HELP!  I've read the FAQ about nipping and how to train, and this has
worked for 2 out of 3 times.  We have 4 ferrets.  2 are 7 months old and
one of those liked to nip when we got her.  We broke her of that habit
and now she only uses those teeth on occasion when we play, but NEVER
hard.  Our second NEVER has nipped, even in playing.  She's a licker.
Our newest addition (9 weeks) takes after her older sister - a licker.
She's very shy and doesn't nip even when she plays.  Our THIRD,
Snowball, a 4 month old albino, is VERY AGGRESSIVE.  She's nipped from
day one, but lately its been more aggressive, an not just for play.  She
actually seemed to progress for a while, but then she gradually got
worse.  We've tried to be consistant in teaching her.
 
When does "nipping" go beyond trainable behavior?
 
She hardly ever nips at me.  When she does, its usually on the nose or
chin, and when her teeth catches you she usually draws blood and I will
scold her.  The way I've dealt with it is when she's in a playful mood,
I keep her away from my face.  This usually does the trick.  But while
she's playing she usually grabs a hold of another part of your skin and
bits, sometimes drawing blood.
 
The problem is with my husband.  She shows NO signs of disliking him.
She plays with him all of the time and likes being around him even when
she's not playing.  But 9 out of 10 times when she gets close enough to
him she lunges up at his face sinking those little fangs into his face.
Within the past 4 days, his nose has 7 sets of bite marks, all of which
she bit in and then pulled away leaving a set of cuts.  His cheek is bit
up and his lip has 2 sets of fang marks.  She never hisses at him, just
nips him as quick as lightening.  She's usually being held, so she never
runs away.  She just stares at him (although she's partially blind, so I
don't know what she actaully sees).  I figured she's just playing, but
drawing blood is becoming more frequent.
 
He gives her a good wap when she bites him and usually the biting's not
provoked by play.  I'm getting worried.  So is he because she rarely
does it to me.  In my opinion, she either sees him as another ferret,
allowing rough play (she will attact the others the same, but it never
draws blood on their tough skin) or she associates him with a good
scolding or a smack and bites out of this fear when she's being held.
There ARE times though that he can hold her close to his face without
nipping, but she's NEVER predictable.
 
Any opinions?  Those of you with nippers, is your situation similar?  Or
is drawing blood beyond the normal nipping associated with ferrets.
 
I'd appreciate any insight you may have.  Thanks everyone!
 
Mish, Kenny, Salt, Pepper, Ayla & Snowball
[Posted in FML issue 1080]