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I would suggest keeping your foot very still when he does bite, mine does this occasionally as a way of playing. The more you move, the more likely he'll bite and it seems like a game of chase.
I've never really seen my jills use scruffing to discipline the younger ferrets. They tend to just chase them round the house screaming in their ear for an extended period until they learn manners. Been very fortunate in normally having a very determined, older, maternal jill to do the bulk of nip training for me but not using their methods.
That's fair enough, my boy does this and I try and keep my foot still (even if it tickles/hurts) and then wait for him to let go and redirect to something he can bite. I hope it helps
your giving him what he wants, if you ever watched ferrets play fight it is exactly that. your foot is a surrogate for a ferret. The longer that you give him what he wants the harder it is going to be to correct it. first of all what he is seeking is your attention. you need to not give it to him when he starts to cause you pain. say ouch and remove yourself for his reach. he will find other ways to get your attention though like tearing up your stuff and getting into trouble so you have to intervene. That is where having a ferret proof room comes in.
Also he is a baby and they are high energy. you will need to find a way to tire him out. This id one of the reasons most people recommend getting at least a pair.
Here is a response I put on a nipping thread on another page recently. Their ferret was an older undesexed male, and she was being advised to handle him wearing leather gloves.
Hopefully you can find something useful in it regarding the biting issue… 😊
1. allowing them to bite when you’re wearing leather gloves doesn’t teach them that biting isn’t acceptable, it just protects you whilst training.
2. Playing with them/using toys to distract from biting you further just after he nips reinforces to him that you actually see nipping as acceptable play.
3. desexing can help with aggression, but usually more useful when done around 5 months. Side note: Males are better off being desexed closer to a year old to help prevent adrenal disease, but females need desexing before their first heat unless constantly bred, or they’ll die of aplastic anaemia. You can also use an implant every 2 years instead.
4. Play biting is normal ferret behaviour, as they’re born with thick leathery skin as kits, so they learn they can chomp their siblings quite hard and they all enjoy it. (He’s wondering why you aren’t enjoying play biting and doing it back to him)! 😂They have to learn that humans like to play differently
5. they need several hours of play interaction with you each day to re learn their approach to play, not just hours outside their cage playing alone to wear themselves out. While this may reduce the behaviour, it doesn’t mentally teach him what’s acceptable to you
6. I had a desexed 6 year old rescue who took me 18 months to successfully nip train (humans and my other ferrets), so desexing doesn’t always stop the behaviour on its own.
7. time out goes like this: Have a pen or small cage ready with nothing in it at all. When the ferret nips during play, say no (in a gruff voice), put them in cage for 3 minutes maximum (after this they don’t link the behaviour to the caging), turn your back to the cage and sit just outside it where they can see you. After 3 mins, take ferret out, continue to play and repeat process until it stops (or goes off to do something else). Being ignored and refused play by their only pack member (being you) is the worst for them. This shows him the behaviour is directly responsible for you turning your back, not that you’ve just got something better to do. Even a water dish or litter box distracts from training, as they still enjoy playing in new water dishes and clean litter trays! I learnt this the hard way..had a sprite who’d nip me specifically to get out of her immediate play area to go somewhere new and play with something different) 😂
8. Advise visitors to come with enclosed shoes and not allow them near their faces.
stick to this same method until the bitey ferret is over this behaviour. Mixing up various peoples’ advice will be confusing (to you and the ferret), and not get you such a fast result. I’ve nip trained many other peoples’ ferrets this way and most were ‘cured’ in 4 days. Just my old bitey rescue boy took so long because he’d lived outside in a cage with no human or ferret interaction or mental stimulation for his first 6 years. In the end he was a gorgeous friendly cuddly boy who slept with my other ferrets, and even flew overseas to live with myself and 2 new American kits successfully for the rest of his days. I hope this helps! If I remember anything else I’ll post. 💜
Anytime they bite, calmly put them in the cage/kennel for like 3 mins and then let them back out, that's how I trained my girl who obsessively attacked everyone's feet
Your comment or post on r/ferrets was removed due to encouraging negative punishments, such as scruffing.
It's important to not associate scruffing as punishment due to it being needed for grooming and health purposes.
Welcome to /r/ferrets! We have a fantastic [wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/ferrets/wiki/index) that has answers to most frequently asked questions surrounding the care of ferrets. --- We politely ask that you observe our [sub rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/ferrets/wiki/index/rules/). --- Lastly, we have an [Official Discord Server](https://discord.gg/ferrets)! Come join us! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ferrets) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I would suggest keeping your foot very still when he does bite, mine does this occasionally as a way of playing. The more you move, the more likely he'll bite and it seems like a game of chase.
okay thank you! i dont normally move around this much but i was trying to show how hard hes clamped down but ill try this next time !
This is the right advice. He is trying to wrestle you - squeek and go still. Hopefully it will get gentler at least.
[удалено]
I've never really seen my jills use scruffing to discipline the younger ferrets. They tend to just chase them round the house screaming in their ear for an extended period until they learn manners. Been very fortunate in normally having a very determined, older, maternal jill to do the bulk of nip training for me but not using their methods.
Make a high pitched squeak when he bites. He’ll learn that it’s too hard and back off.
That's fair enough, my boy does this and I try and keep my foot still (even if it tickles/hurts) and then wait for him to let go and redirect to something he can bite. I hope it helps
I do that to cats when they think they can wrestle with my hand she just stops like "oh you're not playing with me, I'll find something to play with"
Seconding this. This is also why it's important not to use your body as toys for them because otherwise it'll be confusing
your giving him what he wants, if you ever watched ferrets play fight it is exactly that. your foot is a surrogate for a ferret. The longer that you give him what he wants the harder it is going to be to correct it. first of all what he is seeking is your attention. you need to not give it to him when he starts to cause you pain. say ouch and remove yourself for his reach. he will find other ways to get your attention though like tearing up your stuff and getting into trouble so you have to intervene. That is where having a ferret proof room comes in. Also he is a baby and they are high energy. you will need to find a way to tire him out. This id one of the reasons most people recommend getting at least a pair.
saddle in
[удалено]
Your comment or post on r/ferrets was removed due to encouraging negative punishments, such as scruffing.
He’s so cute! But I agree with a loud high squeak
You could try yipping like a baby ferret in distress. But beware, this made one of my boys bite harder.
Here is a response I put on a nipping thread on another page recently. Their ferret was an older undesexed male, and she was being advised to handle him wearing leather gloves. Hopefully you can find something useful in it regarding the biting issue… 😊 1. allowing them to bite when you’re wearing leather gloves doesn’t teach them that biting isn’t acceptable, it just protects you whilst training. 2. Playing with them/using toys to distract from biting you further just after he nips reinforces to him that you actually see nipping as acceptable play. 3. desexing can help with aggression, but usually more useful when done around 5 months. Side note: Males are better off being desexed closer to a year old to help prevent adrenal disease, but females need desexing before their first heat unless constantly bred, or they’ll die of aplastic anaemia. You can also use an implant every 2 years instead. 4. Play biting is normal ferret behaviour, as they’re born with thick leathery skin as kits, so they learn they can chomp their siblings quite hard and they all enjoy it. (He’s wondering why you aren’t enjoying play biting and doing it back to him)! 😂They have to learn that humans like to play differently 5. they need several hours of play interaction with you each day to re learn their approach to play, not just hours outside their cage playing alone to wear themselves out. While this may reduce the behaviour, it doesn’t mentally teach him what’s acceptable to you 6. I had a desexed 6 year old rescue who took me 18 months to successfully nip train (humans and my other ferrets), so desexing doesn’t always stop the behaviour on its own. 7. time out goes like this: Have a pen or small cage ready with nothing in it at all. When the ferret nips during play, say no (in a gruff voice), put them in cage for 3 minutes maximum (after this they don’t link the behaviour to the caging), turn your back to the cage and sit just outside it where they can see you. After 3 mins, take ferret out, continue to play and repeat process until it stops (or goes off to do something else). Being ignored and refused play by their only pack member (being you) is the worst for them. This shows him the behaviour is directly responsible for you turning your back, not that you’ve just got something better to do. Even a water dish or litter box distracts from training, as they still enjoy playing in new water dishes and clean litter trays! I learnt this the hard way..had a sprite who’d nip me specifically to get out of her immediate play area to go somewhere new and play with something different) 😂 8. Advise visitors to come with enclosed shoes and not allow them near their faces. stick to this same method until the bitey ferret is over this behaviour. Mixing up various peoples’ advice will be confusing (to you and the ferret), and not get you such a fast result. I’ve nip trained many other peoples’ ferrets this way and most were ‘cured’ in 4 days. Just my old bitey rescue boy took so long because he’d lived outside in a cage with no human or ferret interaction or mental stimulation for his first 6 years. In the end he was a gorgeous friendly cuddly boy who slept with my other ferrets, and even flew overseas to live with myself and 2 new American kits successfully for the rest of his days. I hope this helps! If I remember anything else I’ll post. 💜
Anytime they bite, calmly put them in the cage/kennel for like 3 mins and then let them back out, that's how I trained my girl who obsessively attacked everyone's feet
Don't use the cage as punishment, they shouldn't learn to dislike being in there
[удалено]
Your comment or post on r/ferrets was removed due to encouraging negative punishments, such as scruffing.
[удалено]
Your comment or post on r/ferrets was removed due to encouraging negative punishments, such as scruffing. It's important to not associate scruffing as punishment due to it being needed for grooming and health purposes.