Playing games?

Question
Hello,

I have a two year old male mini pig that seems to be turning being bad into a game. He is typically very well behaved and listens to me the majority of the time. He does multiple tricks and responds to what I tell him to do or stop doing. He has always been very attached to me and constantly wants my attention. If I am watching TV and he wants my attention he will push the remote out of my hand or if I am using my laptop when he doesn't think I should he will push it away. He seems to be happiest when he is laying under a blanket next to me cuddling. I think I am still giving him the same amount of attention as I always have but he has been acting out lately.

In the past few months he has been doing a few things that I think he is doing as a game to get my attention. Sometimes we will be lying down watching TV and he will get up and walk over to his water bowl and begin to move it around and flip it over. He knows that this will get my attention because as a baby he used to go to his water bowl in the house and have accidents(Which he no longer does). When I hear him messing with the bowl I will firmly tell him no and ask him to come to me. Sometimes he will and sometimes he will flip the heavy bowl. When this happens I tell him no and swat him on the nose and I make him walk away. How can I get him to stop doing this to get my attention?

He also has been trying to bite me and I think he is trying to make that a game as well. He is an indoor pig and I take him on 2-3 walks a day to go potty. He is okay on a leash and pretty much will walk where I want him to. After he has gone potty he will walk back towards the front door of the house. When I take him inside I always wipe his feet and nose to get off any dirt so he doesn't track it through the house. In the past few weeks he has started to swipe at me with his head and try to bite be. Sometimes he will pretend to bite and sometimes he will make contact. It's not that he is hurting me but I am tired of having this power struggle multiple times a day. When he does this I make him move away a few steps and I tell him no and then I will finish wiping his feet. He only weighs 40 pounds so he is very easy for me to push away but I don't want him to think that this kind of behavior is acceptable.

I know that pigs are very used to routine and repetition but I do not want him to continue to do these things out of habit. Any advice that you have will be much appreciated.

Thank you!

Answer
Hello,
Pigs are very smart, stubborn and persistent as you already know.
As as the water dish goes you should find a way to fasten a dish to something he can't tip over.
We use the dishes that screw on to the side of almost anything.
Get creative and see what you can figure out so you can have a dish or bowl that attaches to something else so he can't push it around or tip it over.

For the biting......set him up!  Wear something very heavy so if he bites you it won't hurt you.
Have a news paper or something that will make a noise that will surprise him.
When he bites at you be ready to really lay into him. Newspaper, loud voice, stomp your feet
and make him the think the World is coming to an end!
Keep the news paper with you each time so he can see it.
Hope this helps,
Patty