I needed to get something from a floor-level cabinet that Floyd LOVES to get
into - so I picked her up and held her, thus preventing her from climbing in
to it while I had the door open.  As I stood back up, I felt this nuzzling
on my neck . . . .
 
Why is this so amazing?  We fostered Floyd from a shelter a few years ago.
She and her best friend Butter (who we also have) were biters, and needed a
lot of work.  Floyd had a particular thing for faces - if you picked her up,
and held her at anything above waist level, she'd jump from your arms and
lunge at your face.  (The scars faded eventually.) She'd bite hands, too -
faces were just especially likely.
 
Other than the biting, she was a highly energetic and engaging ferret,
trying to climb your legs as if she wanted to be picked up (and making sure
you regretted it afterwards).  I frequently think of her as a "genetic
misfit" - she's clearly from a not-very-good breeding.  In addition to some
minor stuff such as a kinked tail, she has a slightly misshaped jaw, which
she can never completely close... It gives her an especially charming look
when she's a few feet away (although rather devilish when she's close.)
 
The biting wasn't because she was mad at being picked up, since she usually
*did* try and get you to do so, and she truly enjoys being carried around.
The biting was just something she did, anytime she got too close to a
face... We worked with Floyd for a long time, before deciding just to adopt
her ourselves.  She stopped lunging eventually, although we also never
tempted fate by trying to kiss her.  (I know, some of you would have made a
point of doing so... But hey, I admit it, I'm just too much of a wimp to
really push my luck...)
 
But, if she was nuzzling my neck, I'd obviously "messed up" and had placed
her right next to my face.  And I was clearly restraining her from going
into the pantry as she wanted, so she had reason to be miffed.  And yet,
she snuffled into my neck, rather than biting...
 
I admit, I'll never trust her with strangers.  She'll never be a ferret
spokesperson, even though she enjoys being held the most of any of our gang.
And I probably still won't purposely touch noses with her.  But with enough
time, and enough patience, you *can* make real progress.
 
 --------------------------------------------------------
 Rochelle Newman              [log in to unmask]
 Assistant Professor          (319) 335-2417 (office)
 Department of Psychology     (319) 335-1979 (lab)
 University of Iowa           (319) 335-0191 (fax)
 11 Seashore Hall E
 Iowa City, IA 52242-1407
 http://www.psychology.uiowa.edu/Faculty/Newman.html
 --------------------------------------------------------
[Posted in FML issue 2398]