First Week Success With Your New Pig

Most students want to start walking, driving, and practicing showmanship as soon as they bring their new pig home.

They want to make progress, but the first week is not about perfect showmanship. It is about helping the pig settle in, learning what normal looks like, building trust, and creating safe daily routines.

That’s why I created First Week Success With Your New Pig, a 7-day beginner course that helps students and families build a calmer, safer first-week routine before moving into basic pig training or showmanship practice.

During the first week, pigs need time to adjust to their new pen, people, feed, water system, sounds, and daily routine. Spending calm time around the pig and building trust early can make future handling and training less stressful for both the student and the pig.
In this course, students learn how to help their pig settle in, observe normal behavior, check feed and water routines, recognize health or stress red flags, spend calm time in the pen, begin building trust, introduce brushing and gentle handling, safely introduce a driving tool, and begin short, calm movement when the pig is ready.

Students also learn to notice what their pig is telling them. A pig may root, stop, freeze, speed up, turn back, push, squeal, or try to escape when it is confused, stressed, overheated, or feeling too much pressure. Instead of chasing or forcing the pig, students learn to pause, observe, adjust, and make the next safe choice.

This course is not about rushing progress or expecting a new pig to walk perfectly during the first week. It is about helping the student and pig build safety, trust, confidence, and a predictable routine one calm skill at a time.

Special attention is also given to pig safety and heat stress. Families learn to check secure gates, safe footing, shade, airflow, clean water, cooling options, and the pig’s stress level before beginning any handling practice.

By the end of the 7 days, families will have a clearer first-week routine, safer handling habits, a better understanding of their pig’s behavior, and a simple plan for moving into basic pig training.

Who This Course Is For

This course is for youth exhibitors, first-time pig families, parents, FFA students, 4-H members, Grange students, teachers, and advisors who want a safer and calmer start with a new pig.

It is a good fit for beginners who need step-by-step support before moving into regular driving practice, longer walks, washing, showmanship patterns, fair preparation, or more advanced pig training.

Course Promise

By the end of this course, students will know how to help their pig settle in, observe basic behavior and health red flags, check feed and water routines, begin building trust, introduce calm handling and brushing, safely introduce a driving tool, practice short beginner movement when appropriate, and build a next-step training routine.