The biting discussion has made me think about my ferrets, who all bite (when
I warn the vet, she says "Nobody is ever bitten at our clinic!" with a
grin).  However, none of them snap or are mean, and except for one, NEVER
bite unless playing, or in Potpie's case, unless at the vet's. :)
 
But that's not really the point of my post.  A long time ago I posted about
Noodle's tendency to bite our wrists while cuddling in our laps.  He'll curl
up, then wake up with an 'emergency itch' type of look on his face, and
start biting our wrists harder and harder.  We spent a month or two scolding
him, putting him in the cage for time-outs, etc; but he never really quit
doing it (currently we gently hold his jaws together with two fingers - he
gets the idea and gets out of 'the mood,' whatever it is).  The funny thing
is, now he ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT bite during play.  As many people have
described, he'll open his mouth, but when your finger comes near, the most
that will happen is you'll bump his teeth as he shuts his mouth.  We have
*never* nip-trained him during play - only tried to correct his wrist-biting
behavior.  Just something interesting..
 
As far as the ferrets who will never bite and ferrets all bite statements -
the original poster did not state that all ferrets bite in order to damage
ferret reputations - he stated it in order to hopefully protect your
ferrets' lives.  I have met ferrets who 'would never bite' who, when in
situations where they hadn't bitten before, unexpectedly bit someone.
Nobody is automatically assuming YOUR PARTICULAR ferret is going to or will
ever bite.  All that I think was intended was to encourage people to be
cautious, most particularly when putting their ferret in a situation that
might be new to them, or a situation involving strangers or children.  No
matter how much you trust your pet, you really would better be safe than
sorry.  Most likely, the situation will never present itself and almost
certainly you can trust your ferret - but don't forget to be cautious.  Kodo
did NOTHING wrong.
 
Melissa
 
 __ Melissa Litwicki ____ [log in to unmask] __
 By the whole newsgroup devoted tennis showing
     it after scarfing fork and laughters
[Posted in FML issue 2191]