>From:    Gary Robertson <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: aggressive white-faced ferret
>There seems to be a rumor here in Colorado that white-faced, pink eyed
>ferrets (like Pogo) are aggressive.  ... inbred is a question raised by the
>vet--have others had similar experiences with Canadian stock?
 
First, I'm curious as to what you mean by "white faced, pink eyed" ferrets
... are you referring to albinos?  Or something else entirely?  I have neve
heard that albinos are more aggressiv than any other colour and I know lots
of gentle and lovely dovey albinos.  I have a spotty looking badger female,
who has more white on her head than others, and ruby eyes, and she is more
aggressive than some ferrets I have owned.  But she is also deaf as a
doornail, and was in the pet store for 4 months before we layed hands on
her.  I wouldn't let her sleep in bed with me at night, but I don't fear
handling her
 
Secondly, there is always the chance of inbreeding causing a variety of
problems in ferrets, but not necessarily because Canadian ferrets are more
inbred.  I would hardly think that you would have to worry more about
Canadian ferrets being inbred more than any other nationality of ferrets.
 
I know, literally, hundreds of Canadian ferrets and have more than I can
count myself.  There are some real sucks, some average guys and the odd
nastier-than- normal ferret, but I imagine you would find the same thing in
any ferret club anywhere you went.
 
I can't offer you too many solutions, and I do feel that some ferrets, like
dogs and cats, are nastier than usual and this is just their nature -
possibly due to inbreeding, and then again it could be all sorts of factors.
But unless you plan to contact the Canadian breeder in order to check out
his genetic record, I wouldn't put too much faith in the nationality of, or
colour of, your ferret as a means of assessing the cause of his personality.
 
Sheena
Wherret Ferrets Halfway House and Ferretry
Ferret Association of Greater Vancouver
[Posted in FML issue 1667]