First let me say that I would LOVE to be a fly on the wall for a Bob
Chuch/Fred Hurd/MC the Rude One conversation!  I can only imaginge!
 
Well, since everyone is coming out of the closet, I guess I can, too.
I take in difficult children (the kind with fur).  I have had several
in my home who were biters and with my sweet compromised *good* babies,
I could not have the stress of biters attacking them.  I learned the
hard way that there are some ferrets out there who lie to your face and
attack the others behind your back - they attack, they break skin, the
cause ulcers - and they smile and act like angels in front of you.
 
And, it is not just other ferrets.  I have had neurological biters who
can't let go.  What if a human gets bitten and slings that ferret?  A
college kid I met killed his biter when she nipped at him while he was
sleeping and he threw her across the room.  What is something surprises
you at your feet?  Gonna chance stomping on the ferret?  Maybe not YOU,
but a guest or kid might.
 
What do I do?  Well, I have walked around with a ferret in my mouth,
holding him by the scruff of the neck.  I have taken it a step further
and scruffed them from my mouth to my hand and dragged them on the floor.
Is this the first step?  No.  And, let me point out that you should
know your ferret - a neurological biter cannot help it and often can't
release.  Do not assume anything.  Remember, man domesticated that animal
and it is up to man to protect it!
 
Be smart.  Play nice.  (No, my skin kid did not bite.  But, I know a lot
who did and I can tell you that there was a lot of biting the biter done
when my kid was growing up.  Many times the parent/teacher/sitter would
look the other way while a biter got his just due.)
 
See you in October, Alex - with the kids!
 
--
renee :)
It's amazing how much can be accomplished if nobody cares who gets the
credit!
Ferret Emergency Response, Rescue & Evacuation Team (F.E.R.R.E.T.)
http://www.ferretemergency.org
International Ferret Congress
http://www.ferretcongress.org
American Red Cross
http://www.redcross.org
[Posted in FML issue 5361]