Hi, Everybody!
 
        I'm back from a fun-filled summer working with Dr. Kawasaki.  I must
say I learned a ton and it was fun getting to actually meet some of you
personally (Hi, Ann!).
 
        Well, as I suspected might happen, I didn't manage to make it out of
Woodbridge without a new ferret in tow.  Her name is Tribble.  (Ever seen the
original Star Trek episode "The Trouble with Tribbles"?  Hence the name!)
She's a spotted sable mitt, and when I saw her brother come into the clinic I
just had to know if there were any litter mates left.  He was 10 weeks old
when he came in and he was the cutest little ferret I had ever seen -- an
almost greyish sable with white around the nose down the chin and on his
feet, and then cute white spots on his belly and knees.  And affectionate as
anything (`course he couldn't resist taking a good solid bite after he'd
kissed you for a little while, but babies will be babies.).  Turned out there
were several littermates left, and I got Tribble.  Looks just like her
brother only with a white spot on the top of her head, too.  She and Trella
got along well after the first day, when Tribble was traumatized by the new
situation and was quite the little hellion -- drew blood more than once on me
-- but she learned better *real* quick.  She's better now, although I'm
having serious doubts as to whether she'll ever be as sweet as Trella.
Trella doesn't give kisses often, but her attitude is very affectionate and
she never bites anyone -- she doesn't even tooth me anymore.  Tribble, on the
other hand, has only outgrown ankle-biting when it concerns me -- she seems
to be smart enough and ornery enough to know anyone else might not get her a
good swift scruff-shake-flick-on-the-nose.  And if I have her near my face
she still thinks my nose is fair game about 1/4 of the time, and I am *so*
consistent with correcting her.  I'm starting to feel a little disappointed
at her personality; I'm still hopeful that at 6 months she's still young and
might yet calm down.  What do you all think?  I must say though, her
rambunctious attitude makes her much more interactive play-wise than Trella
is.  Trella plays with her a lot, but rarely with me, whereas if Tribble's in
play mode and I walk by, sometimes I find a ferret attached to my leg -- she
just kind of flings herself into the air with all fours, and when she falls
off my leg she does her ferret dance looking at me like  `Come on come on
come on let's play!!'  She's pretty hysterical -- she gets so beside herself
she does flips and summersaults and races across the room.  So I guess it's a
trade-off -- one sweet baby for therapeutic purposes and one ornery one for
entertainment.  Pretty amazing how different they can be.  I'm just glad
they've gotten to be such good friends, since I bought Tribble for Trella
anyway to keep her company now that I have no roommate and no cat and dog for
her to play with.
 
        About the reward/punishment thing, I have to agree that sometimes
physical dissuasion is necessary.  Although it is important to note that a
swat on the hind end doesn't work for *all* ferrets, for the simple reason
that they're so tough skinned and for many of them it's not enough to make a
point -- obviously it works for some though.  A good hard nose-flick is often
more effective -- think how it feels when you get hit hard on the nose with
like a ball or something.  Probably about the same power in a finger for a
ferret's nose -- mine have sat there kind of rolling there heads (I think if
I could have seen there would have been tears in their eyes) for a few
seconds on more than one occassion.  But as with us, the sensation goes away
almost immediately -- but it's enough to make them think twice next time.  If
it's always accompanied by a resounding `NO!', after a few times, just the
word is often enough to make them stop (Trella usually looks at me, looks
back at what she's doing (you can almost see the wheels turning) and usually
walks away, unless whatever the attraction is is just too appealling to
resist).  The trick is consistency.  And there are some stubborn ones out
there -- Tribble being a case in point.  At any rate, sometimes physical
punishment is the only way to prove the point -- for Trella, a scruff-shake
and loud no were enough, because she visibly cared when I got mad at her
(she'd come over and prop her self up on my leg and look up at me like, `I'm
sorry, Mom') -- but Tribble couldn't care less.  A scruff-shake gets me a
look only a rebellious teenager could best.  So with her, although she almost
always gets a flick on the nose along with her scruffing and yelling, I am
also very careful to reward her profusely when she's good, and usually pick
her up again within seconds after I've corrected her to make sure she knows
that I'm not just some mean old human out to stop her fun.  In other words, I
think the more firmness you need to use in correcting, the more affection you
need to use to counter-balance.  It's a tricky subject -- and I'm extremely
envious of whoever it was that said his ferret never goes in the wrong doors
and always hits the litter box -- that almost never happens, stubborn little
critters that they are. :-)
 
        Enough!  This message is way too long already!  But you know me, and
I've not gotten to say a thing all summer.  There should be a newcomer on the
list soon who is a new vet student here at U. of Illinois -- Dave.  If you
get this issue, Dave, welcome to FML!  Good talking to you all again.
 
                                        Laura
 
Laura L'Heureux, Trella and Tribble, too
U. of Illinois Vet Med Class of 96
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[Posted in FML issue 0566]