>>I, too, have a problem with ferrets repeatedly pooping outside of the
>>cage.  No matter how much I scold, clean or yell.  They will literally
>>back into a corner right in front of me!
 
>"Scold, clean or yell???" What happened to spending your time
>**training**?  You can scold, clean and yell at puppies and human babies
>and you'll get the same results as you currently have.
 
>Use POSITIVE ... treat or praise.  Yelling and screaming will only
frighten your ferret
 
Yep, and those who aren't frightened will just get stubborn.
 
Ferrets do almost anything for praise.
 
What type of cleaner is being used?  If it is ammonia based it will
actually INCREASE the mistakes outside the cage because it will smell like
the humans urinate there so then of course that is the place to do it!
 
Also, screaming reduces the emotional security of the ferret and when
their emotional security is reduced they scent mark, and one guess how
they scent mark... For them stink is both status and security.  Provide
enough security and one of those things is taken care of.
 
Oh, and put a turd of their's into the litter box when you clean it so
that they know from the smell what the function is, and provide good
sleeping bedding like black t-shirts so that they aren't tempted to
substitute the litter pot for a bed, and use safe litter.
 
This does not apply to poster who asked because that person wants to
learn: I have heard a lot of people of my father's generation (He's 88.)
who refer to "dumb animals" while expecting the animals to do all of the
learning and the humans to not have to do any.  Now, the animals are
"dumb" in terms of not speaking our spoken languages, but in the
perversion of that word which means "stupid" and is what my father tends
to imply it's the humans who are the stupid ones when the animals do all
the learning.  Obviously, the person who asked does NOT fit into that
category because that person WANTS to learn, but I have always found that
a weird contradiction and am in the mood to just point it out to think
about.
 
>Lisa, this is a public forum, read and contributed to by interested
>individuals.  These are not paid support personnel - they are not even
>volunteers, but the general public.  You are not "owed" an answer.
>Sometimes you get answers, sometimes you don't.  This is the nature of
>public mailing lists.  It is the way it always has been and always will be.
 
Yes! As someone who has been here approaching 15 years i can attest
to at times being ignored, at times misunderstood, at times debated,
but mostly treated well -- as would be expected in any town of a
similar size.   (You put it well, Rog!)  I know that everyone here
has been in the same situations I have been in, bad and (mostly) good.
 
I think that when the questions are answered in the joining materials
and in most ferret resources like
http://www.ferretcentral.org
or (my favorite ferret book) _Ferrets for Dummies_ then people are
less inclined to answer because the information is so very available
already with a little reading.  If there is a bit of time they will
reply, but if their schedules are hosed they know you can find the
information and trust you enough to believe that you will do so.
[Posted in FML issue 3794]