A growing body of evidence has shown humans derive significant benefit from their interactions with animals, the most significant being increased lifespan, decreased blood pressure, lowered pulse, and decreased risk of stroke and heart disease. Additionally, pet interactions have been shown to decrease the chance of mental deterioration. The positive attributes of human-pet interactions are not a one-way street; our pets derive major benefit from them as well. Mutual enrichments are simply those that cause a major interaction between the pet owner and the ferret, such as that which occurs during grooming, training, extended play, explorative activities (walks in the woods, exploring the shoreline, etc.), and when nursing a ferret during an illness. The common thread relating these varied events is a strong human-ferret interaction. The interaction is mutual, as are the benefits. Training ferrets seems to be oxymoron; how can you train an animal who's only desire seems to be pushing the limits of the concept of "free spirit"? However, ferrets are not only intelligent, they are slaves to their desires for treats, so training is not only simple, but will proceed quickly once the ferret understands what it is you want them to do. One important thing to understand for the ferret owner is that training IS NOT necessarily the ferrets performing tricks, like rolling over, or standing up. Ferrets are quite capable of such tricks (most of mine will perform them on command), but training can include potentially life-saving "tricks" as physically responding to a specific sound (useful in house fires or escapes to the outdoors). Training ferrets really only requires time, treats and consistent interaction, and there are several magazine articles, FML posts, and even a book that discusses how to train ferrets (the reader is referred to those sources for specific training techniques). Whistles, clicks and squeaks have far more value in training ferrets than either voice or visual commands. Part of this reason is because ferrets evolved as solitary hunters, and therefore have a limited communication "vocabulary." For example, dogs use a combination of visual (tail position, tooth exposure, body posture), olfactory (seasonal and personal scents), and vocal (barks, whimpers, growls) clues to communicate to each other. Ferrets use the same "vocabulary", but differently. Because ferrets are domesticated polecats that evolved as same-sex territorial exclusionists, vocal messages are limited in value compared to olfactory (or even visual) communications. It is not that ferrets are "too dumb" to listen to voice commands, it is just that they tend to speak an olfactory language rather than an auditory one. Also, it is possible, based on the range of sound frequencies discernable by the ferret's ear, that SOME of ferret vocalizations MAY be beyond the ability of the human ear to detect. Ferrets can hear better than cats, dogs, and humans, probably so they can be better hunters in a burrowing environment, but it is certainly possible ferrets can make and detect auditory communications ferret owners have no way of detecting (this could be a reason why some ferrets have such a strong reaction to squeaky toys and crying babies- -they hear something we don't). The bottom line is that ferrets have a simplistic auditory communications system compared to humans and dogs, so ferret owners can garner better results when using basic sounds rather than complex verbal commands. For example, use a unique whistle when giving treats, a clicker for trick commands, a slide whistle before going on a walk, and a squeaky toy for dinner calls. Once you have the ferret trained to the sound, THEN you can use visual signals to communicate to the ferret what you want them to do. For example, I make a series of clicks when I want my ferrets to roll over or stand up, but I use a hand signal so they know WHICH trick should be performed (the "roll over" command is a few clicks, followed by my hand making rolling movements, while the "stand up" command is the same clicks, followed by my hand held above their eye level). Bob C [Posted in FML issue 4223]