What Makes A 'lap Pig'?

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MerryPip

MerryPip

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I find this very interesting....

People talk about their piggies being a 'lap pig' - they enjoy fuss and cuddles and are happy to sit on you for a good while, sometimes they even choose to toddle over to you and climb up on you.... And others say they've never had a good lap-pig or only ever had one....

What do you think makes one pig a good lap-pig and not another? I only ask as I am intrigued as all of our boys love fuss and cuddles and will sit on the sofa either on or beside me & OH for hours watching TV, knitting or whatever (us not the piggies....). We don't do anything special with them but almost all of our boys have been like this. Is it a boy thing? Or just a Wulfruna Piggy thing?

To be fair it took Angus til he was nearly 3 to settle for a cuddle, he preferred to rampage around the sofa or the living room causing chaos and so did Struan ot a point but they still all love a snuggle. Pippin was even snuggling OH as he passed away (The piggy not my OH....)

Thoughts welcome :D
 
Getting older - as youngsters mine just couldnt sit still - they were hyper pigs - now bumble is older he will sit for ages for a massage and cuddles -
 
Rach, your boys are like the ultimate lap pigs. So much so that H would pop balls in hands :))

You know our girls.... They are anti lap pigs... Sasppy is the closest we come. None of them really relax and enjoy it, they tolerate it.

Putt was really our only lap piggy.

I think maybe boys are more chilled, yours certainly are.

Such an Interrsting discussion, looking forward to reading views.

I wonder if you take pigs out from an early age day in day out do they become more lappy. We do tend to leave our girls in and do almost all interaction in the cage and at bars including fuss.
 
sport_billy said:
Rach, your boys are like the ultimate lap pigs. So much so that H would pop balls in hands :))

You know our girls.... They are anti lap pigs... Sasppy is the closest we come. None of them really relax and enjoy it, they tolerate it.

Putt was really our only lap piggy.

I think maybe boys are more chilled, yours certainly are.

Such an Interrsting discussion, looking forward to reading views.

I wonder if you take pigs out from an early age day in day out do they become more lappy. We do tend to leave our girls in and do almost all interaction in the cage and at bars including fuss.
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My boy guinea pig, Kimba, is the most chilled and affectionate piggy! From the time I had him at 8 weeks, I will talk to him a lot and at lap time I woukd Lay on the floor with him and he really liked that. He will come to me and smell me,letting me stroke him and then he will run away popcorning. When I cuddle him, he would stretch, yawn and lay down like a dog ! He is very affectionate , I heard it before that people say that boars are more affectionate, however , I think personality and time that you invest spending with your guinea would influence the behaviour . I'm saying that, because Kimba's daughter is exacty like her Daddy and she is very mellow and love cuddles while her sisters are very shy.
 
:) Thanks Lee, I know H is something a bit 'special' there is no-pig else quite like him. Only him and Dinky have ever fallen asleep on me quite like that!

Our boys do get handled a lot (and talked to and fussed in the cage) but not every day. I think we just seem to attract pretty mellow pigs or The Potteries keep supplying us with them anyway....
 
I think with all animals there's two elements - the built in temperament and the learnt behaviour.

Only just (last Friday) got my 3 little female pigs (accidental litters from a friend of a friend of a friend, who decided a trio of girls would be nice so bought her two girls a new little "female" friend...). But you can already see that one is definitely going to be a cuddle pig, shes so confidant, chilled out and happy with people. She's happy being held, happily looks around, eats without hesitation whilst on you and after a few minutes lay out on me looking all chilled, even on the first time I held her (she's only 6.5weeks!). Whereas the other two are your normal shy, nervous baby pigs in a new home, that I expected. Only time will tell with them whether or not they'll learn to be lap pigs but I definitely believe the first girl was born a lap pig.

I experienced similar with bunnys too. My first bunny pair both had the same up bringing, yet poppy was like a puppy and sirius was a "you will touch me on my terms only" type bun.
 
Sorry to butt in! I have a heavily pregnant piggy and have so many questions.. I have googled myself silly but would just like to speak to someone real who could answer a few questions! If anyone could help or point me in the right direction it would be very much appreciated!
 
I think it depends on the pig, every one is individual just like we humans are. For Archie, its very much when HE wants a cuddle. If hes installed on a lap and isnt in a cuddle mood, he will bite lots, headbutt, wriggle to escape. But then if he needs a cuddle, he will ask or install himself happily, and stay for as long as he wants. But he will give cuddles if you are feeling sad or stressed too, just like a person will cuddle you better. And of course theres different sorts of cuddles he gives, and different cuddles depending on the person too. Its all rather complex :P

debbiegee said:
Sorry to butt in! I have a heavily pregnant piggy and have so many questions.. I have googled myself silly but would just like to speak to someone real who could answer a few questions! If anyone could help or point me in the right direction it would be very much appreciated!
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https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/forums/pregnancy-baby-care-and-sexing-no-breeding.11/
 
Rosie was my only lap pig and she would curl up and sleep there for ages, she hated all the other pigs though (even 3 week old Rose). We have had others that were close to being lap pigs - Terk would sit on Ross's shoulder and clean his ears, Tim used to sit on my shoulder before Sophie arrived and go through whatever was on the table next to me (usually picking pens out the pencil case). Fuzzy was a real lap pig until her heart meds kicked in and now I am lucky if she stays still for more than 3 seconds. She does sit on Ross a bit longer though. Mabel is not too bad and will snuggle down. Most of my pigs are really tame but in other ways, they will all come up to me and climb up my legs for their nightly vitamin and Millie Moo tends to know if I am upset and will come over and look up at me, she even put her paw on my foot the other week to get my attention. Last night at the time they were due their vitamin (it's an Oxbow digestive one) I had 4 of them sat on my feet waiting because I wasn't quick enough. Then Katie skinny started bouncing up and down and slung a poo at my leg.
 
I was always really disappointed (and jealous) I didn't have a lap guin and my oldest boar Six used to be the ultimate anti-lap guin! If you picked him up, he wouldn't sit still, he would wriggle constantly, try and escape and would complain and/or wheek constantly for his brother. Then his brother died and he moved in with a young boar (Cap), and the two of them became the soppiest, cuddliest pigs around! The funny thing is, I think Cap learnt that cuddles were nice from Six, but Six only started liking cuddles when he moved in with Cap! I wonder if maybe Six had to prove to Cap 'these are MY humans'. Or maybe his brother dying made him realise that he needed us humans after all.

They now live separately, and Six has moved in with his wife Athy, and the pair of them are seriously cuddly lap guins. We got Athy when she was about 18 months old and she's a wonderful little thing! She didn't come from the best home, and it's hard to say if she's so cuddly because she's finally happy or if she was always cuddly. The pair of them will stay cuddled up on your lap for hours (if you don't mind getting weed on a few times!) and Athy loves to rest her head on you or Six and spread her feet out. I absolutely adore the pair of them, after previously always having guins that at best, showed mild apathy towards me, they make me so happy!

I also have a pair of sows who will shortly be moving in Cap and they are not lap guins! Xena is extremely shy so she will sit still but won't really relax on you. Sephy is very confident and will have a cuddle for about three minutes before she gets bored (or needs a wee) and will start to fidget. I am hoping they will learn to like cuddles from Cap.

I don't know if it's something that is in their personality or something that is learnt or something that comes with age. Six makes me think it is something that is learnt, but Athy makes me think it is part of her personality... I guess it's a mix of all things!
 
I think it's just general temperament. To me, a 'lap pig' is one that will fully relax and just flop on your lap and just lap it up and potentially fall asleep. I have had the queen of all lap pigs (Linney, who would literally fall asleep on our laps in various uncomfortable-looking positions- eyes shut and everything.) Hadley is not quite as willing to sleep as Linney, but she will also flop on her belly with her feet out the back for ages on our knees. She keeps her eyes open, though. Sundae is friendly and talks a lot and licks our hands, but I don't feel that she is really a 'lap pig' in that she doesn't lay down and she gets restless relatively quickly (part of this is that she has to pee- she has ongoing bladder problems and doesn't seem able to hold it for very long.) And Frenzy I literally never saw relax- she liked having her head and ears patted, but she always stood there like a tightly wired spring and never let her guard down, so I didn't really think she was a lap pig either.
 
my first piggy ches was a lap pig. he loved being on my knee and just settled down, relaxed and enjoyed being stroked :luv:

maisie became more of a lap pig when she got older, and especially towards the end when she would shout me over to collect her, and spend ages cuddled up in her cosy bed on my knee :luv:
 
All of mine are cuddly to varying degrees- Humphrey and Monty love to cuddle, but only when they've run themselves ragged climbing all over me and the settee, and pretty much anything that's in their way!
Chester and Charlie will cuddle until they've had enough (usually quite quickly!) whereas the girls (and Trevor) will happily lie for hours (I usually give up first- all that accumulated pee :vom: They get through 3 or 4 puppy pads per cuddle session)
Rodney and Benji sit with us watching TV on their own special cushion, but appear to get too warm when sitting on us.
Fred and George however, are the ultimate lap pigs. Both boys are at least 4, and sre free ranging indoor pigs (the others all live in a shed) and do approach me for cuddles, rather than me picking them up, so with mine it seems to be a combination of personality, age and accessibility- I'm sure if the others all saw me wandering around constantly talking to them and offering chin rubs and sneaky veggies, they'd be more cuddly too!
 
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Think this is really interesting. Clearly age is a factor but it seems more personality than anything else....

We must just attract the right kind of boars! Or we are so chilled that the pigs pick up on it and are relaxed too.
 
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all of my girls over the years have been cuddley pigs to some degree or another, some of the younger ones i have had have taken longer to settle but they have all loved lap time. even the two hyper babies i have now are happy to chill with chookens a plenty as soon as they are on my lap, but they are a bit skittish still when taking them out of the cage, my older one Grace likes to climb aboard my hands & walk up my forearm to the ultimate snuggle position :luv:

quite a few have been walking cosy scarves or neck settlers :D
Ellie used to like walking up my legs across my squidgy belly & tickle my chin with her whiskers when i was led on the sofa.
i think Bea or Doodle were the ultimate relaxers i could turn them over so they had their back in the crook of my arm & cut their nails, followed by a chinny tickle & belly rub. Bea used to go into a trance like state, eyes glazing over & everything. :zzz:
xx
 
Every night my three girls, Blanca, Fudge and Pebbles, have lap time and every time they lie down with their legs stretched out, relaxing.
 
I've had such a mix of lap and not lap guinea pigs. Some love it more than anything, others tolerate it and others just will not. Poglet hates lap time. It's not that she's not used ti being handled, she just refuses to stay still and jumps off first chance she's given. Syllabub is getting better; she used to actively hate the being held bit, so the complete opposite of Poglet, but still not a lap pig. We're working with her a lot as it can be a nightmare trying to trim nails or give her a check (much easier with Poglet as she gets restless rather than distressed, if that makes sense?) It's always a faff when guests come over and try to handle them and don't understand when I say these two just are not cuddly animals! 'Oh but I've had piggies before!' they say, making a grab for one, who rapidly makes an escape to the office floor. Sigh.

Not sure about Posset. She's not a fan of being handled either and trying to catch her can be a small act of God some times! We're trying to handle her lots to prevent another Syllabub situation. Toggle on the other hand, I think prefers humans to other piggies! Never fusses at being picked up, doesn't really try to run from your lap or anything. She's chill as. She also already comes to the bars for feeding, which Posset doesn't do yet.

So, yes, definitely a personality thing with mine!
 
All my boys are snuggly pigs. Eddie, my rainbow bridge pig would lay on my tummy, legs poked out for ages. My current piggies Albie and Percy are more arm pigs than lap pigs, but they love being cuddled all the same. They'll both stretch out flat with legs poking out, especially on my partner. If I put my arm out to them in their house, they'll climb onto my arm for cuddles. All my piggies have been boys and I've wondered if it's a boy thing too. I didn't really do anything special with them, just handled them a lot. They won't take food from me though.
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AlbiePercy said:
All my boys are snuggly pigs. Eddie, my rainbow bridge pig would lay on my tummy, legs poked out for ages. My current piggies Albie and Percy are more arm pigs than lap pigs, but they love being cuddled all the same. They'll both stretch out flat with legs poking out, especially on my partner. If I put my arm out to them in their house, they'll climb onto my arm for cuddles. All my piggies have been boys and I've wondered if it's a boy thing too. I didn't really do anything special with them, just handled them a lot. They won't take food from me though.
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Aww cuddly boys :wub:
I've always had girls &they have all been generally cuddly.
Most of my girls have also loved being arm pigs too- interestingly enough they have been right arm pigs& only 2 of mine have ever done left arm cuddles like your boys!

The 3 I have now are definitely right arm'ers.they will NOT tolerate left arm anything's! Even Grace who is a big chilled lap pig, doing yawnies, chookens, sleeping with eyes closed &pancakes on my lap or right arm :luv:

cute boys :wub: :wub: xx
 
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He's already a lap pig :love:
But he also loves to explore.
Olaf, my older boar loves cuddles and he will sit on my lap forever. :love:image.webp
 
Of our three piggies, Jambo the boy is the most relaxed during lap time and does what we call a 'pancake' - he seems to flatten himself out and, as he is quite a wide boy, looks like a pancake! Primrose does like a cuddle and rumbles away - she almost closes her eyes! It's early days with Margaret but she seems quite a fidget and a climber, getting up around our necks!
 
My two girls have been treated the same since I had them but have different reactions to lap time. Sky will happily fall asleep on me, and has slept on me for over an hour at a time). If she isn't in the mood, I can tell, but it doesn't happen very often. Flynn can get quite squirmy, especially recently. She has occasionally gone to sleep on me but it's quite rare. She will let me tickle her chin any time though.

Rufus is totally chilled and just sits there until I put him back. He doesn't ask to go back like Sjy does. Normally if he has decided to pee on me I think it's time he goes back! :vom:
 
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