Hi Chuck.  The way we trained our ferrets to stay on our shoulder was to put
a lot of paper in a trash can and let them fall in the trash can and when
they tried jumping down we would tell them "NO!" and let them fall.  The
paper scares them, and in a trash can it is much lounder.  You just have to
make sure there is a lot of paper in the can, because you don't want them to
get hurt.  When they do stay on your shoulder, you should give them praise
and maybe give him a treat.  See, ferrets will soon learn that staying on
your shoulder is a good thing and falling off your shoulder is a bad thing.
 And your right, ferrets are harder to train if you aren't serious with them.
 I have learned that younger ferrets are harder to train then older ones,
because young ones like to play a lot more.  We have three ferrets, and two
of them are trained, but our 2 month old one has been a lot thougher to deal
with.  But be patient, they will learn sooner or later.
Also, ferrets' attention spans can change quickly, so don't over do it each
time.  Take it slow by doing it a couple of times a day.
 
                                                 Good Luck.
 
                                         Kimberly, and Ruby, Bongo, and
Giggles
                                                              (my fuzzy
family)
[Posted in FML issue 1032]