|
Biting
Feb 18, 2012 16:13:09 GMT -5
Post by alex on Feb 18, 2012 16:13:09 GMT -5
My ferret is biting me, but it doesnt hurt. I cant tell if she is playing or trying to hurt. I dont want to punish her for doing it but i dont know if im suppose to. I dont want to if shes just playing but then again later on i dont want her to think biting is okay. (shes 9 weeks old)
|
|
|
Biting
Feb 18, 2012 16:21:24 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2012 16:21:24 GMT -5
Marshall kits are known for this. When she bites you need to make a noise and pull your hand away as if it hurt. This will show her that it is not a good thin to do. If she reacts and walks away, give her a treat. If she continues, grab her by the scruff and firmly but not loudly, say NO. Make an angry face.
|
|
|
Biting
Feb 18, 2012 16:23:59 GMT -5
Post by alex on Feb 18, 2012 16:23:59 GMT -5
Okay so when we hand wrestle she shouldnt bite me at all right? Sometimes its not a hard bite at all, so im just making sure i dont punish her if she doesnt do anything wrong.
|
|
|
Biting
Feb 18, 2012 16:58:34 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2012 16:58:34 GMT -5
Hang on though... You say she bites you but it doesn't hurt? If she wanted it to hurt, it would hurt! Ferrets have very strong jaws. Even baby ferrets can crunch up bones with their teeth. If they want to hurt you, then by golly you will get hurt! My point is, she is probably just playing. Ferrets play with their mouths, their mouth is how they interact with their world. Plus, she's so young, she's at an age where they play and bite a lot during play. If she's not hurting you, and if it doesn't bother you, I wouldn't punish her for it. It's up to you though what amount of biting you are willing to allow. Most Marshall ferrets are pretty gentle. You said she's not hurting you, that makes me think she is just trying to play, and at this age, I think she is doing pretty well if that's all she does, it's natural for them to be very bitey at this age. She will probably do it less as she gets older, but you can start teaching her now how much is allowed. If I were you I would decide how much biting you are willing to allow, and focus on just making sure she learns not to bite TOO hard. They just need to understand that human skin is more fragile than another ferret, so when they play with you they need to be more gentle. More details would help so we can suggest some of the many methods for teaching her what's acceptable and what's not!
|
|
|
Biting
Feb 18, 2012 17:02:40 GMT -5
Post by Sherry on Feb 18, 2012 17:02:40 GMT -5
It's up to you. I do allow some mouthing as long as it's not hard. If it hurts, I give a sharp "yipe" which let's them know it hurts. Pulling your hand away is NOT a good idea. Ferret's teeth are sharpest on the INSIDE. They are meant to grab and hold onto prey. And by pulling your hand away you may just create a tear where there wouldn't have been one before. You might also trigger the prey instinct which will make them bite harder. If she continues to bite hard after that first yip, you can use time outs. Small empty cat carrier for no longer than 3 minutes. They very quickly learn that biting = boredom. I no longer scruff because I've had both revenge biters and fear biters. With the first, it just makes them angry and they will tantrum and try to bite anywhere they can sink their teeth in. The second are doing it from fear and punishment simply reinforces this. Now, you girl isn't doing either of these, but it's a good idea to get into practice for if you do come across a ferret who fits these characteristics at some point
|
|
|
Biting
Feb 18, 2012 17:06:14 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2012 17:06:14 GMT -5
...Pulling your hand away is NOT a good idea. Ferret's teeth are sharpest on the INSIDE. They are meant to grab and hold onto prey. And by pulling your hand away you may just create a tear where there wouldn't have been one before.... Sherry really knows what she's talking about! I have experienced this fact myself. When my boy Finn was a baby, sometimes he would bite, and the bite wasn't hard enough to break the skin or even hurt, but it surprised me so I sort of flinched and pulled away, and his teeth were so razor-sharp that pulling away created a cut!
|
|
|
Biting
Feb 18, 2012 20:51:39 GMT -5
Post by Heather on Feb 18, 2012 20:51:39 GMT -5
If your ferret has you....even if they're not biting hard...push in toward the back of their mouth. Be gentle, it doesn't have to be rough. That way you won't get cut. As Sherry said, their teeth are designed to hold prey, if you pull away two things will happen. Your ferret (out of instinct) will grasp harder and you will hurt yourself. A marshals ferret has the weakest jaw strength out of the ferrets I've dealt with but it still hurts and it still can break the skin. A kit of that age is learning what he/she can get way with. They should still be with Momma and sibs, they would be disciplined if they overstepped and bit too hard. I don't believe in scruffing, especially a Marshals. They are usually so sweet anyway that simply using a harness hold and saying no gently putting them down and ending play should be enough. I have to use scruffing to give meds and sometimes soupy to the really sick...I don't want them to think they're bad as well as being sick. I just worked through severe biting with Minion (he's an RC ferret)...he no longer bites (except when he's really scared or playing hard). I used time outs and just walking away. It does take longer but it works very well. Minion is well on his way to being as soft as Napoleon was. ciao
|
|
|
Biting
Feb 18, 2012 21:08:09 GMT -5
Post by alex on Feb 18, 2012 21:08:09 GMT -5
Thanks guys you really help a lot . When we are hand wrestling if she latches on or bites too hard im going to set her in timeout, and your right about scruffing. I dont want to scruff her cuz then when im brushing her teeth or something i dont want her to think she did something wrong.
|
|
|
Biting
Feb 19, 2012 0:53:28 GMT -5
Post by orv420 on Feb 19, 2012 0:53:28 GMT -5
Sometimes a stoppage of play and an audible, "Ow!" will be enough. I wish I could get Zaxx or Tink to grab a finger to play sometimes, but they were flicked for a month before I took over... it worked a bit too well in their case. It depends on how you (and others you allow) play with them. I play as if they were puppies, chewing on everything, and they know what's too hard - wait till they bite on purpose and dook off into a tunnel, the quick 180 means they wanna play and expect to be put on timeout, but.. YOU CAN'T CATCH ME!!!! ...monsters
|
|
|
Biting
Feb 19, 2012 0:55:23 GMT -5
Post by Sherry on Feb 19, 2012 0:55:23 GMT -5
wait till they bite on purpose and dook off into a tunnel, the quick 180 means they wanna play and expect to be put on timeout, but.. YOU CAN'T CATCH ME!!!! . I've been on the receiving end of that one a few times ;D
|
|
|
Biting
Feb 19, 2012 7:12:41 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2012 7:12:41 GMT -5
Play bites are ok, in fact, i love them! Its so cute when they nibble on your hands. Some people discourage play biting be cause they think it will encourage their ferrets to bite outside of play time. If it hurts though, pull your had away and such
|
|
|
Biting
Feb 19, 2012 19:27:31 GMT -5
Post by alex on Feb 19, 2012 19:27:31 GMT -5
I heard that if you scruff them and drag their bottom about 2 feet and hiss they will stop, but would that make them think everytime i scruff them their in trouble?
|
|
|
Biting
Feb 19, 2012 20:16:10 GMT -5
Post by Sherry on Feb 19, 2012 20:16:10 GMT -5
If it hurts though, pull your had away and such See quote below for the response to this: Pulling your hand away is NOT a good idea. Ferret's teeth are sharpest on the INSIDE. I heard that if you scruff them and drag their bottom about 2 feet and hiss they will stop, but would that make them think everytime i scruff them their in trouble? Some do that with babies with effect. I prefer not to personally for the reasons I listed above. You don't want them to start associating scruffing with being in trouble. They might not, but then again- they might. You simply have no way of knowing.
|
|
|
Biting
Feb 19, 2012 20:54:25 GMT -5
Post by Heather on Feb 19, 2012 20:54:25 GMT -5
A scruff and drag is no necessary. If you have an RC, PV or some of the other BYB breeder ferrets you will have problems. Most ferrets treat aggression with aggression. A mother ferret will scruff their little ones up to about 6 or 7 weeks, after that time other methods (ignoring, sharp nip to a total pin down) are the methods used. So, scruffing and dragging are not methods that are even adopted my a mother ferret to her young. Scruffing and dragging are reserved for mating ferrets....the hob will scruff and drag his jill into submission. A jill will retaliate and be very aggressive if she's not ready for her suitor....so to me scruffing and dragging are "not" suitable methods of discipline ciao
|
|
|
Biting
Feb 19, 2012 21:40:38 GMT -5
Post by alex on Feb 19, 2012 21:40:38 GMT -5
Ok thanks. What else could i use i dont have a cat carrier
|
|