Two of my guys, Giz and Norman, love to hike on trails and do a pretty good
job at staying on the trail.  Of course they may tend to wander off of the
trail on occasion to figure out what a certain smell is, but they usually
hop right back on and continue hiking.  Don't get me wrong, there have been
times when their noses have caused them to wander off of the trail a ways,
but I am there to make sure that they eventually find there way back to the
trail.  My two guys are interested in exploring the outdoors and have never
tried to run away from me.  They actually war dance at me and around me when
I let them outside just because they love the outdoors so much.  Same goes
for taking them out in the yard to play.  They have never tried to run away
from me but only play with me while they explore the outdoors.  I only put a
harness on them if it is dark outside and they want to do some evening
exploring.  I would recommend introducing them to the outdoors on a harness
before I let them roam free.  Ferrets that aren't use to the outdoors may
dart away if there is a weird noise or something.  Also, bringing them
outside into an open area during the middle of the day may tend to scare
them.  Ferrets don't like to be in an open area when the sun is shining
bright.  Just my input on running free.
 
     Melanie and the gang (Giz, Norm, and Moser)
[Posted in FML issue 2356]