The recent mail about ferrets not being inherently biting animals and
how important it is to train them makes me want to share this story:
 
The last time I took my ferrets to the vet, she was checking Antigone
over and kept getting a more and more worried look on her face.  Finally
she said to me "I'm a little worried about the general energy levels
in this ferret - how old is she?".  I told her that Antigone was about 7,
and asked her why she was worried (Antigone was being pretty active),
She said she was concerned because my ferret hadn't bitten her yet!
I was horrified, and told her that my ferrets *do not bite*.  (If I
can see that they are being gentle, I hand Antigone over to preschoolers
she meets in the park with complete confidence that she would not *ever*
bite them).  The vet told me that because "ferrets are so oral", she
usually expects to be at least nipped at, if not actually bitten.
I guess a lot of people don't bother to train their carpet-sharks properly.
Anyway, it made me very sad, especially because she was pretty skeptical
when I told her that my ferrets don't bite at all.  I have had similar
experiences with other vets.
 
Victoria
 
 
[Posted in FML issue 0604]