experienced his first snow which he did not enjoy, and he had an amazing weekend recently when the weather warmed up and allowed him to root around in the sunshine. Most important to Oscar were his new foods last month, including natural applesauce and a delicious, juicy orange.

Now that we understand move the pig and are continuing to work through Oscar’s behavior challenges, I am hopeful that next month will be even better.

At 10 months old, Oscar is 22 pounds, 15″ tall, and 25″ long.