Now I know this is going to upset some people, but hear me out.  Since I
became a ferret parent I too have had to deal with biting.  My lovable and
sweet Trinity and hugable Howie were also biters in the beginning.  Both
were Marshall Ferrets, but still had that bad habit of niping toes, fingers
and once an arm.
 
Instead of getting fed up with them and smacking their noses or picking them
up and telling them no, or anyone of a dozen other ways I had heard to make
them stop.  The reason being we had already tried most of them and hiting a
animal is the worst thing you can do.  I did get fustrated one day while my
wife and I were enjoying some very spicy Thai food.  Howie ran under my feet
and nipped me for the final time.  I stuck my finger into the EXTREMELY
SPICY Thai hot sauce and then let Howie bite my finger.  He let out a "yip"
and scurried to the water bottle.  Trinity was next.  Five years later, they
have not biten a human since.
 
Out other four adoptees have also received the TABASCO treatment when they
have shown signs of being a biter.  When we receive a Ferret into our rescue
that the former parent says was a biter, we give that Ferret the Tabasco
treatment and it cures the ferret immediately.
 
Now someone out there is going to e-mail me and say that this is cruel and
evil.  Maybe it is, but what is worse.  Giving up your ferret because you
cant stop them from doing something that is natural to them?
 
After years of thinking about this, I have come to the conclusion that
Ferrets bite each other as part of play, mating, and communication.  They
hopefully like their owners and will either bite them for one of three
reasons, (1) to play (2) fear (3) anger.  Anyone one of these is a
legitimate response, but unfortunatly we humans don't have the thick tough
skin of a Ferret or the mental capabitily to understand Ferret sign
language.  So we immediatly think of biting as vicious attacks.
 
This is were the wonderfully tasting TABASCO comes in.  By allowing the
Ferret to taste your Tabasco tasting skin, they now realize you taste
horrible and that may not be the way to communicate with you.  I don't know
I can only base this one my work with all the ferrets it has worked on.
When people call the U.F.O.  hotline and tell me their Ferret is biting
them, I have been telling them to use TABASCO sauce (RED) and I have had
100% positive success.
 
Now don't be like one girl who was afraid of using TABASCO and thought the
Ferret might like pace picante sauce instead.  Well she was right the Ferret
liked pace picante sauce too much and bite her harder.  She called crying
telling me I was full of something.  When I asked her what she used, then I
told her to use RED TABASCO.  Two days later she called and appologized.
The little biting demon that was possessing her wuzzle was now gone and a
cute fuzzy furry freeloader took over.
 
Try it, if it does not work, your only out a $1.00 instead of $7 or $8 for
bitter apple.  Let me know if you try it and find success or failure.
 
Rick
United Ferret Organization
[Posted in FML issue 2356]