Lil' Pig is Litter Box Trained

Lil' Pig is now officially litter box trained! It took around 15 days to completely train him. I had to stay on it. I watched him closely and when I saw him peeing on the floor, I would pick him up and put in the box. I also put him in the box every time he woke up from a nap. I also weaned him off of milk which really helped because he don't have to pee as much any more. He has free access to water, but doesn't drink it like he was drinking milk. Litter box training is not as easy as some people say, but I would say it is faster than trying to train a little dog like a Chihuahua.

When I first started training Lil' Pig, one woman had wrote to just leave the box out and the pig will just start using it. Not true. If you expect this, then you might be disappointed. Not all pigs are the same, so some might start doing it that quickly, but some will not. If you stay on it and are patient, then your pig will learn to use the box however.

Litter Box Training a Mini-Pig- Day 5

     I watched Lil' Pig use his litter box yesterday all by himself. So, he knows to use it. He still doesn't use it every time however. Yesterday, I took him outside to use the bathroom too. He loves our trips outside. I'm also starting to let him venture more around the house, but only while supervised since he still pees on the floor.

     I've been laying a lid out with some pellets on it for the last couple days. At first, he wasn't interested in pellets at all, but yesterday, I saw him finally start eating some. I've been soaking the pellets in his milk at feeding time to start weaning him off the milk. When I first brought him home, he was eating 4 oz of milk every 2-3 hours. The bag of Nurse All says he should be eating 6-8 oz three times a day at 3 weeks old to weaning. So now, I feed him 6 oz milk mixed with pellets (completely dissolved) at 7am, 12pm, 5pm, 10pm. In the next week, I plan on making the pellet mixture thicker, paste like, and change his feeding to 3 times per day, plus he can root in the yard on our visits out there. I'll keep him on the paste mixture for about a week or so, and hopefully, he will be ready to move to pellets and vegetables, plus treats.

     I'm waiting to get him weaned and litter box trained before I start on other training. I want to teach him sit, come, and stay first. I also want to leash train. Right now, we just walk freely in my yard. He follows me everywhere. I want to leash train so I can take him to the river and the park. I want to start that pretty early because I imagine it's not going to be easy!

     Until next time.....

Litter Box Training a Mini-Pig- Day 4

Lil' Pig Soaking in the Sun

Yesterday went slightly better than the day before. Lil' Pig still peed on the floor, but he used the box some too. I used to have to pick up Lil' Pig to take him outside, but now he will following me outside. I say, "Come on Lil' Pig. Let's go pee-pee," and he follows me right out the door! That is so cool! So most of last night I took him outside to pee, until it started raining. Once he felt the rain, he ran straight back to the door...LoL Overnight, he pooped outside of box, but I was able to get him to go into it this morning. Strangely enough, I think he is starting to understand the box is for using the bathroom. I didn't have to as much coaxing this morning. I think he might get it in a few more days. I'm feeling more optimistic today than I was yesterday!

Litter Box Training a Mini-Pig- Day 3

    Day 2 went worst than Day 1. He just seemed to use the floor and not the box. Last night, I decided to leave vinegar under paper on the spots where he peed to deter him. So now, I have 6 pieces of vinegar paper on the floor. He does not use the same spot. He chooses a different spot and not the box! I did manage to get him to poop in the box this morning. It is definitely not as easy as some suggest. I'm thinking about just picking him up and putting outside every time he wakes up, and just forget about litter box training all together.

Litter Box Training a Mini-Pig- Day 2

   

    Lil' Pig only had one accident during the night, and I was able to coax him into the box this morning before his breakfast. Yesterday, he was still trying to pee outside of the box, and I would pick him up and put him in the box every time I caught him. Boy, did he get mad when I put him in box! I think he is learning the word pee-pee though as I say it when he is in the box. This morning, I said let's go pee-pee, and I sat near the box and pointed my finger to show him how to get in. He went in and used it, so I'm really hoping he gets the concept soon!

     When he does use the bathroom on the floor, I clean it with a paper towel, then put the paper towel in his box. This is to help with the scent. I clean the pee spot with vinegar afterwards hoping to deter him from using it there again. It is not easy like I read on sooooo many sites. But, the week ain't over yet! One lady said they could be trained in a week. That is my goal!

Litter Box Training Mini-Pig Day 1 continued....

It is now 1:10 pm. In my last post I told you that I took the wood chips out and put a pad in the litter box. Lil' Pig used the litter box several times before he started peeing outside the box again.

He eventually ended up like this.....

So, I decided to put just wood chips back in the box and watch him like a hawk. If he wakes up, I coax him in the box. If he moves trying to pee outside of box, I move the box towards him. If I catch him peeing in the floor, I pick him up and put in the box. I also started giving him a spoonful of his Manna Pro NurseAll Non-Medicated Milk Replacer when he uses the box. My plan for the rest of the day is to keep him close and try to make sure he uses the box.

Litter Box Training a Mini-Pig- Day 1 1/2

     Yesterday, I went and got the largest litter box (Petmate Litter Pan, Blue Mesa/ Mouse Grey, Large) I could find at Walmart and some pine wood chips (Kaytee Aspen Bedding, 8.0 Cubic Foot Bag) to start litter box training.I read everywhere online about how easy litter box training a mini pig is. Not exactly true! People say it's easier than training a puppy. That's not exactly true neither! At least you can pick a puppy up to take outside without it squealing! My boy is getting better though. We picked him up and took him outside yesterday, and he loved rooting in the dirt. He followed me and my husband around. He was running by my husband's feet! So stinking cute!

     Oh yeah, back to litter box training! I got my husband to cut out a walk-in space on the litter box so that my pig could easily get in and out of the box. I put one of the used pads with pee and poop in the box, then covered it with the wood chips. I was hoping the smell of his urine and poop would attract him to use the box. Nope. He got in the box and rooted and played with the wood chips, then peed everywhere except in the box! I constantly had to mop with vinegar! I wiped up the pee with paper towels, and then put them in the box. Didn't help. Finally, I put an extra pad down outside and beside the box. He used the pad a couple times, and then started peeing on the floor again!

     So today, after I mopped the floor, I decided to try a different approach. I dumped the wood chips out of the box and just put a pad (AmazonBasics Pet Training and Puppy Pads, Regular - 100 Count) in there. I set the litter box up right in front of his bed. When I saw he was getting up from his nap, I coaxed him to get in the box. He basically had to step in the box to get out of his bed. And, he peed in the box! I praised him like crazy! I wanted to give him a treat, but I didn't have nothing soft, so I'm going to buy some yogurt or applesauce today and see if he likes it as a treat to use the litter box. It's only 9am, so I will write more tomorrow letting you know how my training is going!

Here was my original set-up. I started with only a little wood chips, but when that didn't work, I added more to see if that would help. It didn't.

Litter Box Training Wood Chips

This is how I set it up this morning. As you can see, it is right in front of his bed. I read they hate peeing near their bed, so the first time I tried to put the box away from his bed area. But my pig wakes up, steps out of bed, and pees first thing!

Litter Box Training Mini Pig Pad

If pee and poop gross you out, then exit now! This next picture shows Lil' Pig actually using it! (Yes, I named my pig Lil' Pig)

Litter Box Training Juliana Pig