I appreciate the concern of the other posters about the use of toothpaste as
a biting deterrent, given the fluoride content (which is, by the way, 0.14%
from the label, not 15%).  But I think I need to clarify what's going on
here.
 
I used about 1/2 teaspoon of toothpaste, smeared over my hands and forearms.
The ferrets' potential exposure to the fluoride (and the sorbitol) was very
very slight.  They did not ingest the toothpaste--they did not lick it,
their tongues and lips were not in contact with my treated skin.  I did not
smear it on their fur.  When giving them a treat, I used a spoon, not my
pasted finger.
 
These ferrets were not nippers or lick-lick-chompers--they were severe,
head-shaking clampers.  They were in my possession for about 48 hours, but
during that time I needed to let them run around, clean out their litterbox,
and yes, I wanted to start bite-training them and getting them used to being
handled before handing them off to the foster home ... if only to let the
guy know what to expect.  I did not want to get bitten, at least not on my
hands.
 
I don't keep Bitter Apple in the house (except for the paste kind, which
irritates my skin--I use it for the soles of my tastier shoes).  My
experience with Bitter Apple is that it makes clamping ferrets bite EVEN
HARDER, and the alcohol fumes from it irritates ferrets' (and my) eyes and
respiratory systems.  My experience with vinegar (another respiratory
irritant) is that it repels ferrets--and this was not something that I
wanted to do.
 
So, having heard about the toothpaste, I thought I'd try it.  And having
tried it without killing the ferrets, I wrote about it here because I think
that we all need to know about different alternatives for training, as well
as their drawbacks.  I think it's good to know about the caution for
fluoride--you do want to be careful that you don't let the animal ingest it.
And, really, nothing is a panacea--I don't think toothpaste would work on
my Francine, who has a thing for mints.  But one thing you can say about
toothpaste, is that it's handy in a pinch.
 
Anyway, it seemed to work like magic.  The ferrets plainly wanted to bite,
or bite down, but could not (at least not on my hands, but I am now
contemplating an earring where I had not previously).  I could handle them
without fear and without making them afraid of me.
 
I think that the point of a biting deterrent is that it keeps the animal
from biting (and ingesting the substance) so that you can do the things that
really help with their training.  I think that too many people think that
just using Bitter Apple or putting on gloves will do the trick by
itself--they miss the idea that you do these things so that you can handle
the ferret in a confident manner while you train them (by scruffing,
hissing, scolding, or whatever).
 
I brought the two ferrets up to the foster home in northeastern MA, and the
three of us thought we'd died and went to Ferret Heaven.  A nice big room
just for ferrets; spacious, lovingly hand-built cages with toys and
hammocks; and a maze of tubes around the perimeter of the floor, slanting up
the walls, and hung from the ceiling.
 
The two little ferrets stumbled over each other getting out of the carrier
and stood in awe for a while, then went cartwheeling and stiff-legged
dancing and dooking around probably the largest space they'd been in all of
their lives.  Eventually, the nine resident ferrets piled out to see the
visitors, and everyone had a great time.  I'd never seen ferrets get along
so well from the get-go--must have been the great vibes in that happy home.
Made me wish I were 4 inches tall and furry, too, so I could live and play
in this Wonderland.
 
-- Lee, one of the Massachusetts Ferret Friends
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[Posted in FML issue 2301]