Lisette wrote:
>Both of my guys know hand gestures.  If they are facing me, and I am close
>enough, they will respond by coming to me.  But they don't see my hand
>gestures in time to stop the pooping.
 
Two things I've found helpful in litter-training a deaf ferret:
 
One is that deaf ferrets understand treats as well as any other ferrets :)
So rewarding litterbox use with a healthy treat is well-understood.  Amelia
will run over to where the linatone is kept after using the box.
 
The second thing, and something that amazes me, is that ferrets understand
pointing much better than many other animals seem to.  When I catch Amelia
about to go (key being, of course, "about to") next to the box rather than
in it, if I point to her and then point to the box, she understands that I
am drawing a connection between her location and the box, and will go hop
in the box (and then demand her treat).  I can see her eyes following where
my finger points to, instead of just looking at the end of my finger.  I
didn't really have to do much to get her to understand this, she seemed to
come by it naturally.
 
It's still a bit frustrating; I'd say that she's still only about 75% with
the box.  She'd be a lot worse without the treats and the pointing though,
so I thought I'd pass this along in case it could help anyone else.  I also
keep the trays you put boots on in the winter under the litterboxes, which
catches anything in a foot and a half radius around the box ;-)
 
Regina
 
Regina Harrison  [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]
 
Gossamer into Spiderweb: new, moved, and mightily improved:
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                nothing but future ruins
             the material for the next layer
[Posted in FML issue 3471]