Pam, Regina Harrison at [log in to unmask] has mentioned here several
times wanting to start a page devoted to such training, and given her
helpful and concerned ways for all fuzzies I expect she'd probably be happy
to put together a FAQs with you! Here's something gleaned from our
experiences over the years and from things we have learned from others which
can compliment other letters received.
Having the younger sister I do, I expect it was inevitable that I would
later work with wild animals for a while, and also help rehabilitate biting
animals. Nancy, now 42 and long cured, bit regularly until she was 6 and
occasionally for another several years. Luckily, her wellbeing was not
determined by certain states' Health Departments or Fish and Game Wardens
because I can assure you that she was never vaccinated for rabies, nor had
shedding studies relevant to humans been done.
Many mammals other than younger human sisters bite when little. How often
have you had a kitten or a pup break your skin or give a good pinch while
teething or absorbed in play?
1. Ferrets in many ways are no different.
That said let's look at how people behave and at how ferrets behave to
understand better why biting or nipping may happen, and at how we can adjust
our own behavior to get the results we desire.
People first: we are primates. Primates hit. How many ferrets have you
known which hit? We have known only one in around 15 years.
Since living in our homes means that ferrets must already learn some verbal
language, human body language, and many aspects of our modes of living why
not meet them part way by adjusting some of our interactive behaviors to
their forms of communication and aesthetics? I well recall people who
never observed critters and never learned a whit of their animals' natural
lifestyles call their pets "stupid animals". Those animals knew more about
living with humans than the humans did about living with animals, so I ask
you: who really were the stupid ones?
2. Hitting isn't a smart tactic.
3. Observe animals.
What else might you do if a pet ferret hurts you? You might call it a
"@###$<*!" Of course, you can call a ferret that all you want but other than
the results of a deep and grouchy growling voice (which is a useful tool
throughout Mammalia in gaining the dominant "hand") it will be about as
useful as someone cursing at me in Lakota since I unfortunately do not know
that language. In fact, since kithood one of our ferrets has recognized
"Little Pain in the (ahem)" as one of her nicknames and happily comes to us
looking for reward when it is said. You will be relieved to know that a few
choice words will not have at all the nasty effect they would on your child,
your sister (Sorry!), your spouse, or your parents (Ouch!).
4. Feel free to growl.
This doesn't mean that words can not cause problems. We use very complex
vocabularies and intricate sentence structures. When you want a toddler to
learn language you keep it simple. Do that with your ferrets or with any
other critter you are teaching words. Over the years we've found that
ferrets actually seem to pick up language better than dogs or cats and can
even learn to respond properly to conditional statements, or to statements
directed to other ferrets -- if those utterances allowed them to steal
another ferret's treat. Perhaps their long, long ago past cornering animals
in dark burrows pre-adapted them to noticing and learning to comprehend the
sounds of other species. Imagine how useful it would be to know the vocal
and movement sound nuances of your prey.
5. Use simple language and repeat, repeat, repeat! While a growled
"#%##*&^^$!" will indicate that you are angry, a gravelly "No bite!" will
have the same results and get you in less trouble with the neighbors.
Unlike my sister I was not a biter. "Why?", you ask. Hey, we are all
individuals! (Instead, I surprised my grandmother by having picked up a few
choice angry words at a tender age from my old man.) Ferrets are individuals,
too, and a lot easier on Gram's heart rate. In fact, of all the types of
animals I've worked with over the decades the only others with so much
individual variation were the primates, and even some of those are
two-dimensional compared with ferrets. These housemates with four feet are
complex and intelligent individuals. Yes, they will have things in common
with other ferrets, such as becoming so happy that they bounce into walls,
but haven't you known a few people like that, too? In all honesty, though,
I really don't think people in general are not as talented in outright joy
as ferrets in general are.
Expect little Shadow to have different ways to respond from Scooper. Know
that Kalinka may not be as cuddlely as Ripcord or Muffin. While Snorkle
might love face dunking, Filibuster will prefer to dump water on the floor
to hog it, and Annebonny will try to stop them both by dragging the water
dish backwards right into Helterskelter happily observing the rest while
waving her feet in the air. Toyvol will yawn and be the royal couch potato
when Futility tries her dangest to defeat any barrier you have, but
Wigglesworth, Gomer, Vivace, Piffle, Whirlygig and all the rest (including
Toyvol, Ronin and Scrumble) will happily follow once the force field is down.
Learning is part of individuality. Expect your ferret to do a lot of it.
6. Ferrets are very individual and learn a great deal.
That said, remember that everyone's individuality, including our's is
limited by our own genetic set-points. Pet ferrets have been domesticated
for something in the thousands of years. They have become juvenilized.
Another way to express this is to say they exhibit neotany in social and
physical ways: kit-like behavior throughout life, and changes (sometimes
subtle) in how they look different from their wild country cousins. This
means that they make good pets for the right people. Being in reasonable
control of your own behavior helps enormously and for some ferrets
(especially kits) it's essential; not minding messes is another biggie. Oh,
and a few of those messes might be -- oh -- a bit odiferous. If you want to
share your life with a ferret and be happy doing it, be a ferret person;
don't expect a ferret to be a macaw, or a dog, or a cat, or a guppy.
Why does variation matter? Because the techniques, even the very best
ones, which work for one ferret, or for lots of ferrets) might not work for
another so you must take the individual into consideration and read up on
ferrets beforehand.
7. Shape approaches to the individual ferret.
Here's a people comment you will want to keep in the back of your mind if
you wind up sometime with a special ferret which needs an especially loving
home because of past abuse or a medical problem: such ferrets have to become
safe enough and have confusion, frustration and pain reduced enough to stop
biting. It's just like any other injured and afraid being. That means that
rehabilitation can take a long time, sometimes a very long time. In some
encounter along the way you might react reflexively and rapidly shift your
limb now attached to the ferret with two results: your own injuries will
tear and be worse, and the ferret will very likely go flying. (A great many
times while learning skin breaks, not because of the ferret, which has
clamped down to just above that, but because of the human motion.) You will
feel like the lowest slime on the face of the earth, like a maggot on the
nostril of a diety, like a gnarling blight over ferretdom. What should you
do? Forgive yourself and start again. Newsflash: you are only human and it
would be hubris if you expected to be more or always right, no matter if
your hubby calls you "Venus" or your co-workers label you an
"alpha-geek-demi-god". When you wake up in the morning and go to sleep at
night you are still nothing more than human and fallible, just like all the
rest of us. Put away your Emmy, your Pulitzer, and your Nobel Prize for a
minute since here we are on an even playing field. Thinking otherwise and
not accepting your blames for things then learning and going on with life
would have you going nowhere fast. Try, try again.
8. You are only human and fallible.
Let's look at some of the reasons why a bite may happen:
Once again I must continue later -- this time after I finally eat something
[Posted in FML issue 2073]
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