Our newest was named Jaws at the petstore and came to us over six months old
having spent over four in the same petstore. We renamed her Piper, but the
nick lives on.
This ain't no ordinary biter, folks, this one sees a hand coming and lunges,
and digs in deep and hard. Both of us are sporting multiple finger
bandages, and last night she bit so hard that Mel had a puncture wound with
entrance *and* exit wounds...and a steady stream of blood that pulsed to
match.
The other three have learned quickly with a big hiss, a NO! and a scruff
and a drag across the floor (like what mom would do if mom-ferret were
around). But scruffing just makes Piper madder. And when she's mad...she
can twist around like nothing else and sink fangs into flesh. I'm actually
a real believer in biting back once (it works for horses really well...it's
that dominance thing), but there's no way in hell I'm putting my face in the
path of those teeth.
So....we have a long-term, mean as hell biter. How to deal with it? What
to do? I hate the idea of her being caged more often than the other three,
but if we can't *catch* her to recage her, she can't be loose. Suggestions?
Comments? Bitter Apple hand dipping twice a day? Simmie (the other female)
also will nip on occasion, but nowhere near to this level....so I'm not
talking about the average kit nipper here...I need help for dealing with the
kind of ferret that, if we took her back or sold her, she'd end up abused or
put down eventually b/c she is a *mean* little sucker. We don't want that
to happen, so we want suggestions for dealing with *the problem ferret.*
Thanks. From me, from the three sweeties, and from Piper, who is scared
to death and might forever be known as JAWS......
Laurel Gilbert, Am Cult Studies *"Who controls the screen controls
[log in to unmask] *the mind of the screen watcher. The
http://www.bgsu.edu/~lgilber/ *power struggles occur on screens."
Bowling Green State University, OH * -Timothy Leary
[Posted in FML issue 1500]
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