I told you I'd send an update when some results were in - and it's working.
 
The problem: Our ferret Ramon was driving us to despair.  He refused to
become box-trained, and led our "good" ferret (Chloe) astray as well.  I
know, it's a common story...
 
Well, we finally got new linoleum in the ferret room, & decided it was time
to get serious.  To my great pleasure, we have gone from about a 2% "hit
rate" to about 90% - so i thought it was time to check in.
 
I'd read about the method that involved using snuggly slept-in material to
discourage pooping in certain areas, and decided to try that, with a few
variations.  So here's what's working for us:
 
Note: these ferrets have run of one room. They are never caged, and this
also does not refer to when they are out in the rest of the house. (We
haven't *found* yet where they poop in the other rooms - but that's another
story...)
 
1. Cat litter?  No, Ramon won't use it.  So we use newspaper.  Chloe
doesn't mind, & it's easy to pick up & discard when used.  No box, just
spread several layers thick on floor (or on a plastic tarp thing) in
chosen corner.
 
2. The blankie method: The theory is that they are not likely to use as a
bathroom a place that smells like bed.  In Ramon's case, this was only
partly true - but at least it *was* partly true - so we decided to go for
it.  (I read about this either on the ferretcentral site or at a potty
training page linked to it...)
 
Ramon & Chloe sleep in a great big box full of old towels & tshirts &
sheets etc.  I masking taped some of these to the floor in all the trouble
spots (i.e. all around the perimeter of the room, under chairs, etc), and
refilled the box with other rags.  When a piece of bedding was soiled, i'd
throw it in the wash, replace it with a nice ferrety-smelling one out of
their sleeping box, and put the freshly washed one back in the box to get
ferrety again. In theory, you eventually reduce the number of rags
decorating your room, but i havent reached that stage yet.
 
3. Cleaning: Where there was an accident, clean the floor with vinegar &
water: Vinegar is supposed to remove that bathroomy odor that lures them
back.
 
4. Reward: When we catch a ferret going where it ought, we reward it with
ferretone & wondrous praise. & if we catch one going where it oughtn't, we
transport it to the right place, with words of encouragement.
 
BUT - you *never* catch Ramon going.  He's a private little thing.  So I
decided to take this one step further.
 
5. Punishment: The info about training does not usually recommend
punishments, but I express my disappointment to the ferrets if they (say)
dig in my houseplants. So why not this matter as well? I thought it was
worth a try.
 
Say I find Ramon's poops (i can tell whose it is by the diameter, plus he's
the only non-housebroken one...) on the floor in front of the door.  I
carry him over, & show it to him, and tell him in deep and resounding tones
how *disappointed* I am, and what a *disgrace* he is to ferretdom, etc.
Then I lock him in his cage (which he hates - he's a free range ferret)
for a few minutes, while I clean up.
 
I'm not sure he understands the connections between his act and the praise
or lecture/restrictions - but there's just a chance he might.
 
Well, that's it.  We haven't reached a 100% "hit rate" - but boy have we
improved over a couple of months ago!  What a relief - it makes life with
the weasels much more pleasant, & has improved my relationship with Ramon
quite a bit.
 
Thanks for listening to my proud tale.  Seriously, I hope this might be
helpful to someone else whose untrained baby has thrown them into the
depths of despair.
 
& dooks to all from
 
---sharin
Ramon (more caffiene!)
and Chloe (wanna dance?)
[Posted in FML issue 2592]