behavior and potty issues

Question
My pot belly Barbie is almost 2 years old and she has not been spayed. we feed her the Mazuri feed for active adults 1 cup twice a day. We give her treats mostly healthly but we share what we are eating sometimes (never eats meat though). Not much of it but sometimes too often. I know females "forget" they are potty trained when in heat. I want to have her spayed to try to eliminate this problem but am worried about losing her during the procedure. It seems that her accidents have become a more common issue that just when in heat. she is not constipated but acts like her tummy hurts. we put a little corn oil in her food all the time and give her pumpkin when this happens and it seems to go away in a day or two. she poops in the house not just in one place and even lays in it sometimes. when she gets this way she will not come out of whenever she is. i know pigs are pig headed but this seems excessive for her. she always goes to the garage with my husband when he goes in there and when this is going on she wants nothing to do with it. It is cold where i live and she does not like going out when it is cold and or raining but she will with a little coaxing. she had a litter box in the house but we picked it up as she was not using it anymore. i think we messed up doing that as this is one of her three spots she chooses to go. i need help. she is spoiled and that is our fault for not doing better in teaching her to mind better. is it too late to retrain? and train?

Answer
It is very unusual for a pig to poop then lay in it. Based on this, it sounds like piggy is having trouble moving around. Arthritis and other joint problems are very common in pigs.

I am not a veterinarian and can not make a medical diagnosis over the internet. Piggy may have a hip or shoulder or weight problem. She may need x-rays.

It's never too late to retrain a pig, but it takes much longer for a pig to unlearn than to learn. Also, there is the mobility problem. Piggy will choose what she learned as the "litter box spot" when she can't get outside quickly, easily and comfortably.

So, make sure piggy can get out easily and safely. Even if piggy is used to using steps, stairs can be hard on piggy joints so try switching to non-slip stairs.

Also, piggy needs to see a vet to make sure there are no medical problems that deter piggy from going potty outside. A 2 year old pig at normal weight should not have problems with anesthesia. X-rays, etc. can be done while piggy is sedated for the spay. There's a list of vets that see pot-bellied pigs at www.farec.org

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.