[Gpdd] MISC Question on long haired piggies

[Penny Charlesworth]

Jean,

Congratulations on adopting new piggies, Anastasia and Athena.

I have had many long haired Piggyfriends, currently Diamond (Peruvian), Gingerbread and Shadow (both Texels). Some long hairs never seem to tangle and some get themselves in a hopeless mess without some slavish intervention.

Some need a lot of brushing but others, such as Diamond, keep themselves tidy. A lot depends on the thickness of the coat. Diamond's is very fine, whereas Shadow's is very coarse and curly. When he was handed in to our local animal shelter, he was in such a tangle that he could not even walk and my son, who works there, had to remove a whole pile of coat before he could see the piggy inside.

Two Agouti Shelties from years ago, Acorn and Almond, were always getting into a tangle and I often had to cut the tangles down the middle and work out the knots.

I trim their coats so that the sides are just clear of the floor and keep the rear ends as short as I can so that they do not get messy.

I shampoo all of my piggies when necessary and find that if there is a tangle, it is easier to remove whilst the coat is wet. With some long hairs, you can just shampoo the messy end and give it a trim.

The hairstyle that you choose is up to you. Show pigs need to keep all of their coat and have to have it wound up in papers when not on display but for our little friends, we just want them to be comfortable. Peter Gurney used to layer cut the sides of some of his long haired piggies to keep them neat but you need a co-operative piggy for this or else an assistant to keep the little one still whilst you wield the scissors.

Love to all the Misfits and a big piggy welcome to the new girlies.

Penny and the Piggyfriends.