Thanks to all the people who answered my questions about ferret training.
It seems to me, with my busy schedule, that I might be best off just
reinforcing obedience whenever I can and forego the formal training idea --
vet school seems to barely leave time to breathe, let alone train a (is
there a better word than stubborn?) friend.  :-)
 
    I have discovered in the last week that Trella definitely likes more
than just cat food.  Sometimes she's a little daft about it, though -- when
she smells something she likes on my hand, sometimes it takes her forever to
figure out she can lick it off or grab it!  So far she likes raisins, bananas,
and Bonkers treats, but her favourites are really bizzarre -- these are the
things I don't even have to try to see if she likes, she just climbs all over
me when I'm eating -- so far:  pasta salad, peanut butter granola snacks, and
wine.  Weird.
 
    Roger -- thanks for the compliment on the ferret dog-walking story --
we sure got a kick out of it!  Stay tuned for more.  Where can I get this
Morton book -- the only one I have is the one from the pet store, and it's the
only one I've seen.  Trella is 11 weeks now, but I'm really not concerned
about her girth -- she doesn't seem a lot fatter, I'm just amazed at how
quickly she grows length-wise!  Thanks for the welcome, too (by the way, this
email system really stinks, and it's a real hassle to import the original file
I'm replying to, which is why I haven't done it here).
 
[What in gawd's name are you using as a mail system?  It has to be one
of the weirdest looking addresses I've ever seen.  And I had some trouble
making sure that the mailing list gets through to you.  What kind of machine
are you on?]
 
I've been interested in ferrets for a couple of years, ever since one of my
good friends got one (now she has two!), but I was an RA in a residence
hall then, then I spent a year studying in England -- I had always planned
to get a pet when I came back and started vet school -- I figured I was too
busy for a dog, and a ferret was a far better (albeit initially more
expensive!) option than a cat (I *am* going to be a small animal vet, but
I'll admit to being not so fond of the latter animal in nonprofessional
situations!).  I'd tell you how long I've been involved with all those
groups I listed, if I remembered which ones I'd listed!  If you're talking
about the lists I'm on, I just started at the beginning of the semester,
and I signed off all but PETS-L and VETMED-L -- the others generated too
much mail.  This one's by far the most interesting!
 
    Thanks again y'all for all the training tips!  Laura
 
Laura L'Heureux and Trella, too
U. of Illinois VM96
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[Posted in FML issue 0323]