Hi ferret fanatics,
 
well we had a lovely day today, it was about 80 degrees F
in Fremantle today. Michelle, Tess (our dog), Fi-Fi and
I walked into town to have a coffee. So far I have not
had much luck getting Fi-Fi to walk on the lead, she just
does not want to go where we do! If there is a solid fence
along the pavement edge she is not too bad, if she feels
like going in that direction, but as soon as there is a
gateway or gap she just wants to go her own way.
Anyway we got into town which was very busy, as Freo
always is on a Sunday, and found an outside table at one of
the cafes. Fi-Fi slept on my lap despite the madding crowds,
I think she was tired from the constant struggling as I
carried her in, but woke up to enjoy some ice cream from my
iced coffee! It is amazing how few people even notice you
have a ferret in your lap, and equally amazing is the
reaction of the ones that do see her! On the way home I
persevered with trying to teach her to walk on the lead
better, and to my surprise she got better at it quite
quickly. This leads to my first question, does anyone have
any tips on teaching carpet sharks to walk on the leash?
Secondly does a reward system work with training ferrets?
If so what sort of rewards, I find dogs respond really
well to verbal rewards, but cant imagine this working with
ferrets. While Im on a roll, third question, when we wake
Fi-Fi up to get her out of her run, or from Michelles
knicker drawer if she is asleep inside, she always "shivers"
for a couple of minutes, it seems like a nervous shiver.
Considering that I have never seen any form of nervousness
in a ferret, in fact I doubt the word is in the ferret
dictionary, I feel I am probably misinterpreting the
behaviour. Anyway has any or everyone noticed this in
their furrballs?
 
Well thats all for now from sunny Fremantle,
may your ferrets grow faster, funnier, furrier and fatter
regards, Rick, Michelle, Fi-Fi, and Tess.
[Posted in FML issue 1033]