>From: Sheena Staples <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: How to make a biting ferret let go It looks like you have a grip on the biters. I have had 2 biters, and have broken them both of that habit. I want to note first, that ferrets are more prone to biting the first few days after adoption. A new owner, new enviornment, new playmates, etc make for a fairly confused ferret. However, some just bite. There are 3 things that I do to get a ferret to not only release, but to stop biting altogether: 1: I start with a very loud "NO" about 2" from their face. This seems to work for the majority of the young ferrets. When I say loud, I mean LOUD. 2: Flick thier nose: I good nose flick with my finger is another effective method of getting a ferret to release. Very few ferrets enjoy the flick, and therefore let go. 3: Jam method: and finally, for those ferrets that are absolutely insistent on maintaining their chomp on my finger and the other methods do not work, I push the chomped on finger even further into their mout towards the corner of their jaw. Sooner or later the pressure becomes very unpleasant and the ferret releases. He also remembers the taste of the finger and the unpleasant feeling of it being jammed into the corner of his jaw. And one final note for those that have "Toe biters". Having my toe bitten was extremely painful. By the time I could react, Buford have my toe bleeding and was running off. Well, I broke him of that habit by wearing my shoes for a while, and everytime he bit the shoes, I wacked him with a fly swatter. He now comes up and sniffs my feets and runs the other way. Hope this helps you out. Dave Smith http://kode.net/~dsmith Along with the crew of "Loosewire, Lucy, Spice, Buford and Bear" [Posted in FML issue 1764]