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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2012 2:43:34 GMT -5
I made this video because it seems like more often than not, when I mention that my ferrets are raw fed, everyone jumps to the conclusion that I have vicious beasts living in a cage.
I mess with Alice and Cooper while they're eating. I have only ever been bitten once, and it was entirely my fault. My hands smelled like food.
Yes they hiss, yes they scream, but no, they are not vicious. No, they do not attack one another (or me) over their food. They're not food aggressive, or any kind of aggressive due to what they eat.
Feel free to pass this video around if you'd like, since people still seem to think that an animal's diet can make them vicious.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2012 2:50:05 GMT -5
Awesome video, very educational for people who ask that question  Your kids look really healthy and happy, and SO excited about their food!!  I like to show people this video to show that eating raw meat doesn't make them bite or become vicious. It's raw hamburger I'm feeding him, from my hands, and it's all over my fingers, and I didn't get bit A ferret might make a mistake, sure, but if they did, that's all it would be, a mistake! They have no desire to eat your flesh or hurt you just because they eat raw meat ;D They don't start eating each other after all ;D |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2012 6:15:52 GMT -5
amen ;D great videos
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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2012 8:28:45 GMT -5
I no longer hand-feed Cooper. When he missed once, he did NOT let go. I had to pry him off. It wasn't aggression of any sort - he thought it was food and he did with it what he does to all the food he eats. Bites and tries to rip chunks off. Unfortunately, my finger happens to be made of the same stuff he eats, so the texture was probably similar. OUCH.  No blame on his part though. Just bad mouth/finger placement, haha. |
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Post by Sherry on Jul 4, 2012 9:37:56 GMT -5
Both great videos. And konotashi- I'm willing to bet that now he's more experienced with his raw he won't make that mistake a second time  One of our worst biters could easily be hand fed bits of raw meat. She was so gentle as long as you didn't actually try to touch her while feeding. She was a fear biter and terrified of hands. |
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Post by Heather on Jul 4, 2012 11:32:13 GMT -5
I defy some people to put their hands in a bowl of kibbles when their dog is eating....now you might just loose your hands then   I've picked up my ferrets with food in their mouth and moved them to another location. I've taken it from their mouth....I'm more likely to be bitten by one of the cats than my ferrets  ciao |
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Post by kpaz on Jul 4, 2012 11:55:32 GMT -5
I hand feed them all the time. I should make a video. I'm lucky enough that mine don't screech and fight over food. Ellie would always try to steal Pippin's food, and that was the only time I'd ever hear him hiss. It was very softly though, and that's about the extent of it.
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Post by goingpostal on Jul 4, 2012 15:03:20 GMT -5
The only carnivore in the house that's aggressive about her meals is my cat, I had to chase her up and down my house once trying to get back a mouse she wasn't supposed to have. The ferrets don't seem to care and I've taken all sorts of things back out of my dogs mouths, Ripley tried to help herself to a burrito along the road on a walk recently and I had to take it away since her drop it isn't 100% yet. ;D
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Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2012 8:33:08 GMT -5
We only have one food aggressive animal in the house, and that's Gracie, our pit bull. She's not food aggressive with us, just the other dogs. When we first brought her in as a foster, I sat with her food bowl in my lap, petting her. I can take her food or mess with her while she's eating, but we have to feed her separately from all the other dogs. When I got my Pom, I wouldn't deal with food/resource guarding, so when he was eating, I'd mess with him, take it away, give it back, pick pieces out and pretend to eat them.... Needless to say, he's not food aggressive at all.  |
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Post by Sherry on Jul 5, 2012 8:42:03 GMT -5
I'd mess with him, take it away, give it back, pick pieces out and pretend to eat them.... That's what we did with our staffie when she was a baby. If she so much as growled she lost access to the dish for a minute or so. After a month or so, the cats could come up to her dish with no problems. When Watson was a tiny baby we frequently found him sitting in her dish while she was eating ;D Mind you- all animals here at that time were kibble fed  |
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Post by goingpostal on Jul 5, 2012 9:09:03 GMT -5
When I got my Pom, I wouldn't deal with food/resource guarding, so when he was eating, I'd mess with him, take it away, give it back, pick pieces out and pretend to eat them.... Needless to say, he's not food aggressive at all. This actually can backfire big time on dogs who guard as you are reinforcing their fear perfectly, that people take their food away. Same thing with people who punish growling, you are taking away their warning which can lead to biting first. My male pit bull was food aggressive and we dealt with it by making us around his dish a fabulous thing, we threw treats at him, once he was alright with us getting closer we dropped them in his dish, then grab the dish and put yummy meat in, give it right back, all the dogs stop and look forward to me coming up to them while they eat or have chews because I always mean great things occur. Although most of the time they are left to eat in peace and I demand the same respect while I eat. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2012 12:53:12 GMT -5
People can really be ignorant. Considering the majority of dogs cats and ferrets are kibble fed how do they explain away the multitude of bites from kibble crunchers? Not one of my ferrets has ever exhibited food protectiveness with me. Between each other, yes, but never with me. I can put my hand amongst their entire plate of raw food and even take their chosen morsel away from them and never has anyone ever offered to bite!
Many have come to me as former kibble crunchers with some severe biting habits but soon after converting to raw and with kind handling biting has become a thing of the past!
While I know several folks on the forum pin their raw to the cage and it can help them build up neck and shoulder muscles, it also can encourage prolonged protective behavior. Especially if they cannot remove the morsel and hide in a den or box to eat it. You may want to consider instead of pinning it, simply tucking it between the bars so the ferret can tug to remove it and gets the reward of being able to take it to a place of their choosing to eat it. Its perfectly OK to make them work for their dinner, but they need successful rewards for their efforts too.
Here's an old video of Josie eating raw from my hand, pulling at it then getting the reward of ownership of her morsel.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2012 15:15:59 GMT -5
When I got my Pom, I wouldn't deal with food/resource guarding, so when he was eating, I'd mess with him, take it away, give it back, pick pieces out and pretend to eat them.... Needless to say, he's not food aggressive at all. This actually can backfire big time on dogs who guard as you are reinforcing their fear perfectly, that people take their food away. Same thing with people who punish growling, you are taking away their warning which can lead to biting first. My male pit bull was food aggressive and we dealt with it by making us around his dish a fabulous thing, we threw treats at him, once he was alright with us getting closer we dropped them in his dish, then grab the dish and put yummy meat in, give it right back, all the dogs stop and look forward to me coming up to them while they eat or have chews because I always mean great things occur. Although most of the time they are left to eat in peace and I demand the same respect while I eat. I'd always give it right back to him. I never took it away for more than 10 seconds. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2012 18:14:31 GMT -5
I hand feed all my girls. I've had my entire hand covered in blood, soup, etc and never been bitten. My kids are not very protective of food (they don't really steal from each other, they take 'turns' at the food bowl usually.).
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Post by silverben on Jul 14, 2012 11:42:50 GMT -5
If you want to see aggressive eaters, try feeding horses. And they're herbivores!
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