I loved the advice yesterday from Mary on puppy training with ferrets!  I
would like to add a little bit on Labs in particular.  I found out through
experience that Labradors remain puppies for about two years, they love
to chew (even more than other breeds of puppies) and love to chase other
animals.  We took Zoe through two levels of puppy classes, worked with her
daily, and still lost baby chickens and ducks from her playfulness.  She
was eager to please and knew to "Leave it!" when we were supervising.  Yet
the birds somehow got out of their enclosure and didn't survive Zoe's
intense need to chew and play.  I'm sure Zoe was almost as disappointed as
we were to discover that her "toys" stopped moving after she played with
them.  Since Labs are bred as bird dogs, ferrets may be less likely targets
than chickens or ducks, but I would be very, very careful that the animals
are never allowed to get together unsupervised until the dog is well past
that puppy stage and you are very sure she will not play too rough with the
little fuzzies.
 
I recently received my first issue of Modern Ferret and it was wonderful.
It helped me stop fretting over my new little sprite, Jewel.  She came to
live with us a few weeks ago with stiff, thin fur and a "rat tail." She
almost looked like a different species than my first, very soft and fuzzy
ferret.  I was worried it was adrenal disease, and wondered why my usually
caring vet seemed unconcerned.  Then I read the articles and saw the
pictures in Modern Ferret, particularly those on adrenal gland disease and
stressed out ferrets.  Ah ha!  Jewel looks very much like a stressed out
ferret and not at all one with adrenal problems.  That makes sense, since
her previous owners kept her caged nearly all of the time and had very
young children.  I'd be stressed out, too, if I were her.  I will continue
to keep an eye on her, and make sure she doesn't start going bald, but now
I can stop the unnecessary worry.  BTW, in just a few weeks, already her
fur seems softer, and maybe I imagined it, but I think I see some more hair
growing.
 
Someone asked what we thought about the Playboy Playmate on the cover.
Frankly, I have no interest, so I didn't read that article.  There were no
offensive pictures, so I see no reason to be concerned.  I think it's just
a fact of life that pretty women on the cover sell magazines.  I can't help
but laughing at the picture I have in my mind of a teenage boy caught
reading under the covers saying, "Honest, Mom.  I just read Modern Ferret
for the articles."
 
Jodie
[Posted in FML issue 2680]