Going to write a bit on fear biters.  I will write another time on
socialization and the problem biters there, but feel that the worse problem
is dealing with ferrets biting out of fear.
 
Fear biting- it is a tough issue.  There are many causes for it.  Some you
may not think of.  Abuse, many homes because the biting gets bad from no
socialization and then the ferret gets into bad habits, being sensitive and
high strung, and also deafness.  The last two are easier to overcome in many
ways, because it is dealing with the ferrets true nature rather than learned
behavior.
 
High strung ferrets and deaf ferrets need patience and lots and lots of
handling.  This gets them used to everyday activities, and desensitizes them
to startling things.  Which is exactly what gets them, being startled.
 
Abuse, neglect leading to no socialization leading to bad handling and many
homes as a result, are tougher problems.  This is dealing with a learned
reaction, something which the ferret feels helps to protect itself.  It is
harder to overcome these things because they result from bad experiences.
 
To me, ferrets are much like people.  If they are hurt or abused because of
someone or a situation, they will react the same to all later situations
remotely resembling the original hurtful event.  The more hurt that is put
upon the ferret (or human) makes them increasingly more hesitant around
anything or anyone new, and in turns, reinforces their wrong reactions.
 
Think of it like a human problem.  Instead of taking a new situation on its
own merits, the individual looks at everything with a tainted viewpoint.
"I have been hurt before by (women, men, people, etc) and so to prevent
this from happening again, I am going to hurt them first." I have seen
countless animals and humans do this to others.  It is a case of reinforcing
their own beliefs, because they inflict hurt first and often are the actual
cause of their own pain.  "I don't trust you because of what happened to me
before, so I am going to hurt you.  I don't understand that by hurting you
first, I am actually causing the situation that is painful to me."
 
They react in two basic ways, some will not let you get even physically
close without trying to lash out.  Others will let you start to form a
relationship, but may remember past abandonment and then lash out to prevent
the closeness that they feel.  And yes, I do believe animals can remember
enough to behave this way.  Although I think they only remember the feelings
associated with the outcome, not necessarily the event itself.
 
Natasha is a good case in point.  I got her when she was 6-7 months old.
I was her third home after leaving the breeders, so she was in her fourth
house in her short life.  I could bet on what happened, without any real
knowledge of it.  She bit as a kit, probably pretty hard.  So folks yelled,
hit or just flat didn't do anything with her.  Passed her around.  Some
would try but never had the time or patience, so she could get attached
and then be abandoned.  But this reinforced her biting behavior, which in
turn made her easier to abandon.  She hurt others, so others hurt her by
giving up.
 
I guess I can understand it after dealing with the very same issues for most
of my own life.  I was raised around alcoholics and some real loony toons.
I had no stability, and after dealing with both parents almost dying when I
was very young, found it very hard to trust that folks would be there for
me.  I lived in over a dozen places in high school alone.  Because of this,
I have a hard time letting folks close to me and have often hurt folks
because I regret it when I do.  Nothing to do with them, all with me.  I
have only trusted deeply a couple of times, and because it is so hard, when
someone I have lets me down, it hurts all that much more.
 
And I deal with this with the understanding and reason of a human being.
Fear biters, to me, are like dealing with young abused children.  They have
no understanding of why someone might do these things, and so have a hard
time trusting so they won't be hurtful.
 
And trust is the issue, with all fear biters.  It is a very hard thing for
them to learn to do.  I do not, under any circumstances, even tap my fear
biters on the nose until they have learned to trust me.  I also do not
scruff and hold them down until they relax (a technique I use for
socialization) because this demands trust from them, giving control to
someone else.  You cannot demand it, nor demand the respect the trust gives.
[2 part post combined here. BIG]
 
So when I get bit, I will often hold the biter afterwards, making sure they
cannot bite me again, and tell them how much I love them, in soothing tones.
I tell them that nothing they do will stop me from loving them.  I think it
helps to vocalize these things, because it also gets your body into the same
thought, and they can sense that.  I will often stretch them out and kiss
their tummies (to keep my face safe) or kiss the backs of firmly held heads.
This contact shows them it won't hurt, it desensitizes them to physical
contact and lessens the over stimulation from it.  Or I will give them a
time out alone, which removes the stimulation that resulted in the biting.
 
And over stimulation is the main cause of fear biting.  If you can't trust,
you get the adrenalin going and set up for all kinds of tension,
apprehension, etc.  Think of yourself in a new situation, or one where you
had a bad experience before.  Then take away the reasoning you have to work
through it.  That is what you are dealing with.
 
I also don't believe everyone can or should try to deal with fear biters.
You have to be willing to put yourself in harms way, to earn the trust.  If
you are too fearful yourself, you can't help the ferret.  And if you have
small children, I don't think you should try.  I believe that the normal
sounds of a household with smaller children in it can be too upsetting for
the fearful animal.  Plus, you also run the risk of the child being bitten,
and then teaching the child to be afraid of the animal.  It isn't bad for
someone to say they can't handle a situation.  Think of what is best for
the animal, and find another more suitable place if needed for it.
 
Later, I will post on some of the behaviors that mark fear biters, then
move onto the problem of socialization or lack there of.  If you have any
questions, or would like to pick what is left of my little grey cells, feel
free.  Like I said before, I am not a trained anything (well, except
journalist and they are all animals).  Maybe that is where I started picking
all this up.  ;-)
 
Margaret in Mid Mo
[Posted in FML issue 2388]