>If there is linatone close by and I can get to it, or someone else can then >we dribble linatone in front of them. NO, we aren't rewarding them for >biting - WE are gaining their trust that WE as humans are not going to hurt >them. Oh - this is so true! I agree 100% about giving treats & linatone when bite training. This is the one fullproof way that we've stopped biters from biting. Each time you approach them, each time you pick them up, each time they bite and won't let go, give them a drop of linatone. For some reason, it does not encourage them to bite. Instead it associates good things & licking with people. (it sometimes can take a long time - sometimes several weeks). Once, I tried to stop a biter by putting bitter apple on my hands. It worked for the first time he tried to bite me, he backed off and coughed, but he recovered quickly and this time came back fiercely in order to bite the nasty hand even harder... Another thing that I wonder if others have noticed with recovered biters: it seems to me that recovered biters are even less likely to bite than a normal ferret - even when playing with other ferrets. We know it is natural when ferrets get together that they nip at each other and wrestle and roll around on the floor, chase each other, drag each other around by the neck, cluck and hiss and generally have a ball. I have noticed with our recovered biters they have a completely different way of "play fighting". They bounce, and chase and roll around like the others but they NEVER bite, not even to playfully drag someone around. Instead they put their head down to the floor and sort of headbutt their opponent, or they will lower their head and walk sideways, kind of shoulder the other ferret, or jump on top of the other and hold him down - but won't bite! It's very interesting to me. I've noticed this style of fighting with another ferret we have that is not a biter really except she just had a biting problem with one of the newcomer baby ferrets where she was dangerously rough. She didnt like the new baby ferret at all and bit her and bit her and bit her. So we kept them separated for some time hoping the situation would improve. But, it didnt. That's when we started our linatone counseling sessions. We would dribble linatone so that they would have to lick each others tongues. The biting stopped after several counseling sessions - i guess she associated the new ferret with good things and licking. And now when these two fight playfully, the older one who had to kind of give up her throne NEVER bites - but does head butt and shoulder... It's almost like she is saying to herself "I want to bite you. I could bite you. I could, but I am too good for biting. I will control myself. I will put my head down and shoo you away but you can't make me bite you". She still playfully bites other ferrets - but not the one she went through counseling with. These guys are such interesting creatures. charlene [Posted in FML issue 2137]