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Post by Heather on Mar 13, 2011 22:03:14 GMT -5
Don't wear gloves. Please. It's not an answer. You cannot feel her properly and she cannot feel you. I've seen ferrets actually bite harder when dealing with gloves. Give her time and patience that's the biggest thing here. Consistency and time ciao
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Post by Sherry on Mar 14, 2011 0:11:51 GMT -5
Out of curiosity- I couldn't find what TYPE of biting she's doing. I know it hurts, but is she consistently drawing blood? Are they bone deep bites? Indenting the skin deeply without breaking it? Latching on and not letting go? Or strike and run?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2011 0:26:54 GMT -5
I agree - gloves are not the way to approach this. It will likely make the situation worse. Keep your spirits up, shell learn eventually.
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Post by katt on Mar 14, 2011 4:59:50 GMT -5
Koda was a biter as a kit. He never drew blood but it HURT. And timeouts didn't work for me for multiple reasons. I have to go to bed in a min, but I will try to get on and describe what we did that worked really well a little later tomorrow. Even then it took months. Just keep with whatever method you choose. It may take a while, but she will come around!
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Post by dookdook on Mar 14, 2011 8:59:04 GMT -5
I know from experience with hedgehogs, gloves make things worse, they make the handler stranger and that's scary! Her bite is intended to break the skin, and she usually doesn't let go. It isn't a "playful" bite as I have seen with Dexter, and my old ferret Tanuki, it's a "SCREW YOU!" kind of bite.. Lol. That's the only way I know how to describe it..
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Post by miamiferret2 on Mar 14, 2011 9:19:31 GMT -5
one of my ferrets (the wildest one ever) used to bite the back of my arm (the soft skin) with his sharp little needle teeth. he had the sharpest teeth! and when you'd pull away he would not let go. if you stood up he would clamp his jaws shut and just hang there. so painful. then he'd bite my wrist and shake vigorously as if he wanted to kill me. i shed alot of blood with him. it took months but eventually he became very sweet and lovey dovey with me.
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Post by Sherry on Mar 14, 2011 11:17:57 GMT -5
She sounds like a spunky little thing ;D And yes, I know how much those bites can hurt! Ok, WHEN is she likely to bite you? If she's busy, and you bother her? Taking something away? In other words, what triggers it?
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Post by katt on Mar 15, 2011 4:08:50 GMT -5
Ok so I know my reply is delayed. Sorry. Koda was a pretty bad bier as a kit. NOT to the bone or to draw blood or anything like that, but hard enough that you could see the blood rise up under the skin. And it HURT and he bit and bit and bit. He is an RC ferret. Yours are RC ferrets correct? It is ind of their thing - they are biters. But once you get them out of that they are the sweetest, most devoted furries ever. And waaaaay to intelligent for their own good. With Koda we tried scruffing, we tired time outs, we tried ignoring him, we tried yelling and hissing. None of them seemed to have an effect. Time outs I have a hard time with personally, for multiple reasons. One is I have a hard time being consistent, and two I don't really have a true time out cage. Here is what I found that worked very well for us. Keep in mind, this method is not the best for all ferrets. Every ferret will respond differently, but I found it to be the only thing that seemed to make an impression on Koda. The basic philosophy behind it is that, anytime you react to the bites, you are "training" the ferret that a bite will elicit that reaction. If you use time out sometimes, but others just ignore it - they learn that sometimes they can get away with it. And they sure like taking chances! They key is to be CONSISTENT no matter what method you choose. So say you are wrestling with her on the bed, and she bites you. You put her on the floor and ignore her. You are holding her and she bites you, you set her down also. You just taught her that if she wants to be put down, all she needs to do is bite! She is training you! The Key to this method (other than consistency) is to ALWAYS return to doing EXACTLY what you were dong before the discipline. The method is a Bite Hold. I will post pictures and give a solution to some common problems with this method later. You are pinning the ferret on it's back, with your fingers on each side of it's front legs. You hold them until they submit. It is important to watch carefully and know your ferret, because every ferret is different in their submission, and every ferret does not submit the same way every time. The typical signs are a yawn, licking the lips (is often coupled with a yawn), relaxing and looking off elsewhere, relaxing, and a SIGH. The sigh is most common from what I have heard from other people, and seen in Koda, but keep an eye out for other signs too. The sigh can be VERY small sometimes too, you really have to watch and feel for it. In the beginning it can take several minutes for a submission. At first we would have to wait quite a while for Koda to submit. Now he does it almost instantly. The Instant they submit release them and return to what you were doing. If you were wrestling, then go right back to wrestling like nothing happened. If you were sitting quietly on the bed while doing homework and they nipped your feet, set them back on the bed and go back to doing homework. Especially in the beginning, she will go RIGHT back and try it again. So repeat it again. And again. Until they walk away, go back to wrestling without biting, etc. At first this will seem to take forever. then they begin to learn and respond more and more quickly. Eventually you will go "hey! I don't remember the last time I was bitten!" This can, like other discipline methods, take months to take effect. The same is true of time outs, or anything else you try. Be patient, be consistent. We had great success with this. It was the ONLY thing that seemed to work. Some people do not believe in any kind of submission punishment. But some people have differing views of say spanking kids too. Only this is not so much a physical punishment as spanking. This method in NO way affected the bond between Koda and I. We have a very close bond and always will. But now we can play and he can be mouthy without biting, so we can enjoy rough housing with each other more! Ok so some of people's biggest complaints about the Bite Hold are the following: ferrets scratching up your arm with their back feet, ferrets twisting out of the hold, ferrets using their back legs to help push themselves out of the hold, ferrets going Exorcism-style and spinning their heads around to bite the holder. These are all fairly easily solved. With one hand pin the top of the ferret (see picture in a min) with the other, gently but firmly hold their back legs. They can now no longer scratch you, use their legs for leverage, or twist to get out of the hold or bite your hand. Voila! As they get the idea of the hold, I found that this was less and less necessary. I would always ONLY hold Koda's back legs/bottom half when I needed to. After a while he learned he could not get out of the hold and would be ok without needing he back legs held ever.
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Post by katt on Mar 15, 2011 4:22:01 GMT -5
Pictures of the hold. They are big so I made them links. Side view. i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae337/HurricaneKatt/Ferret/315.jpgTop View i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae337/HurricaneKatt/Ferret/316.jpgi985.photobucket.com/albums/ae337/HurricaneKatt/Ferrets%202011/IMG_4391.jpgi985.photobucket.com/albums/ae337/HurricaneKatt/Ferret/308.jpgAnd to prove Koda isn't the only one who gets into trouble. haha i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae337/HurricaneKatt/Ferrets%202011/IMG_2287.jpgi985.photobucket.com/albums/ae337/HurricaneKatt/Ferrets%202011/IMG_2288.jpgsubmission lol i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae337/HurricaneKatt/Ferrets%202011/IMG_2292.jpgAs you can see, I have one finger above and below each leg. This prevents him from being able to twist around and bite me. SOME ferrets can, but most can't get you in this hold when it is done right. Always be firm, but gentle. Hope this helps! Take it or leave it as you wish! Oh and another thing, you can also combine this method with time-outs in the 3-Strikes and You are Out method. So you give her 3 changes, bite -> hold, bite -> hold, bite -> Time Out. Repeat. Again, no matter WHAT method you choose be very consistent with it. ANYONE interacting with her MUST know the rules and respond exactly the same. She has to learn it is not ok to bite anyone, not that she just can't bite you. Also, pick a method, be consistent, and use it for a few months I'd say like 2 months minimum. It takes time for it to settle into their thick skulls as intelligent as they are - they are equally stubborn and will test you for any weakness! ;D Stick with it with love and patience and you will see results. Good luck!!!!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2011 10:39:47 GMT -5
As Heather mentioned her name is Freya and although some might find it silly the name a person/animal carries does affect their personality. Sometimes we pick names unconsciously because we can sense the personality and a name will just come to us that seems to fit. If this ferret already had a strong personality naming it Freya is like adding fuel to the fire. LOL You don't have to change the name if you like it but be aware that she is named after a Goddess of war and love. She will demand your respect and will fight you if she feels she is being disrespected in any way. However, she also has a softer side that you will start to see once a mutual respect between the two of you has been established. You will need to be firm and consistent with this one in order to earn her respect for you. She is not the type that will be bullied into submission though. Good luck!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2011 11:22:00 GMT -5
Relax....sounds like you are getting little nervous with her. Animals can certainly sense fear. I have used this technique on biters. It works for me. You can give it a try. • Place your ferret in a bite hold • Start walking around the house with your ferret. (bite hold) • While walking around the house, pet your ferret…..talk to her/him in a soft voice When your ferrets starts to get nervous or tries to bit you. I want you to gently swing her back and forth. You can do this while he/she is in the bit hold. Hang on to your ferret's bottom half when you gently swing them Keep talking to your ferret. Once ferret stop thinking about biting you, or has calm down. Then stop the swing motion and go back to petting and talking to her. Please keep your ferret in that bit hold. Repeat if you have to…. I like to work with them with this technique for good 20 – 30 minutes. Every time, I pick them up…..if they have any idea of biting mom. Well we go for a swing. It';s a gentle swing.....you are not hurting your ferret. Moving their attention to something else. This works in our household and I hope this helps. It may not work for all ferrets. You got nothing to lose. Most important – don’t be afraid of animal. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress. Attachments:
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2011 18:01:35 GMT -5
I understand your frustrations....Sophie Ann has been with me for about 9 months now and I'm still working with her...but unlike Freya, Sophie Ann and Velma were abused and neglected....we're doing timeouts and ignoring her and though we've made some progress it doesn't stop the bite from hurting like h*ll! It's hard and I wish I could tell you exactly what to do to make it stop but I can't....but I can wish you good luck and patience!
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Post by dookdook on Mar 16, 2011 8:43:30 GMT -5
Thanks guys! I will try the bite hold and give you an update in a few weeks!
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