NewToPiggyCare
New Born Pup
This is more of a fun question for a new piggy owner 
My two piggies, Button and Ziptie, were already a bonded pair when I got them. They’re super close, only playful nipping and biting, and have a healthy and well established relationship.
But I always assumed Button was the dominant one. He’s more outgoing, less shy and skittish, is quite the wheeker, and is much bigger than Ziptie. He also puts up quite the fight when handling, he’s not the freezing type but the kick and run type.
So all things considered, he was dominant. Done deal. Except Ziptie is the one who rumblestruts EVERYWHERE and mounts Button constantly. Anytime I clean the cage, he’s rumblestrutting. When I got them, I was actually worried his rumbles were a URI because they were so quiet at first, but now, he’s real bold with asserting his dominance.
I also assumed his mounting was out of nerves. He usually mounts Button when he’s scared or stressed. Button has never mounted him, nor have I heard him rumble strut. He’s kind of blase and strangely submissive when it comes to Ziptie. But when it comes to food or his favorite hidey, he often kicks Ziptie out and Ziptie has to take his leftovers, or his bed when he’s become distracted.
So my questions are, is a dominant bond set in stone (meaning strict)? Can a pair have semi-dominance based on certain desires? Can a significantly smaller and shyer pig dominate a large and talkative piggy? Is this the exception because they’re a bonded pair, meaning they’ve likely known each other since birth and can have relaxed hierarchies because of their closeness? Does their personality affect dominance? What about how they interact with humans versus how they interact with other pigs? Does Button’s easier tameability correlate with his dominance?
I know I shouldn’t think of it in human terms, but I like the idea that Button allows Ziptie to pretend he’s in charge out of endearment, affection, or indifference, but then silently asserts himself when it comes to areas he cares about (basically food) without using “traditional” dominance tactics so as to not embarrass Ziptie. Ziptie’s shy, but will not hesitate to hatch escape plans when in lap time.
But maybe I’m “humanizing” their natural instincts too much. Button does run away when he’s mounted. I guess my personal biases just can’t fathom how Ziptie’s dominant other than Button can’t bother to be. Maybe my gender roles associations are too rigid, and not understanding of different species. It’s not like Button’s submissive in any way—when he’s hungry or annoyed or even dismissive of Ziptie, he makes it very clear, and Ziptie backs off or has to take the worse bed, etc, etc. What do you think? Lemme know!
My two piggies, Button and Ziptie, were already a bonded pair when I got them. They’re super close, only playful nipping and biting, and have a healthy and well established relationship.
But I always assumed Button was the dominant one. He’s more outgoing, less shy and skittish, is quite the wheeker, and is much bigger than Ziptie. He also puts up quite the fight when handling, he’s not the freezing type but the kick and run type.
So all things considered, he was dominant. Done deal. Except Ziptie is the one who rumblestruts EVERYWHERE and mounts Button constantly. Anytime I clean the cage, he’s rumblestrutting. When I got them, I was actually worried his rumbles were a URI because they were so quiet at first, but now, he’s real bold with asserting his dominance.
I also assumed his mounting was out of nerves. He usually mounts Button when he’s scared or stressed. Button has never mounted him, nor have I heard him rumble strut. He’s kind of blase and strangely submissive when it comes to Ziptie. But when it comes to food or his favorite hidey, he often kicks Ziptie out and Ziptie has to take his leftovers, or his bed when he’s become distracted.
So my questions are, is a dominant bond set in stone (meaning strict)? Can a pair have semi-dominance based on certain desires? Can a significantly smaller and shyer pig dominate a large and talkative piggy? Is this the exception because they’re a bonded pair, meaning they’ve likely known each other since birth and can have relaxed hierarchies because of their closeness? Does their personality affect dominance? What about how they interact with humans versus how they interact with other pigs? Does Button’s easier tameability correlate with his dominance?
I know I shouldn’t think of it in human terms, but I like the idea that Button allows Ziptie to pretend he’s in charge out of endearment, affection, or indifference, but then silently asserts himself when it comes to areas he cares about (basically food) without using “traditional” dominance tactics so as to not embarrass Ziptie. Ziptie’s shy, but will not hesitate to hatch escape plans when in lap time.
But maybe I’m “humanizing” their natural instincts too much. Button does run away when he’s mounted. I guess my personal biases just can’t fathom how Ziptie’s dominant other than Button can’t bother to be. Maybe my gender roles associations are too rigid, and not understanding of different species. It’s not like Button’s submissive in any way—when he’s hungry or annoyed or even dismissive of Ziptie, he makes it very clear, and Ziptie backs off or has to take the worse bed, etc, etc. What do you think? Lemme know!
