>Re: Subject: Chet hiking with Zephyr in TN [fun video]

Dear Chet, 12.31.2009.

1.) Greetings from another ferret walker. This is Edward Lipinski to
tell you that I enjoyed your fun video hiking with your adventurous
ferret, Zephyr. You did an outstanding job producing your Zephyr
tubevideo and I'm certain that Zephyr really enjoyed himself trailing,
under-rock sniffing and lapping up water at the mountain stream.

2.) I wish that more ferret folks could see the pet ferret relating to
the natural environment, such as you've shown. It is so sad, for me
anyway, to realize that the majority of ferrets are caged most of their
lives and very few seem to get out and belly rub good old Mother Earth.

3.) When I was stationed in Millington, Tennessee in the US Navy
aviation electronics school I had several opportunities to hunt game
along streams and in forest groves. Seeing your video of the forest
took me back to Tennessee and the odor of Memphis - the cotton mills.
I thank you for your good coverage of the park. Really familiar.

4.) Please let me suggest two forest opportunities for Zephyr: One,
You and Zephyr go sit; Two, you take Zephyr fishing right there at
the small stream. Here's why I suggest this next outing.

5.) You did notice Zephyr's digging at the rocky edge of the stream and
his turn over of several rocks. He was demonstrating one of the fun
things ferrets love to do, and that is to sniff-follow a scent they
detect trailing into the earth. So, you and Zephyr go sit off trail on
a nearby up sloping hill. Stake Zephyr out on an extended leash line -
like ten feet or so - and just sit back and let him explore the
hillside. Keep out of his reach so as not to distract him.

6.) You will see him digging into the hillside and if you sit there
long enough - maybe an hour or so - he will dig out a tunnel and
possibly get in so deep he won't be visible. Then a most wonderful
behavior occurs. Repeatedly Zephyr will back out, shake himself of
clinging soil and look to see that you're still there, watching him.
Once confirmed, he'll dart back into his little cave and continue
digging. Take a good look at the soil he excavates and how he deposits
it, coming out backwards, at the mouth of his cave in a little mound
at the end of his V-shaped ditch.

7.) Zephyr loves digging, as do all ferrets. Maybe it's instinctive and
it's a behavior they must obey as a creature of Nature (it's in their
genes?).

8.) The second opportunity I'd suggest is to dig up some few
earthworms, take along a fishing pole and do your best to catch a fish
out of that stream. Take the wriggling fish you catch, remove the fish
hook, and place it on the ground in front of Zephyr. Being the creature
Zephyr is he will take immediate, really quick action and clamp down
on that small flopping fish, much like an Alaskan brown bear would do
during the salmon runs. This is really something to see: his running
to some special spot and that fish's tail flapping out the side of
Zephyr's mouth. Ferrets just seem to love the sensation of a living,
flip flopping creature clamped between (his) their teeth.

9.) We did note that Zephyr did a lot of body shakes. I would suspect
that his harness was a distraction to his well being and, in effect, he
would have preferred shaking it off his body. May I suggest that you
replace that "Figure H" harness with a better fitting one. The best one
I've found is the English-made, leather, "Figure 8" harness that is so
much easier to put on and remove from the ferret. Once installed around
the ferret, and tight, the ferret seems to ignore this British harness
and does not constantly try to shake it off. It is so much easier to
put on your ferret because it has only one buckle and not the two
plastic snaps of the Chinese made crappy, fiberglass harness.

10.) There is another advantage of the Brit harness and that is the
bonding that takes place between the ferret and his handler. I'd go
into it here, but you wouldn't believe me until you saw it
demonstrated.

11.) I plan to cover in exquisite detail the use of the Brit harness
and its influence on ferret behavior in my new blog,
http://www.experienceproject.com/Ferrets North West.

[Moderator's note: Per info supplied by Ed Lipinski the blog isn't
active yet. Final link is uncertain. BIG]

12.) Again Kudos to you, Chet, on a job well done. Let's see you do
some more of these tube videos, OK?

Edward Lipinski
Pet Food Producer Supremacist
The only Pre-digested Flesh/Veggie Diet in the World.

 O si sic omnia (Latin: Oh, if all were thus.)

[Posted in FML 6564]