Boars can't stand being apart from one another during laptime - When together, constant dominance plays

[Alamerona]

Hi TGPF! Life with our two Boars, Bluebear and Walker, is going great, however we've noticed a significant change in Bluebear's behaviour since the loss of his old cagemate, Joey, and the adoption of Walker into his home.

Bluebear now, for whatever reason, can't stand being alone for laptime or grooming - He constantly tries to escape to wherever Walker currently is, be that the cage or my Fiancé's lap - He sometimes gets so desperate to be with Walker that he's tried to leap off of our laps on a few occasions. When we do unite them, however, the two instantly go about their dominance plays, rumblestrutting, scenting, dragging his butt over us, peeing on us, mounting... The whole works. It makes laptime a mess as he'll often poop and pee on us within minutes of laptime, but ONLY when he's with Walker on the same lap.

Bluebear has shown no signs of incontinence, no health issues, is a healthy weight that is balanced and not dropping, and is eating and drinking normally.

Walker is the same.

On an aside, Walker is quite the opposite - He likes a good cuddle, and frequently seems to popcorn uncontrollably on both me and my Fiancé's laps for a good few minutes - It can be quite a sight!

What could have caused this behavioural shift in Bluebear? He used to love cuddles, strokes, and fell asleep on our laps constantly, but since Joey passed away, it's like he's a totally different pig :/

 

[Piggies&buns]

How long have they been together?
How old are they both?
How are they in the cage together? Is it constant dominance in there also?
When you are doing lap time, do you use a fleece on your laps that smells of them?
Do you ensure you handle the dominant piggy first?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi TGPF! Life with our two Boars, Bluebear and Walker, is going great, however we've noticed a significant change in Bluebear's behaviour since the loss of his old cagemate, Joey, and the adoption of Walker into his home.

Bluebear now, for whatever reason, can't stand being alone for laptime or grooming - He constantly tries to escape to wherever Walker currently is, be that the cage or my Fiancé's lap - He sometimes gets so desperate to be with Walker that he's tried to leap off of our laps on a few occasions. When we do unite them, however, the two instantly go about their dominance plays, rumblestrutting, scenting, dragging his butt over us, peeing on us, mounting... The whole works. It makes laptime a mess as he'll often poop and pee on us within minutes of laptime, but ONLY when he's with Walker on the same lap.

Bluebear has shown no signs of incontinence, no health issues, is a healthy weight that is balanced and not dropping, and is eating and drinking normally.

Walker is the same.

On an aside, Walker is quite the opposite - He likes a good cuddle, and frequently seems to popcorn uncontrollably on both me and my Fiancé's laps for a good few minutes - It can be quite a sight!

What could have caused this behavioural shift in Bluebear? He used to love cuddles, strokes, and fell asleep on our laps constantly, but since Joey passed away, it's like he's a totally different pig :/

Hi!

Could you please add the ages of your boys and how long they have been together? This is crucial in interpreting the behaviour.

We cannot comment without any crucial background information. Please keep in mind that this is a lively forum and that we are doing this all for free in our own free time, so nobody of us will ever read all threads or be able to remember any previous information some several hundreds or thousands posts later on.

 

[Alamerona]

Hi!

Could you please add the ages of your boys and how long they have been together? This is crucial in interpreting the behaviour.

We cannot comment without any crucial background information. Please keep in mind that this is a lively forum and that we are doing this all for free in our own free time, so nobody of us will ever read all threads or be able to remember any previous information some several hundreds or thousands posts later on.

Hi Wiebke & Piggies&Buns!

Sure thing:

Bluebear is 1y 3m old.
Walker is 6m old.

They've been together since April of this year, so 2m.

They stay in the same cage and coexist happily. It is not constant dominance. Bluebear is the Dom in their relationship.

We don't usually use fleece liners on our laps, but have tried them in the past with them both and the result is the same.

We do handle Bluebear first traditionally, however we notice that irrespective of order, the result is always the same.

Hope this gives enough info!