Greetings FMLers...
 
I'm a newbie Ferret Wrangler and, consequently, a newbie FMLer.  I've
been goin' through back issues trying to decipher what some of the
references are, but it seems an uphill battle.  I think I've figured
out the situation with the California laws, but I can't seem to find
any explanation about who or what the McDowells are, except cryptic
references to "the McDowell case".  Anybody got an issue number I
can consult?
 
The name my new ferret doesn't answer to is MacAllister "Mickey"
Tolleywood McWeasel, a 9 week old sable male. He's a fairly mellow
ferret (by which I mean he only travels at 60 mph as opposed to
90) who seems to have taken to our family very quickly.  He loves
to play with TumbleWeed, our half-chow, half labrador retreiver
live-in friend.  But until we've figured out the look on Weed's face
(Is it "Guys, This stretched-rat is really annoying me" or "Guys,
As soon as you leave this room, I'm going to eat this thing in one
bite. Chomp."?), they are under _close_ supervision.
 
I had posted a question about snacks to rec.pets and gotten several
good suggestions.  My follow up question is... how excited is _excited_
about a food?  Mickey T. seems to like raisins, but he would never actively
pursue one if I didn't offer it to him right under his nose.  He
also never seems interested in more than one or two licks of ferrotone
or linatone.  This makes it hard to clip nails, I'll tell you what.
 
My reason for the Quest for The Perfect Ferret Nectar brings me
to my next question: training and tricks.  I have heard that you can
train ferrets to Go To The Litter Pan, Ride On The Shoulder, Roll Over,
Stand On Hind Legs, Walk On A Leash and Don't Bite So Hard. Mickey has
almost mastered the first two, and the biting.
 
What else have people accomplished with ferrets, training/trick-wise?
Can they be taught to fetch, ride a dog, do Calculus, what?
 
Also, I'll add my congratulations to the pile for Michelle on a
successful pro-ferrets campaign.  Is there a way to get a tape of
the show from anywhere? (Do radio stations do that sort of thing?)
 
As Stiff As Starch Can Make Me,
Ryan J. &
Mickey T. The DogSlayer
Live From Delphi
 
[Posted in FML issue 0826]