getting pig out the door

Question
I have a 5 month old PBP, that I've had for a little over a week. I'm working on harness training and teaching her to go potty outside. She has been outside a few times and went potty right away, I gave her lots of praise and treats right after the fact.
Yesterday I needed to leave the house, but wanted to take her out first. It takes her awhile to get out the door since there is a bit of a step, but I made another step for her out of a box of cat and covered with a rug. I lay cheerios down on the steps to get her to go down them but she was just taking the cheerios and then backing up. So I made the BIG mistake of 'helping' her down the step, buy pulling on her harness. Once she was out, she pooped and peed right away and went back up the steps with no problem. When I got home I tried to take her out again and she didn't want to anywhere near the open door. I tried luring her with treats, her food dish, nothing worked. Not to mention, it was 10 degrees out here and I really didn't want the door open for an hour. I know this is my fault, not hers, but how can I get her to go out?

Answer
Pigs can be "pig headed"! Did you get piggy directly from her place of birth, or is she a recycled pet on her second or third home? If you are not her first home, then her natural need to establish herself in the pecking order could be part of the problem.

Another part is the fear factor. Sometimes pigs can be easily spooked by an ordinary doorway. You mentioned that she is reluctant to use the stairs. Is there another door that she could use? Are the stairs sturdy, not wobbly or slippery? Pigs do better with ramps than stairs. Even if she gets very used to the stairs, she'll never go up and down them quickly like dogs do. Stairs are just not easy for pot-bellied pigs. Ramps made for dogs work fine for pigs.

The biggest part, tho, is probably the cold. Pigs don't care much for cold weather. So make it as comfortable as possible for her to go out to potty. Put a coat on her. If it's windy, set up some sort of low windbreak along the stairs (a simple piece of clear plastic from the rail to the stairs works well, and can help keep drifting snow off the steps). Cover her potty spot, if possible. An old table covered with a rug or plastic works fine.

If piggy is small enough to lift, one option is to teach her to be held and carry her in and out for a few weeks. When the weather warms and a ramp is ready, teach her to walk in and out on the ramp. A litter box might be a temporary solution for you. The advantage of a litter box is that young pigs under about 2 years really can't "hold it" that long. If piggy has a litter box available at all times and knows to use it, she is far less likely to have an accident in the wrong place.

I highly recommend the book Pot-Bellied Pig Behavior and Training by Priscilla Valentine. Pris really understands how pigs think and why the do the things they do, and goes into much more detail than I can here. Her book is available on Amazon.com