Recently I've noticed a number of questions regarding leash training, and particularly how tight collars should be made. I use the double-looping kitten collars on my two monstors: first loop around neck, second behind shoulders with buckle and stem(?) (what do you call the pointey part of a belt buckle anyway?). My collars are nylon and the stirrup for the leash is located where the two loops intersect. At first I make the loops firm, i.e. touching the fur... not pressing the skin, but not enough room for my little finger to slide between either loop and the animal's fur. At this point I secure the stem in the hole that best maintains the spacing I just mentioned. Then I let the animal loose (in the living room) and when he or she manages to extradite itself from the harness, I put it on again, this time going one hole further on the collar, and mark the hole with a pen. At this point both Martha & Snowball would fold front paws back to their sides and slide around on the carpet by pushing with their hind legs (Oh dad, you're killing me!). If I give in and loosen the collar one hole, like Houdini, both are out of the collar in less than 30 seconds. So, the marked hole becomes my choice. Within five minutes of being outside in the grass (or snow at this time of year) and intrigued with all the wonderful aromas not found in the house, they're off and running on their leashes as if nothing was attached and the "Oh dad, you're killing me" routine is quickly forgotten in favor of "Oh neat! What's this... that... what's over there?" etc. In other words, the little beasties are smart and will do a very convincing act to get you to release the restraints. Common sense finally told me that a mere quarter inch difference in collar hole positions could not cause death in Houdini. And the kids, once convinced that dad was not going to fall for the act, decided there were more fun things to explore. If your ferrets are still growing, of course you'll have to adjust the holes from time to time... but once they're used to the collars, leashing-up is a recognized signal that dad's taking us somewhere neat, and they actually sit very still for the process in great anticipation of another trip to Ferret Freeway. And speaking of beasties being smart, can anyone top this (I know a lot of you can, but I want to read it & chuckle!)? Martha, when I allow her in the living room, loves to jump up on the love seat, burrow beneath the seat cushions, and disappear into the piece of furniture. She weighs little more than a pound and can easily jump from the floor onto the love seat. Snowball, on the other hand, weighs 4+ pounds, and 'fatso' just can't make the 18" leap without falling back onto the carpet. I might add here that the love seat is covered in a leather-like vinyl. He'll jump and fall, jump and fall, jump and fall... for up to 20 minutes at a time, determined to follow Martha to her secret hiding place. His claws just can't get a grip in the vinyl. He'll try the center, the right side, and then the left side of the love seat, constantly looking for an easier access. It's hilarious to watch as sometimes he nearly makes it only to slide off onto the carpet again. One day he discovered the throw pillows on the left end of the love seat and in his jumping process, managed to sink his teeth into one of the throw pillows in an attempt to anchor himself. As he fell back onto the carpet, the throw pillow followed with him, as did the smaller throw pillow that was atop of it. The pillows landed on top of Snowball and after he crawled out from under them, he realized he now had a ladder (the pillows landed nicely against the love seat), which he quickly ascended to his goal! Since then, he doesn't bother with the rest of the small sofa. He knows the throw pillows are always located at the left end, and that is where he always makes his first jump. Unfortunately, the pillows do not always land right next to the love seat when he yanks them down. Occasionally, they've landed as far as three feet away. No problem for Snowball. He picks them up, carries them over to the edge of the sofa, and then climbs up as if it was the simplest thing in the world. Now after all of that, how could I possibly stop him from exploring the innards of the furniture? Last item: a question. I've noticed many of you do fancy artwork in your signatures using <<<s, ^^^s, ///s, etc. When I download FML, none of these lines ever lines up, yet I assume if they did, I would have a picture. Am I missing something here that everyone else is getting?? Lee Donehower Omaha NE [Posted in FML issue 1105]