Re: Corporal punishment
 
Since every animal is an individual (no different in that respect then
humans), it is obvious that the type of and quantity of reward/punishment
must vary.  Because of this, I don't think it is truly fair for anyone to
judge anyone else's reward and punishment techniques so long as those
techniques are reasonable and non-injurious.
 
My training experiences......
 
We have four ferrets.  What works for one, in regards to punishment, doesn't
always work for another.  The biggest punishment for Squirt and Pippi is
"time out" (in the cage).  They hate it and I've never found it necessary
to scruff either of them since we were first teaching no-nipping to them.
(I haven't "time out"ed them in a very long time either.)
 
Atlas and Hijinx are two very different stories.  We got them when they were
3-4 months old and they had zero socialization.  In fact, they had even
worse then zero socialization, they bit often out of fear.  It's been a long
road with those two.
 
Time out doesn't work with Atlas.  He likes the cage and sleeps in it
voluntarily.  From day one, he wouldn't let us touch him and he bit the crap
out of us whenever we tried.  I got a lot of bites, including a finger chomp
to the bone.  Nose flicking and scruffing didn't make a dent in it at all.
Hissing and scolding were also useless.  Since I noticed I could touch Atlas
while he was lapping up ferretone, I decided to try to get him used to being
touched then.  Daily we did this.  In the beginning, if I was to dimwitted
not to notice when Atlas was nearly done, I would get a chomp - like the
finger chomp I mentioned.  Days, weeks, and months went by.  He got better,
slowly, but better.  About a year ago, he actually started asking to be
picked up - only for a few seconds mind you.  But he wanted to be touched.
About six months ago, he started playing with us.  Up until that point, you
couldn't play with him.  He would just get scared and would bite you.  Now
you can pick him up, play with him, and so on.  He still tries to bite
occasionally, but a quick scruff or a raised voice reminds him that is
unacceptable.  (He either pouts after being scolded or tries to entice play
in efforts to make up it.)
 
Atlas isn't a real bright ferret.  He learns really slowly.  This made the
whole process even slower.  But now that we've finally gotten past the fear,
he's a happier ferret and we're happier too.  I've noticed he even deals
with the other ferrets better too.
 
Jinx was faster and easier.  She responded to nose flicks and scruffs when
she got too far out of line.  (She wasn't as big of a meathead as her
brother Atlas.) Being our loner ferret, after awhile she bonded strongly to
me - even though she bit me almost exclusively.  I gave her lots of petting
and cuddling when she wasn't biting and a flick or scruff when she was.
Actually ignoring her was and is the worst punishment for her.  Her frequent
nasty chomps turned into occasional nips for attention.  I'll never get her
past all the nips.  She likes to bite things too much.  She bites cardboard
and other things just to put holes in it.  We call her the "perferator".
 
While all had their different punishments, one thing is the same.  Reward is
universally accepted.  While every training system needs both negative and
positive reinforcement, the positive goes a heck of alot farther then the
negative.  It did with our ferrets.  Praise, treats, cuddles, and petting
all got us father along in training then time out, scruffing, and scolding
did and does.  My personal suggestion is to punish unacceptable behavior,
but put more energy into rewarding good behavior.  I think you'll be happier
with the results.
 
Re: MF
 
Thanks, Sukie, for the one of the most intelligent and well written posts I
have ever seen on the MF issue in the FML.  I hope people read your post and
take the commentary and suggestions to heart.  While emotion can drive us
far, it is calm dedication, reason, and hard work that will really improve
the practices at all large breeders and farms - ferret or not.
 
-kim, squirt (peel me a grape!), pippi (what?!  he's getting a grape?!  I
want one too!), atlas (yuck!), and jinx (just like "mikey", she'll eat
anything!)
 
Kimberly Burkard     |             _    Everything I needed to know in life,
Eastman Kodak Company|      _____C .._. I learned from my ferret:
Rochester, New York  | ____/     \___/  Frolic and dance for joy often, have
[log in to unmask]    |<____/\_---\_\    no fear or worries, and enjoy life.
[Posted in FML issue 2356]