Sharon wrote:
>Would you bite a toddler who bites testing out new teeth??
 
Well.... yes actually, I would.  And I have.  When our son was a toddler
he started biting.... for fun.  It got a *reaction* aka, attention.  He
bit me, his father, his little sister, the dog.
 
We tried all the recommended solutions, it was very clear we were loosing
the *game*.  To him it was fun.
 
When one day he nailed his sister under the kitchen table and left a
huge bruise on her belly, we had ANOTHER discussion.  All about pain
and suffering.  Time for no more *fun*.
 
This time there was no time out, no treat or other reward withheld.
 
I took his arm and told him to bite it.  He wouldn't.  Told him to bite
mine, he did.  Again, told him to bite his arm.  Nope.
 
So... *I* did.  Firmly.  No blood, no bruise, just enough to bring tears.
 
When dad got home, we had a family powwow.  Sister with the bruise, me
explaining what happened, and a mock *demo* of the end result.  No bite
this time, just the reminder.
 
Our son never bit again, and he was not permanently scarred, physically
or mentally.
 
On to ferrets:
 
Alexandra wrote:
 
>The other day she even gave my three year old nephew a good chomp on the
>back of his calf.  Puma got a time out in the cage.  I am very glad my
>little sister (the mother of my nephew) was not there to witness this,
>she probably would have tied Puma in a knot
>
>Times out back in the cage?  HAH!  No effect.  A scruff and being told
>firmly "No bite!" Hah!  Ditto, no effect.  Extra loving... ferretone...
>treats.... no effect.
 
I write:
 
I also have a Puma.  Bizzy has started to jump, grab my leg, and *chomp*.
I wear heavier jeans, she just bites harder.  It's a game folks, pure and
simple.
 
She enjoys biting me, then running backwards, wardancing and attacking
other things along the way.  Has she always done this?  Some.  Is she
getting worse?  Yes.  Why?  Because it's FUN, a damn enrichment.
 
Like Alexandra, I have claw marks and puncture wounds.  What I don't have
is a 3 year old to worry about.  Nor a family member that could become
very upset if my ferret bites their child.
 
Like Alex, I have tried time out, *no bite*, scruffs, heavier clothes.
It's not working.  Will I *bite* Bizzy?  Firmly?
 
Haven't decided yet.  I might, if it becomes a last resort.  Ferrets are
incredibly smart.
 
Just as my son learned at a young age that biting *hurts*, and isn't a
nice thing to do.
 
FYI, I have another ferret, Parris.  She came to me as a horrible biter
6 years ago.  She bit to the bone and would not release.  It wasn't a
*game* to her.  She didn't enjoy biting, it was just something she felt
necessary from her other life.
 
Vastly different from Bizzy, who clearly is having fun.
 
Parris responded well to the *no bite*, and treat reward when she didn't.
She was actually relieved to realize that she no longer *had* to bite.
 
Bizzy is different, and may need a different approach.  Will I make her
bleed, leave a bruise?  ABUSE her?  Nope.
 
Like Alexandra, I love my little *Puma* who just might *get it* with a
nip to the back of the neck.  Firmly.
 
Ardith
In NV
[Posted in FML issue 5348]