Mini pig potty training

Question
QUESTION: Hi I have a micro mini/juliana pig who is a little over 5 months old. He is a neutered male. When we first got him, he had a parasite and awful diarea, but he wouldn't pee in the house, not even during night. After that was fixed, he was peeing up to 2 times in 15 minutes. It was an infection which was also fixed. He was doing well, but now will pee about once every 1 1/2 to 2 hours. He sometimes goes outside, but mostly will go in the house not even trying to go outside. We don't know how to fix this! He usually poops outside but sometimes does in the house. When we leave him in his pen, he always pees in it no matter how long he is in there. He many times poops in there as well. He sleeps in a small dog crate at night and pees a few times but doesn't poop. He likes to drink a lot of water. Please please help we can't have him keep peeing all the time in his pen and in the house so much.

ANSWER: This problem has two parts, and possibly three. The first part is that young pigs need to go often, usually at least once every two hours. So, as far as being able to 'hold it', your pig is pretty close to normal. The second part of the problem is that he's gotten used to being around his own urine. Most pigs instinctively dislike this, but because he can't hold his pee over night, and has to go in his crate, and can't get away from it, he's been desensitized. The third part of the problem could be medical. Because piggy has already had infections, he may still have a low level infection, or developing urinary crystals.

Pig learn quickly, but unlearn very slowly. Retraining will take time, maybe a couple of months. It must be consistent, every 'mistake' undoes all the retraining.

First, give piggy a set up where his litter box is always handy. Do not let him roam the house, it's too much space. He needs something like a small bedroom or bathroom. Secure the entrance with a child gate or screen door, and put his crate and potty box in the room. Make sure he potties in the box before and after every meal, as soon as he wakes up, and before you take him out of the area. Piggy may be unhappy about being confined, but it's the safest thing when he's home alone.

When you take him out to play, put him on a harness and leash. If he isn't already harness trained, now is a good time to start. Keep him on his leash and next to you. After about 30 minutes, take him outside or to his box to potty. If he takes a nap with you, take him to potty the instant he wakes up. Take him to potty before trick training, so he can concentrate.

The idea is to keep him "empty" so he doesn't need to go in the wrong place, to make sure all the potty goes in the right place, and that the potty box is always handy when he needs it.

I suggest having your vet check piggy out one more time, looking for low level infections or urinary crystals or other signs of blockage or irritation. Piggy may need a dietary supplement to control the ph of his urine.

I highly recommend the book Pot-Bellied Pig Behavior and Training by Priscilla Valentine. Pris really understands how pigs think and why they do the things they do. Also, there's several good pig chat groups on Yahoo, PigInfoAndChat is one of the more active groups.

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QUESTION: Hi thanks so much for your help. I have one more question. He does not use a litter box at all yet, we have been trying to train him to go outside. Would you suggest a litter box? We were thinking that when we are gone and he is left in his pen, we would try to train him to use a litter box in there. But when we are home, we would rather have him go outside to potty. Would that confuse him?

Thanks for your help!

Answer
Taking him outside to potty when you are home with him should not confuse him too much. The key is to take him outside often. Take him from his indoor pen directly to the outside potty spot, and don't let him back in until he potties. At his young age, he will need a litter box in his pen because he will need to potty often.