Training not to bite.. am I doing this right?

[Deleted]

So Sophie is a little nipper, and a sock thief (tries to bite my socks and pull them right off my feet) and a toe biter (I thought taking off my socks would fix the aforementioned problem, but no) and a random jump up and latch onto your arm biter

So everytime either one of them tries to bite me or latchs on I scruff them and very sternly say NO! Wait until they relax and yawn, giving into to me, and then they are allowed to be unscruffed and go back to playtime.

If that isn't working, like when Sophie decided to jump all over me and bite every piece of skin I had showing, I put her in an empty hard-sided cat kennel facing the wall and let her have a "time-out" until she settles down, then let her back out to play. If she goes back to biting me, she goes back on time-out, until she comes out of the carrier and doesn't bite me.

Now I know that you are suppose to praise for good behaviour, rather than punish for bad behaviour... but how do I praise them for not biting? Other than saying "good girl"... should I give treats? I don't even have treats... umm what are the best kinds of "training" treats?

[Heather]

I used clicker training with Mad Max. I would think that you can do this with any ferret but he was weirdly smart, so it worked for him. I'm not using much treats at all with Minion, just a lot of love and handling. Napoleon didn't respond to treats, so timeouts and lots of handling, even when he didn't want to be handled (I just kept it very short when he was in one of "those" moods). I've used gibbies with Minion, sliced very thin. Fun-Go won't take treats, he bites that hand that offers it. So, for him being ignored is the worse thing possible and just being acknowledged is reward. Each ferret has required slightly different reinforcement. It's just a few of the methods I've used.
ciao

[Deleted]

Both of my kits when I first brought them home were real nippy the first week or so. After they realized they were going to be sticking around for awhile, they quit biting.

I know you just got them, so my advice is.. keep doing what you're doing, handle them lots, but give them a few days to adjust before labeling them as biters.

[Sherry]

I found 2-3 minute time outs worked well for most of mine. But no longer than that. At their age, I think even 1-2 minutes would be enough. Otherwise, they forget why they're in the carrier ;D

[fearless]

Yeah I'd say you're doing it right. Time outs are the best route, scruff, tell them no, then time out.

As for treats, most on the market are high in sugar and really arn't healthy for them. I know some feed N-bones, I hear they are better, some just hand feed a piece of kibble and they think it's a treat.

[Deleted]

Just keep up with the time outs. Keep them short and simple, be consistent.

[Deleted]

Awesome, thanks guys!

I was only keeping the time outs at 1-2 minutes because they do have a very short attention span and you're right they would forget why they were in there.

I'm definitely not labelling them as biters, just nippy kits haha. They are getting better at not biting already though so I'm pretty sure they will learn fairly quick.

That would be awesome to have a clicker trained ferret! Not sure if my girls are that smart.. and I'm still not sure if they are deaf or not, but I might just give it a try and see what happens.

Kibble as treats sounds like a perfect idea. Little chunks of freeze-dried would probably work great too, I'm going to pick some up later today hopefully.

Thanks for the input!

[miamiferret2]

I am no one to give advice. we currently have a 4 --5 a.m. toe/sock biter and we've totally given up. we just wrap ourselves tightly in our blankets like burritos (wrapped like mummies) and pray that he can't find a weakspot. he goes around our whole bodies poking around to see if he can get his head in somewhere so that he can attack our legs and our feet.

[Sherry]

Can we say "spoiled" miamiferret ;D

[Deleted]

Here are some suggestions:



1. Pick the ferret up gently but firmly by the scruff and say "NO" loudly each time the ferret tries to nip.

2. Drag your ferret by the scruff for a short distance on a soft carpet or bed. Ferrets do this to each other to show dominance. You are teaching your pet that you are the alpha ferret.

3.Do not give up. This ferret needs more attention from you.

4. Some people like to spray their hands with bitter apple extract to discourage nipping. I find that this stuff upsets my ferret stomachs, causes some funky poop. So I don't use this stuff.

5. Do not quit giving a nipping ferret attention. They need more attention, not less.

6. Cuddle your ferret and talk constantly in a gentle, soothing voice.

7. Never play using your hands, always use a toy.

8. Time out cage - I like to use a carrier, not their regular cage.

Toes and legs:

This is what I do. Watch your ferret's body language. Once you see him/her coming towards your feet. Take you're finger and wave it in front of him, at the same time
tell him/her no. Then immediately turn his/her attention to something else. What I do is turn them over on their back and tickle their belly. Then I chase after them and make a game out of it. "Don't you bit mommie! This works for us.

Goal is to turn the behavior to a positive one, not a negative behavior.


I hope this helps

[Deleted]

Wow miamiferret sounds like you got a naughty bunch there!


Thanks wenmister! That was an awesome list! I am trying some of them right now as they are attacking my feet, and they are working so far!

[Deleted]

;D I actually told my new girl Allie that she would go BACK into the cage if she bit me again - they have free run of my bedroom - the next night no biting (I had her for 2 days ). She did get in the bed a few times - she is new and needs to learn my schedule. It amazes me how smart they are.