PBP Urinary Problems

Question
Hi, I am the proud owner/mother of a 6 month old PBP.  He is great in every way except for one and he seems to be having problems holding his urine.  When we first brought him from the breeders home - I had already researched and studied up on how to care and train him.  I have a litter box set up in his room on the opposite side of the room from where he sleeps.  I started potty training him immediately upon bringing him home.  I started taking him outside every two hours to try to train him outside and only use the litter box at night when he was locked in his room.  He got the hang of going potty outside pretty easily.  However, once I brought him back inside, he would urinate 5 minutes later.  I know that he was going potty outside because I do/was watching him closely because I knew that they were good at faking.  My boy will urinate in his sleep on his blankets, while laying in our lap while he is asleep and he doesn't even wake up.  He will go within 5 minutes or 30 minutes of coming inside - after being outside for hours and he is not picky about where he goes.  We have shampooed our carpets multiple times to eliminate the odor and it doesn't seem to help. I've taken him to the vet and he doesn't seem to have anything wrong with him (UTI) and the vet says he doesn't have any experience with potty training a PBP.  I don't know what to do because I don't know if there is something wrong with his bladder/kidneys or if he is just being stubborn and not following the potty rules laid out for him.  I do not yell at him when he has an accident, but I do say a stern "No" and I was removing him from the accident area and taking him to his litter box or outside to show him where he is supposed to relieve himself.  That hasn't worked either.  Do you have any ideas on what could be going on with him or any suggestions? Thanks.

Answer
The worrisome issue here is that piggy is urinating in his sleep. If he is neutered, and the discharge is indeed urine (not the natural boar secretions), then there is some sort of problem. I suggest piggy see a vet who works with piggies and networks with vets who specialize in piggies. You can find a list of vets at www.farec.org (Forgotten Angels Rescue and Education Center). I also suggest emailing them about your problem, as they coordinate with many vets and veterinary schools across the country and may have seen this problem before.

If piggy is not neutered, then what you are seeing him discharge when he's asleep, is natural boar secretions. This smelly fluid is one big reason why intact male pigs do not make good house pets.

Piggies learn quickly but unlearn very slowly. Piggy may have a physical problem, but there are some steps you can take now.

Start by putting him on a strict potty program. One stumbling block is distance. Young piggies often don't know they have to go until it's too late. So, make sure his litter box not too far from his bed. Take him to the box as soon as he wakes up, then let him have breakfast. As soon as he's finished, take him to potty again. Take him to potty before his dinner, and as soon as he wakes up from any naps.

When he's in the box, tell him to go potty, and don't let him out until he does.

One point here is that piggy is playing outside, but potties after he comes in. So the solution here is to make him potty immediately before letting him in. Pick a spot, take him there, and tell him to potty, and don't bring him inside until he's gone potty.

Or, bring him in and take him directly to his litterbox, and don't let him out until he's gone potty.

Piggies usually like to potty in specific spots. If he really is going randomly all over, then there may be a physical problem. But often, piggies simply pick one spot in each room, and potty there.

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.