>         I also have some advice to give to any ferret lovers out there
> who are interested.  A harness and leash has really worked out well
> for Fergison.  He loves exploring outdoors and it's really nice not to
> have to watch him every second.  I suggest you get one for your
> ferret(s).
 
Re harness for ferrets (Chanda & Fergison):
 
I take the fuzzies on walks every day, and I would echo the suggestion
of getting a harness and leash, at least for walks.  I was able to get
some really nice leather harnesses (I think it was a place called
Animal Talk at 65th and Roosevelt in Seattle).  Some ferrets walk
well, some do "brakes on all the way", and some go well after being
out a while and coaxed gently.  You just have to try it.  My
companions do especially well on a wooded path rather than out in the
open -- the open might recall ancestral memories of danger from flying
predators, and a trail affords some guidance.
 
The harnesses I have are called "figure-8 harnesses", and basically,
each harness has two parts: a strip of leather that looks like a long
collar with a buckle on the end, plus another small loop of leather
through which you may insert the first.  The small loop also has a
metal ring attached.  So, you loop the long strip around the neck, and
then the crucial feature is that you have a lot of "collar" left over,
and you wrap this behind the front legs and then buckle it finally to
the neck part.  The other (small) loop encircles the long strip near
the back of the head (which forms a X at that point), and you attach
the leash to the small loop's metal ring.
 
The nice thing is, if you need to reel in your pet fast, you can pick
him or her up by the harness (briefly, of course) without harm,
because the harness effectively goes around the shoulders.
 
There are also similar harnesses that have two loops connected by a
strand, where one loop goes around the neck and the other goes behind
the front legs, but I have no experience with these.
 
Before trusting the harness very much (the previous poster mentioned
the benefit of not having to watch every second, which it seems could
be a little dangerous unless you are very careful and are sure of the
area), I would strongly suggest you go for a number of walks with the
harness so as to get it the right size.  I think the right size is
when your pet doesn't escape or screw up the harness anymore, even
when straining at the harness to explore something.  This is a bit
more restrictive size than the right size for a collar; I think since
a (ball chain) collar is on all the time when my pets wander around
the house (and I'm not home), the right size for a collar is when they
get it off only every two to three weeks (so they could get out of it
in an emergency).
 
Re ferrets dancing:
 
I was listening to "Seville" as played by the classical guitar God
John Williams.  Seville is an Andalucian tune which is apparently
based on an Andalucian dance called the "Sevillianis".  It seems to me
this would be a great dance for ferrets.  Since this tune is fast and
accented interestingly, it would go especially well when you are
playing tag-a-dangle with your fuzzy and they run for a few bounds
then leap at the item you're dangling, then they run for a few more
bounds and leap, and so on.
 
Todd Cromwell
Behalf of Dors (Ms. Stinkpot) and Seldon (Mr. Serious)
 
[Posted in FML issue 0889]