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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2016 21:57:53 GMT -5
So question. This is new to me. I always thought you scruffed gently when they bit. What do you do instead? Put them up? May a sharp yelp? I can see these two ways working better than scruffing as Ferrets are social, they dont want to be away from you. The sharp yelp, may surprise them and they don't want to hurt you. Is this what y'all do? Just trying to make sure before I get my new kit.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2016 22:12:45 GMT -5
I used scruffing as a technique with my ferrets from the pet store and it was very effective as for the one i got from the private breeder not so much. so it all depends on the temperament of the ferret you get. The boy i got it took one scruff and that was it he never bit again for my girl it took a few times. As for the one i got from the private breeder she still gets nippy when she is playing a lot and forgets that i'm not her sister and don't have tough skin like she does! You just have to go through trial and error and see what works best. But never hit or tap your ferret on the nose when they bite its the worst thing you can do!hope that helps a bit.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2016 22:19:40 GMT -5
I never scruff unless it's for medical purposes. I don't want them to think they are being punished at the vets when they have to go in. For biting I always use the sin bin (time outs). I'm dealing with a biter now who took a nice chunk out of my hand. I don't scruff, mostly because he's a fear biter, so I'm working on trust building.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2016 22:27:08 GMT -5
Pet store ferrets are different than breeder ferrets. If you get a ferret from a reputable breeder, they don't have the biting issues that I've encountered with pet store ferrets. Think about it... Pet store ferrets are ripped away from mom too young, taken to the vet for surgeries, and end up in pet stores that usually have no clue how to properly care for them. That's a lot of trauma at a young age! So I never punish for bad behavior. I may use the sin bin (timeout) but for the most part I do trust building. I've had bad biters, out for blood, and once they felt safe the biting stopped.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2016 22:30:58 GMT -5
I'm looking for all options before I get my Kits. So all opinions are helpful. Thanks
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2016 22:34:09 GMT -5
I don't scruff because I don't want them to view it as a punishment because there are times such as medical that it is needed and I don't want them to think they are being punished. We have a time out carrier but no more than a couple of minutes.
My Lillybug was a severe biter, she use to latch on and grind down till I'd feel it in my bone. It was absolute h*ll in fact way back when I was here before I posted a picture of my swollen hand. She had been abused and where I got her they did a lot of nose thumping which is very very wrong, please never do that. It caused her to hate hands, she would actively seek hands out to bite.
Anyway, in her case the time out bin didn't work. It took nearly two years of me just sucking it up and loving her through it. In her case it wasn't normal kit behavior, for her it was a matter of learning that my hands weren't the enemy.
The sin bin is very effective with persistence in all my other cases and it works very quickly.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2016 22:41:36 GMT -5
I couldn't agree more, libbyw. I have dealt with biters (one I got the guy actually hit her in the face in front of me!). I teach mine hands are for loving and I think trust based trainning goes much further than 'fear' based training. I only scruff for medical stuff. I was lucky to have my first ferret when he was 3 years and he's been a big teacher on litter box training and helping the biters become non biters.
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Post by javachip on Mar 1, 2016 23:32:56 GMT -5
Pet store ferrets are different than breeder ferrets. If you get a ferret from a reputable breeder, they don't have the biting issues that I've encountered with pet store ferrets. Think about it... Pet store ferrets are ripped away from mom too young, taken to the vet for surgeries, and end up in pet stores that usually have no clue how to properly care for them. That's a lot of trauma at a young age! So I never punish for bad behavior. I may use the sin bin (timeout) but for the most part I do trust building. I've had bad biters, out for blood, and once they felt safe the biting stopped. My two were from a pet store and are the sweetest ferrets never bite once and love everyone they meet
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2016 0:07:13 GMT -5
Pet store ferrets are different than breeder ferrets. If you get a ferret from a reputable breeder, they don't have the biting issues that I've encountered with pet store ferrets. Think about it... Pet store ferrets are ripped away from mom too young, taken to the vet for surgeries, and end up in pet stores that usually have no clue how to properly care for them. That's a lot of trauma at a young age! So I never punish for bad behavior. I may use the sin bin (timeout) but for the most part I do trust building. I've had bad biters, out for blood, and once they felt safe the biting stopped. My two were from a pet store and are the sweetest ferrets never bite once and love everyone they meet One pet store where I live gets a lot of business because they have happy ferrets. But unfortunately there are two pet stores who are irrespe amd have unhappy, aggressive ferrets and it's sad. I won't support those stores and won't spend a dime in them but my husband is a sucker and he brought babies home but I love them.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2016 0:08:17 GMT -5
Irresponsible and have unhappy ferrets, don't know what's wrong with my phone. Lol
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2016 0:37:03 GMT -5
I only scruff mine during punishment when that's the only part of them I can grab (mine like to nip and hide so I can't put them in time out). Time out is just a cat carrier. Make sure the carrier is completely empty and boring, and leave them in for 2 minutes at a time (any longer, they forget what they're in there for).
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Post by Heather on Mar 2, 2016 0:40:32 GMT -5
I don't use scruffing except for medical purposes. I've dealt with too many biters to even consider this. If you find yourself with a breeder's kit, it's a good method to get yourself at odds with your ferret right away. If my girls were scruffed as a discipline they'd turn around and bite you for your troubles. They're easily offended. This is Lady Merida, she's a 2 yr old poley/hybrid jill. She's never been scruffed, she's a spoiled brat. She knows if she's been naughty, she can tell by your voice. When she was a kit she learned that she got ignored if she was naughty or nippy. For a kit that is a terrible thing....to be ignored and excluded from play. It only takes a minute or two. She's never seen the inside of the sin bin. She's a very sweet wee thing On the other hand there is her father, who knows all about the sin bin. His favourite game is biting the dog. He gets 3 minutes in the bin. It only took 2 evenings to teach him that biting the dog was not part of the game plan. He wasn't scruffed since he's come to live here over 4 yrs ago. He's a brat, I won't deny it. Like many hobs, though he loves his humans to bits, he also likes to steal and stash his people. All I have to do is bring the sin bin upstairs for him to go grumbling off to his man cave to sulk. Ferrets are very smart and scruffing isn't necessary to get your point across. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2016 0:42:51 GMT -5
Heather, those are such great pictures!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2016 7:57:29 GMT -5
Freaking hilarious, lol
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2016 8:18:14 GMT -5
I don't scruff for punishment. I'm not good at it and don't like the idea so like Heather I prefer to use a time out. Two minutes in an empty carrier and using the same words like"No Bite' works for me. Most Females in particular do not like scruffing at all. They only get angrier.
Ferrets only have one way to communicate and that's with their mouth. Ferrets teach each other not to play too rough by walking away when someone is playing too rough.
You also want to learn the difference between fear biting and simply getting overexcited while playing. You can walk away but come back after two minutes and resume play. They simply don't know that our skin is not as tough as theirs is and it's just a matter of working with them and building a bond.
Kits tend to get overexcited so if your potential new one is nipping try playing with a cat teaser toy or waggle a blanket at them and let them have a blanket ride. They need to play and they need to learn social skills.
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