>>>How is the little FML rehab girl?  I think her rescuer was surprised
to find so many of us willing to take and train her, and that all of us
who have done so avoid violent approaches with ferrets.<<<
 
Little L.  B.  (Little Bit** as her owner calls her) is doing quite well.
She has yet to bite me, but Joan can't quite claim that.  All in all her
problem seems to be fear of people.  I have a feeling that sometime in her
past, before Nancy got her that LB was punished very severely and is
terrified of being picked up.
 
Generally the first step in "training" a ferret not to bite is to find out
why they are biting.  We've found that the majority of biters:
 
1. Are playing and don't know how hard they are biting;
2. Want to be set down and have found that if they bite they will be set
   down right away.  If the person doesn't "hear" them the first time,
   they just have to ask "louder";
 
3.  Are frightened of being held; afraid that they are going to be punished.
 
I've never met a ferret that was just downright "mean" and bit for the
pleasure of inflicting pain.
 
The first is the easiest to break.  Often just wrapping your hand around
the face and shouting in it's face a couple of times, is enough to let them
know that you don't like to "play" that way.  Bitter Apple sometimes helps
on the more difficult ones.
 
The second is usually just a matter of not setting them down when they want
it no matter what.  After they settle down and consent to being held, a
treat followed by setting them down seems to work very well.  We hold them
until we get a BIG sigh.
 
The third one is the most difficult.  We've found that having a treat in
hand each time we pick it up seems to help.  That, and a lot of love and
cuddling, plus refusing to let it get away with the bite.  There we use the
scruff and shake from side to side while shouting 'NO!' in it's face.  Then
lots of scritching and loving.  L.B.  usually responds to this by sulking a
lot then doing a war dance once she's put down.  She's been our most
challenging case so far.  As I said, I am unscarred so far, but Joan has
some marks on her nose and arms.  (I don't think LB likes females.  She also
doesn't like other ferrets.  Vinny, another rescue, has a hole in his nose
from when he went to sniff LB.  He's still a little upset from that <G>.)
 
Dick B.
[Posted in FML issue 1310]