I have to chime in here in defense of Alexandra.  Animals bite other
animals all the time to teach them their manners.
 
I have a 5 month old Yorkie teacup.  He loves to play with my ferrets,
but he is really too rough and tumble with them.  (All of mine are
geriatric.)  His favorite thing is to T-bone a ferret as it walks around.
When they would try to run away, he would grab them by the tail and pull
them back so he could continue playing with them.  At this point he is
kept in his puppy pen when they come out to play; they can go through
the bars if they want to visit him, but he can't get to them.
 
Enter Toby, my friend Melissa's ferret.  He's six months old, and his
energy level is the same as Chip's.  FYI, we weighed both animals.  Chip
weighs 2 lb, 10 oz, and Toby weighs 2 lb, _14_ oz.  The two of them
chased each other around and were playing together pretty sucessfully.
Toby wanted a little break and started to run away from Chip.  Chip
grabbed his tail and pulled him back.  BAD MISTAKE!  Toby turned around
and beeped Chip's nose, and Chip let go immediately.  Then Toby got that
look that a ferret sometimes gets.  Those of you who know ferrets know
the look I'm talking about-- the *I'm gonna GET you SUCKA!!! >:o* look.
He chased Chip around the house until he had nipped Chip's tail *at least
three times*.  No one was hurt, no blood was drawn, no open wounds were
found; just three surprised yips from Chip.  ...And he has NEVER grabbed
any ferret by the tail again.  I'd say that Toby's message got across
just fine, and Chip's psyche was not damaged in the least. :-D  They have
played together quite nicely since that day....no hard feelings on either
of their parts.
 
Sometimes you just have to assert your dominance like another animal
would and teach that certain behaviors just will not be tolerated.
Notice I'm not saying to HURT any animal, and I know that this would
*not* work with a fear biter, but speaking in their language is sometimes
necessary.
 
ZIP!  [Putting on my asbestos underwear]  And hoping that I've given
some people a smile. ;-)
 
Melodyt and the fab five
 
--
Melody Tomaszewicz
Holdings Record Maintenance Team Leader
New Brunswick Libraries
Distributed Technical Services
Rutgers University
Email: [log in to unmask]
Phone:  (732) 445-3856 ext. 313
 
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"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines."
[Posted in FML issue 5349]