Laurie-

I'm afraid it is almost impossible to "train" a ferret to keep off of
things that interest him. At the age of one year, it is natural for
him to be very curious. The best thing that you can do is to train
*yourself* to keep him away from anything that will hurt him. That is,
make sure he can't climb or jump onto anything so high that he will
hurt himself if he falls down. Protect him from any dangers in your
house. Always be aware of things that could hurt him--keep him away
from those. And block places that he should not go. On the FML we call
it "ferret-proofing" and it's a never-ending job. It's also a good idea
to keep him out of your kitchen as he could get caught and injured
under any appliance that is not closed off, and out of the utility room
so he doesn't get into your washer or dryer with disasterous results.

Frankly, he sounds like a pretty typical young ferret. They are
characteristically extremely curious and adventurous. The original
animal they were bred from--the European Polecat--is also very curious.
That's how the original species survives. That curiosity is how they
find food.

Wired weasels do eventually slow down when they get older--maybe at
the age of five or six (LOL!). In the meantime, give him toys and safe
places to investigate and play in, and enjoy watching his natural
curiosity. Sorry I can't give you any training tips. Ferrets are not
for everyone; just for those people who can laugh while searching for
the stashed socks and keys, and chuckle while rescuing their pet from
the top of the curtain rod for the fiftieth time!

Melodyt and the terrific three

-- 
Melody Tomaszewicz
Holdings Record Maintenance Team Leader
New Brunswick Libraries
Distributed Technical Services
Rutgers University
Email: [log in to unmask]
Phone:  (732) 445-3856 ext. 313

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"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines."

[Posted in FML 5631]