Biting, potty trainings

Question
I asked this of Patricia Morrisroe and apparently she could not answer my question. Hopefully you have an answer?

I live in South Africa and have recently acquired a Pot-bellied pig who goes by the name of Scarlett she's coming on 3 months old and I lover her to bits.

She unfortunately does have 3 aspects of her behaviour which are starting to get worrying though.

The First and biggest problem has to do with her and my dogs. It's probably not what you think though. I only let them spend time together when I'm in the room with them and can watch them. At first all was fine and they got along wonderfully but now all of a sudden she has taken to biting their faces. She lunges forward and actually attacks them. The one dog just runs away but the other Growls and bites back. It's just a warning for now but I'm worried what will happen if she continues doing this.

The second problem also has to do with biting but is just slightly annoying. Her bed is under my computer desk and periodically she just decides to start gnawing at my shoes. If I happen to have slops or slippers on this can be quite painful and if I push her away with my foot or flick her on the snout she just comes back for more. Is there any way to stop this?

The last problem involves her potty training. She's usually an angle during the day and will only do her business when we take her out after meals. However during the nights we obviously can't take her out to wee every time she drinks as she has free access to water at all times and so I wanted to get her used to a litter box. The problem is she seems to absolutely hate the litter box. I started with catching her every time she was about to make a wee and putting her in the box but she refuses to wee. She just holds it in until she's off the litter box and then proceeds to wee on the carpet. Now I can't even catch her anymore as she will wait until I'm out of the room and only then get out of bed and go wee. Then when I come back she looks at me with these innocent eyes or pretends to be asleep.

If you could think of anything to help me that would be amazing!

Kind regards
Devon

Answer
The first two problems are due to mis-communication between pig and people and other pets. Pigs see the world as a ladder, with each pig, person and pet having his or her own "rung". Pigs like to be as high on the ladder as possible. They do this through body language.

Dogs are predators, pigs are prey. In the wild, the two never interact, unless the dog is eating the pig. They do not "speak the same language".

When your pig is sticking her face by the dogs, she's being dominant. She's trying to make the dog get up and move. That's how pigs display dominance. The dominant pig will stick his face up to the subordinate pigs, and force the subordinate pig to get up and move.

If the situation is allowed to continue as it is, piggy will continue to be aggressive until the dogs fight back, and then piggy will be hurt. You can teach piggy to leave the dogs alone when you are present. But I am not a dog expert, and chances are you may never be able to leave the pig and dogs alone together.

Do not feed them together. Feed the pig in a separate room. For now, do not let the pig and dogs play together. When they are together, it might help if all dogs and pigs are kept on a lead, so people can stay in control if necessary.

If piggy lunges towards the dogs, pull back and say No, then redirect piggy's attention by offering a toy, or making piggy do a trick.

Yahoo groups has several pet pig groups. PigInfoAndChat is a good one, and many members have both pigs and dogs (I don't have any dogs), and will be happy to share their experiences and insights into the pig-dog interaction problem. You are not the first person to struggle with this.

The foot chewing is also a sign of dominance. To make things worse, this is happening in her "personal space". Because she's already getting aggressive about this space, I'm afraid you'll have to move her bed to another spot. Pick a place where she can feel secure, like a closet or laundry room.

Pigs learn quickly and unlearn slowly. She's learned she can chew your feet, it will take her awhile to unlearn this. Do not let her root, nose or chew on your feet at all, anywhere. When she tries, make her get up and move away from you. It can be just a few steps, but she must move away. She will be very angry! Be prepared. She may try and try again, get quite agitated or lunge at you. If this happens, calmly make her walk to her new bed space.

Trick training is not about the pig doing tricks, but about the pig and person learning to communicate with each other, and the pig learning to obey the person. Another thing you can do to reinforce dominance is to make piggy move at random times throughout the day. If piggy is blocking your way, do not step over or around her. Make her move to one side for you. If piggy is napping under the computer and you want to work there, make her get up and move away. You can let her return, but the point is to make her move out of your way.

As for the litter box, the first potential problem could be the box itself. It must be big enough for her to turn around in comfortably, have a non-slip bottom so she can stand and squat comfortably, and a very low side. Pigs do not like to step up to go potty (because then it all runs downhill), they like to step down to go. Try putting a piece of poop in it, so she understands what it's for. Or, you could try putting some grass or sod in with the litter. Finally, pigs learn to go to a particular spot, not in a box. So you might try moving the box to the spot where she pees.

I highly recommend the book Pot-Bellied Pig Behavior and Training by Priscilla Valentine, and the videos There's A Pig In the House and Amazing Pig Tricks by Top Hogs www.tophogs.com