After you have picked out what kind of litter box you are going to use and the litter, see my post on that here, you are ready to get all set up for your pig and start the potty training! The most important part of potty training is to stay consistent, be patient, and know that if your pig goes in the house somewhere most likely it is our fault for either not getting them outside or to their litter box in time, giving them too much freedom, or not supervising them. Here are the key times your pig is going to have to go to the bathroom:
1. After they eat or drink
2. When they wake up from sleeping
3. After any sort of exercise, playing, or being active for a little while
I take Nel and Winnie outside after any of those three things occur because my goal is to eventually have no litter boxes, once they can hold it for a longer period of time, so I want them to get in the habit of going outside. If I cannot take them outside I bring them to their litter box. So let's dive into potty training!
Starting the Potty Training Right Away
Step 1: Play Pen or Confined Area: Referring back to the litter box post, step 1 was to make sure you have the correct set up for your mini pig and that includes the litter box. Your pig needs to have a play pen or large crate with enough room to have a litter box on one side and sleeping area on the other side. Please refer to my post Bringing Home A Mini Pig for links to play pens. This is important because as babies, pigs cannot hold their bladder for a very long time so they need a place to eliminate themself if you cannot get them outside in time. If you plan on being with your pig 24/7 and taking her out to the bathroom every 30 minutes - 1 hour then you will not need a litter box. Pigs do not like to use the bathroom where they sleep so make sure they are not right next to each other. Here is Winnie and Nel's play pen set up:
As you can see their bed is on one side and the litter box is on the other. They both have no problem using their Piddle Place. If you are using a large crate instead that is perfectly fine we used a large crate for Nel before putting her in the play pen with Winnie to allow them to get used to each other first. On one side of the crate we had a litter box and on the other side was Nel's bed/sleeping area. Here are other ideas for play pens taken from the Mini Pig Owners Facebook Group.
Step 2: Confinement: When you first bring your pig home put them in their confined area (play pen or crate) and keep them confined to that small area until they are diligently only using their litter box. Having them in a small, confined area, helps teach them to use the litter box because since they do not like to eliminate where they sleep it comes down to having no option but to use the litter box. Some will use it right away and understand that is where they go to the bathroom. Some do not. You still need to show them the litter box is where they go. So start by every 30 minutes to an hour taking your pig to their litter box, putting them on or in it and saying "go potty." Keep putting them back on for a couple minutes. If they go say "yes" praise them and give them a treat. If they don't go and keep walking away, try again in 10 minutes. Anytime you see them using the litter box praise them and if you can give them a treat. If you do not have a treat that is okay, always praise them. It is actually better for them not to get a treat every time they go because pigs are so smart they will start fake going just for the treat, but praise is always important and has to be there. Keep your pig in her confined area for a good while so they start getting in the habit of going to the litter box. Where people make the mistake is they give the pig too much freedom to roam too soon and this is where accidents happen. If you give your pig too much freedom in your house too soon they will have an accident outside of their litter box because they may not know how to get to it, it might be too far away for them to get to in time, or they might not fully understand the concept of only going in the litter box. So keep them in their play pen or crate when you cannot fully supervise them. If you let them out for bonding time make sure you take them back to their litter box at least every hour to remind them that is where they go.
Step 3 : Expanding Your Pig's Freedom: So you are ready to start giving your pig a little more freedom in your house. Take this slow, do not just let your pig have free roam right away. Use baby gates and baby gate them into the room that you are in so they are still in a confined area and so you can supervise them. What I did for Winnie and Nel and what I recommend is having more than one litter box. Have a litter box in their play pen or kennel then have a litter box in each room they will be allowed in to start, you can eliminate litter boxes later as they get the concept down better. This sets your pig up for success because it gives them a place to eliminate that is in close proximity to them since it is in the same room. Here is my Piddle Place in a room the girls are allowed and baby gated in.
As you can see this room is big and has a rug. And a carpet or rug is always something your pig will try to pee on. What you are going to do is let them have freedom in the room, but right away show them where the litter box is by taking them to their litter box and saying "go potty." Most likely they will walk right out of the litter box but put them back on and say "go potty." If they don't go that is okay you are just showing them where the litter box is so they are familiar with it. Let them roam around the room, do some bonding with them, and try again taking them to the litter box again in 30 minutes. If they have an accident before then say "no" when you see them going, pick them up and put them in their litter box and say "go potty." Then clean up the accident with a paper towel but do not throw it away. Put the mess in the litter box. They will smell it and start to associate and understand that the litter box is where they go. This is the only way Nel got litter box training down. I cleaned up her mess and put the paper towel in the litter box and she understood right away that is where she goes. If they go potty in their litter box, then tons of praise and a treat even! Gradually expand their freedom but like I said I would recommend having another litter box in the other rooms they are allowed in to start. A lot of times accidents happen because they don't know how to get to their litter box or they can't hold it long enough to get there. As they start understanding where the litter boxes are in the house and going to them, and as they start being able to hold it longer, you will find they pick certain litter boxes to use over others. So the litter box they are using the least take it up to eliminate it. If you see them going to where that litter box once was, pick them up and take them to the nearest litter box, put them in it and say "go potty." To start I had one in the living room, one in the kitchen, one in the dining room, and one in their play pen. I am now down to just one in the living room and one in their play pen because the play pen is in the dining room. I knew to eliminate the one in the kitchen when I saw Winnie run straight past it and use the one in the living room instead. Always remember as you are expanding your pig's freedom still make sure you are supervising them until they are trustworthy that they will only use the litter box. Leaving them unsupervised means they could have an accident somewhere you do not know about and that sets back the potty training because they got away with it and that scent is there for them to keep going there. So always make sure you have an eye on them, if you cannot be in the same room as them baby gate them in the same room as you or if you cannot supervise them put them in their play pen/crate. Keep gradually expanding their freedom and you will see they catch on quickly to where their litter boxes are.
Step 4: Set Backs: Okay so you have followed all the above steps and your pig is doing great going only to the litter box or outside to use the bathroom so you are giving them more freedom, maybe allowing them to go into rooms you are not in because they always are going to their litter box to go, and that is fine! Then all of a sudden your pig pees on the carpet/rug. Usually what this means is your pig has too much freedom. So clean it up really well with an odor neutralizer, vinegar, baking soda, or odoban to eliminate the smell, and then go back to the basics of not giving them as much freedom. Winnie was doing amazing with only using the litter box or going outside then one day she just walked behind me and peed right on the rug. I told her no, picked her up, put her in her litter box and said "go potty." So if your pig is doing great then all of a sudden has an accident go back to confining them to a smaller area. I baby gated Winnie into the same room as me so I could watch her closely and I went back to every 30 minutes to an hour taking her to her litter box, or outside if I could, and telling her "go potty." She hasn't had an accident since. So the first step is go back to confinement, even if you have to put them back in their play pen for a little while because you can't watch them that is ok, you just want to make sure they don't get away with having another accident. With Winnie being baby gated in the same room as me I could watch her closely and as soon as I saw her use her litter box on her own I praised her highly and gave her a treat. Then I slowly expanded her freedom to other rooms but I kept a close eye on her to make sure she did not have an accident. Other times, if your pig stops using their litter box and it becomes routine for them to not use their litter box and go either right outside of the box or somewhere in the house, it could be your pig telling you the litter box is too small. So upgrade to a bigger box, show them their new litter box, and see if that fixes the issue. Pigs like to have room to use the bathroom and if they feel they don't have enough room in their litter box they will not use it. Another reason a pig won't use the litter box is because it either needs to be cleaned or was just thoroughly cleaned and does not have the same scent. I do not clean all of my litter boxes at the same time, I always make sure one is "dirty" so it has their scent on it so they know to go there. I rotate cleaning them. Also if you clean your litter box and your pig has an accident outside of it, clean up the mess and put it in the litter box to remind them that is where they go. If your pig is consistently just peeing all over the house and you have taken the above steps to prevent this, I recommend getting a sample of your pig's urine and getting it tested for a UTI. Sometimes if your pig is having a lot of accidents and going frequently, they will actually have a UTI.
Recap: So let's recap everything:
1. Start by confining them to a small area
2. Take them to their litter box routinely to get them to understand that is where they go to the bathroom.
3. Gradually increase their freedom using baby gates to keep them from running all over the house and keep them where you can see them.
4. Have more than one litter box. This is very important and will help make litter box training successful. Have litter boxes to start in the rooms they are allowed in then eliminate as you go.
5. If they have a set back, show them where their litter box is, put the mess in the litter box, go back to confinement, get a larger litter box, or get them checked for a UTI.
6. Remember the key times your pig is going to have to use the bathroom so you can take them outside or to the litter box.
Good luck and any questions don't hesitate to ask!
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