Yesterday, it was inquired (sorry I lost your name in the cutting and
pasting):
 
>As all VERY young ferret, this female (7 weeks young) loves to try to
>take a bite out of you... Yes, we say "NO!" an lightly "pop" her nose,
>followed by a time-out if the behavior gets too erratic.
 
>SO, for How long do ferrets nip?
 
They will nip at least as long as you pop them on the nose :-) To a ferret,
you popping her on the nose can be interpreted in a couple of ways.  One
way is that you are willing to play rough like she is, and the ferret's
response is "oh boy, let's get ready to rumble!" Obviously this is not the
message you want to be sending.  The other way a ferret may interpret being
popped on the nose is that you want to hurt her, and that will make her
scared of you, so that she's biting back out of fear.  In my opinion, the
NO!, scruffing, and time-out method will work much better.  Pushing against
the nip/bite (being careful not to actually stick anything down the
ferret's throat) can be effective too.  She'll be pretty darn active for
the next few months, but the work you patiently do now will pay off later.
It's also very important, IMO, that everybody who comes into contact with
this ferret is consistent about how much nipping they'll tolerate-- if some
people let her nip and others don't, it's hard for her to learn anything.
Good luck, and enjoy your new little friend!
 
 
Regina Harrison
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http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/1083
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When the big bomb goes off, all that's going to survive
are goths and cockroaches.
                            --Nick Cave, August 1998
[Posted in FML issue 2453]