[Gpdd] BEHAVIOR: Popcorning... finally!

[Gholt2293 at aol.com]

Greetings All,

I have been receiving the Gpdd for the past month or so.  I have been touched 
to be able to meet so many other folk who feel as I do about the critters in 
our lives.  My current GP is a boar, Wilber, who I adopted from a home where 
they had decided they were no longer interested in him.  He is supposed to be 
about 4 months old, but he is nearly twice the size of my friends sow who we 
know is about the same age.  I know boars are larger, but already twice her 
size?  Maybe she is small...

I have had Wilber for about a month. During that time I have never heard him 
weeek.  He has been so shy, he hides all the time, it is so disappointing for 
me.  But I have kept at it, giving him treats only by hand (although he has 
all the fresh hay & pellets he wants) making sure I speak to him in a calm 
soothing voice, even if I am frustrated.  Keeping my movements slow and steady, 
nothing sudden.  My dogs whine and sometimes bark at the door to his room, which 
I can tell he doesn't like. But I think they (the dogs) will eventually come 
to accept that sometimes I have to go into the room and they can't come in.

Although I had been looking for a GP, I really had not been totally ready for 
one to join the household.  Because of that when I first brought him home I 
had to "make do" with what I had at hand for his housing.  So, he was in an 
extra large tub with pine shavings and a few toys and his bowls.  I did go out 
and get the C&C crates and we tried them out, a 2x4 set of grids.  The first 
time it was on the floor and he did not seem to thrilled.  After a while I needed 
to do a complete clean up, so he went back into the tub.  He seemed happier 
there, so he has been there for the past week.  Still being his very shy and 
stand offish self.  

But this weekend, I got a six foot table set up and put down vinyl to protect 
the table, then the C&C cage and put fleece inside it, clamped to the table 
edges.  I got him set up with a hay bin and a feeding cup that attaches to the 
side.  And a very big litter pan. I put his sisal ball in and an extra bit of 
fleece.  Then I added Wilber.  WOW!!  What a difference!  He was moving all 
over the place, sniffing everything and for the first time, I saw him popcorn.  
I think it was the fleece.  He had been in the same cage before, but it was 
just on the floor, with some old carpet.  This time it was up higher and had 
more light from the window and had the fleece.  What a delight to have finally 
made him happy. 

I have read so many stories from all of you about how smart your GP are, I 
was feeling like my GP was just not up to par.  But now I feel that with more 
time he will eventually come all the way around.  We have made a lot of progress 
and it has been very rewarding.  

Maybe during October he will start feeling comfortable enough to do some 
weeking.

Thanks for your inspiration.

Gretchen & Crew