Using the English-made, thin leather, Figure 8 harness and a 3-foot leash
line made of nylon/cotton surveyors cord line and a metal rod extending
about a foot above the earth makes for a fool-proof configuration to give a
ferret nearly all the freedom it needs to benefit from day-long intimacy
with good old Mother Earth.
 
No caging is needed and the ferret may be tethered for many hours, or even
all day and into the night, completely free to dig and tunnel into the
fresh, clean smelling earth.
 
The ferret is restricted within the area of a circle, the diameter of which
is the length of the leash line, which may be any length desired.  Here at
Ferrets NorthWest up to 14 ferrets are staked out in our digging grounds, 2
per stake, and do seem to enjoy their digging and tunneling very much.
They certain don't need to be taught to dig!
 
Regular exercise such as free-digging apparently benefits the musculature
and stamina of the ferret.  Also, they wear down their forepaw claws so
that they never require claw trimming.  In addition, the fresh soil
particles in their fur seems to absorb their skin oils such that they have
essentially no musky ferret odor, but instead have the freshness aroma of
good old Mother Earth.  They never need to be bathed when they are allowed
regular exposure in this manner and are hale and hearty, bright-eyed and
amazingly alert to all that is going on all around them.
 
Observing them one soon realizes just how close they are to their wild
cousins, the American Black-footed ferret.  They back into their holes just
like the BFF and are very quick to duck back into their tunnel when there
is a loud noise or a quick movement, such as a handclap or the overflight
of a low-flying crow or pidgeon.
 
Actually it really makes sense that they'd lose their musky scent after
digging in the soil, because if they didn't (and here assume they were wild
like their BFF cousins) then predators would be able to locate them so
very easy just from their characteristic odor.  But being in intimate
association with the soil they lose their "ferrety odor" and become
essentially odorless.  It does make sense and gives me pause to wonder
just what an American Black-footed ferret actually smells like.
 
After staking out ferrets in their digging grounds for many years now, it
is my opinion that ferrets who experience this activity are living more
true to their nature than any ferret confined to the four walls of a house
or apartment and smelling of shampoo perfume.
 
Bryan and his family visited here a couple of months ago, assumedly seeking
to adopt a ferret.  They didn't.  As I remember, had the weather been
dryer, they would have seen the ferrets outside on the digging grounds, but
unfortunately the rains prohibited outside posting of the FNW ferrets at
the time of their visit.  Too bad.
 
Edward Lipinski  Ferrets NorthWest FNW    Was Ich nicht weiss, macht mir
nicht heiss. [G.]  My ignorance inhibits my radiance.
[Posted in FML issue 2644]