I read a tip for training your ferrets on a list and it works so great for
me I thought I would repeat it.  I have trained my little carpet demons to
"come" when I say "treat-treat".  It seems repeating the word very quickly
helped reinforce it.  Also, I would say it over and over and over, waving a
raisin at their nose, until they came over and took the raisin.  My big boy
Squid has a 100% response rate, while the l'il girl, Piglet, has only about
a 98% response rate.  (She needs to be close enough to not have to run too
far.)  Squid will come running, even out of a deep sleep if he hears the
magic words.  It actually has been an invaluable skill for me - if I need
to find them at the end of their free-roam time, I just call and they
magically appear.  And the one time Squid got away from me on an outdoor
excursion (he usually doesn't run fast and I can keep up with him) I called
and he came running over for his raisin.
 
I'm working on other tricks, but "stay" doesn't work really well with
ferrets...... <g>
 
Ann & the carpet demons
[Posted in FML issue 2560]