Bully pig!

Question
QUESTION: Hi, I have a 1 year old pot belly pig (female). I also have two dogs her are VERY scared of her. However, they have not always been this way. The reason that they are not is because Maggie (the pig) always tries to bite and nudge my dogs. :-( She makes this like hahaa (cough/hack) noise and then opends her mouth and jumps at them! :-( I want to be able to keep her inside but if I cannot correct this problem she will have to stay outside! :-(

Thanks!
Heather

ANSWER: Pigs and dogs communicate, but their natural languages are very different. That results in a lot of miscommunication between dogs and pigs.
Is Maggie spayed? If not, she's in heat. She wants to "do" them, so to speak. Getting her spayed will eliminate this behavior completely and permanently. If she is not spayed, expect this to happen every time she comes into heat. She may also loose her potty training during heat.
Pigs, like dogs, have a social hierarchy in their family/herd/pack. Another possible cause of the problem is that Maggie wants to be "Top Hog". She is establishing her dominance over the dogs.
The problem is that dogs are naturally predators and pigs are naturally prey. If Maggie makes the dogs angry, they might decide to fight back. When dogs and pigs fight, the dog usually wins, and the pig is often injured.
Find something that Maggie dislikes, like a squirt bottle filled with plain water, and give her a squirt when she goes after the dogs. Eventually she should stop attacking them while you are present. The problem is, when you are not around she'll probably try again. So you'll have to keep them separated unless you're around to supervise, at least for a while.
Maggie is a young pig still going through her "teenage" years. By the time she is five or six years old she will settle down quite a bit.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the advice! And....No she is not "fixed." That was my other question. Is it too late? I have read that complications can occur as they get older becuase of the fat or something? Is this correct? Also, how much does it usually cost (just a range)?
Thanks,
Heather

Answer
She is just the right age for spaying. Males can be fertile at 9 weeks, so they can be "fixed" early. But the females take a little longer, and vets like to wait until they are 6 months old or so. A year is fine because she's old enough (going into heat) yet still young.

The risks of surgery do increase as pigs age, a 15 or 16 year old female will not recover from a spay as quickly as a 1 or 2 year old. Also, extremely obese pigs have problems with the fat absorbing medications, so dosages must be increased and the weight of the fat pressing on the organs. However, female pigs are prone to uterine tumors, some have been as large as 35 lb! Removing a 35 lb tumor from a 10 year old female is a lot riskier than spaying a 1 year old.

Costs depend on the vet, the clinic, and the situation. Spaying your pig should be a fairly simple, routine procedure, in the $200 range. Prices are higher at top notch clinics, at teaching hospitals, on the East and West coasts, and near larger cities. An overnight stay will cost more than a same day spay. ISO gas is more expensive than injectable anesthesia, but much safer with a much shorter recovery time.