In this article, I will show you how to train your ferret to stop biting in less than 5 days. Before showing you how it is important that you understand why you should learn this information. In fact, there are several reasons why you should read this article.
Once you train your pet Ferret to stop biting, you can better enjoy all of their wonderful qualities.
Ferrets can be the cutest and most loving creatures on the planet during the best of times. They can also be a nuisance when they bite you for no apparent reason.
Not only will your ferret not bite you, but your family and friends will not be bitten either. Have your friends stopped visiting your house because they know they will be hunted down and attacked by your ferret?
It will help everyone to enjoy your pet as much as you do. In other words, you should use these methods for them. I’ll show you to finally stop biting.
How much better will you feel knowing that you can safely exit the home or answer the phone and not worry about the safety of your children or spouse?
Wouldn’t it be great if you couldn’t remember the last time you got a bad nip? Whether you like it or not, you will be judged on the behavior of your children and your pets.
When you follow in my steps, you will soon have a safe and loving pet that you can be proud of and that everyone wants to be around.
Remember that you are not an irresponsible bad ferret owner; You are a loving friend who has not been provided with the proper tools.
So, forget about sacrificing your fingers and toes for your pet ferrets sharp teeth, just use my advanced training methods!
Why Do Ferrets Bite?
One of the keys to dealing with bites is understanding why your ferret is biting. It is very rare that a ferret is simply unpleasant trying to hurt you for no reason. Most bite problems occur for very specific reasons.
Here is the list of the top 8 reasons why ferrets bite.
1. Dominance
This may be the most difficult to handle. In the world of ferrets, there is always a pecking order and if your ferret decides to be on top, it will try to put you in your place by asserting its dominance, by taking control and biting.
When I trained my first ferret I was able to stop the nipping with a little work. It would only nip me occasionally, which I corrected it later.
I knew I was the boss but …
My hubby was not so lucky …
Our ferret would become very aggressive with my hubby biting down hard and drawing blood. As I was doing the discipline, my hubby did not position himself correctly in the pecking order.
When I realized what was happening, he used my training technique and everything was fine.
2. fear
If you do something that scares your ferret, they will bite in self-defense. If your ferret bites out of fear, it needs to find out what scares it and gain its trust.
I have seen this happen often with deaf ferrets because they cannot hear you coming. You go to pick them up and surprise them and they react with a quick bite.
If your ferret slips back hissing or trying to bite, that’s a scary response. Another sign is when they bite down hard and don’t let go.
Most ferrets are territorial. I am always very careful when putting my hand on any Ferret cage because it threatens them.
Ferrets that have been abandoned or abused can be extremely fearful and bite with the intent to harm.
Most of my ferrets come from shelters after someone realized how much work it takes to make these guys happy.
My white ferret was abused when I took him out of the shelter. A woman had bought it from a pet store as a young kit. The owner threw my little boy against the wall and hit him every time he bit. And to make matters worse, the woman’s dog constantly tormented him. It didn’t surprise me that my white ferret was scared of me at first and didn’t trust people.
3. Just being playful
Ferrets really love to play. And for young kits, that’s all they do!
Playing for a kit is cutting everything it sees. This includes the toes, ankles, fingers, and ears! Whatever you do, don’t encourage the behavior. Give them a toy they can bite on.
4. You have trained your ferret to bite
If your ferret bites you when they want to go down, you are teaching them that it is appropriate to bite you to get what they want. Ferrets are very intelligent creatures and learn very quickly from your reactions. So what do you do when they nip you? Never reward them by giving them what they want after a bite.
5. Not sure of the limits
Ferrets play hard. They do not intend to do so but they have no limits. They have no idea when they have gone too far. This is especially the case with kits. They are used to nipping other ferrets that have harder skin than people. Therefore, we must train them quickly so that our skin is not to be bitten.
6. Trying to get attention
Some ferrets will bite you to get your attention if you have ignored them for a while and want to play. You should teach them to get your attention in other ways that are not as painful, such as climbing on your lap. When your ferret does something right, treat it.
7. They smell something tasty
This happened to me a while ago and I didn’t know what was going on. My boys started nipping me more than usual. They would lick my fingers and then they would bite. My usual training methods didn’t work until I asked myself an important question.
What has changed?
The answer didn’t come immediately until I realized I had changed my hand soap a few days ago. The soap has a sweet lavender scent that my ferrets really loved to lick and couldn’t resist trying too. When I started using my old soap again, the nipping stopped.
8. Medical conditions
I remember hearing about an owner who had just adopted a beautiful 4-month-old ferret from a cute family who had just left town. When the ferret got home it turned out to be a vicious biter.
He drew blood and would forcefully bite any exposed meat he saw. They took him to the vet and found that it was infested with mites. As soon as it was treated, the bite stopped almost completely.
There are a number of medical conditions that could make your ferret a biter.
The Techniques To Stop Your Ferret From Biting
A mother ferret will teach and train her young by grabbing them by the neck with her mouth and dragging her kit across the floor. At the same time, Mommy’s ferret will whistle her disgust.
I use a similar method to successfully train all my ferrets. Mimics the behavior of the mother ferret. It’s called scruffing.
The method gets its name because you grab them by the neck and drag them across a carpeted floor or the top of a bed (very slowly and gently). It seems strange, but it works!
Drag them across the floor about 2 feet with one hand.
I also make growling noise and say “NO” in a very high-pitched tone. It seems to work for me when I put my mouth close to my hand when I make noises to complete the mother simulation.
If your ferret is deaf, you should use a slightly different method. Believe it or not, I showed one of my deaf ferrets a hand signal.
I step into his line of sight and wave a clenched fist from side to side (not towards him). Then I hold him by the neck and drag him across the floor a couple of feet.
The key to making this method work is being consistent and sticking with the scruffing every time they bite, nip, or show aggression. It is important that everyone in the family use the method, not just you.
I know you would never do this, but never throw your ferret against any object like a wall or floor to discipline. And never physically hit your ferret, tap them in the nose, or spray them with water. All of these techniques generally make your ferret more evil and dangerous than you started and are counterproductive.
Training deaf ferrets
Is your ferret deaf? I have had a couple of deaf ferrets and find that they require a little more attention.
My deaf ferrets are surprised if I catch them trying to pick them up. Instead, I wave my hand for them to come. I never reach their face or head to give them the impression that I am going to hit them. This would normally invoke a fear response.
Building Trust
If you’ve recently adopted a ferret in your home, don’t be too quick to pet or pick it up. Let him gain his trust by letting you discover that you are not trying to hurt him.
Once you’ve gained that acceptance, hugging and playing with your ferret is one of the best ways to build trust and bond. Don’t forget to give them your treats while you hold them.
Any animal that is left alone in its cage for prolonged periods will eventually become angry and suspicious of people. Make it a point to hold your pet as much as possible. If you don’t, you’re only to blame when he becomes a biter!
Ferrets love to play and you must play and hug your ferret as much as possible. When cruddling, speak in a soft, soft voice and try not to use loud tones.
When you play, use a toy instead of your hands because ferrets love to bite and nip things. Just make sure you don’t encourage the bite of your hands or fingers by always giving them the toy to bite when they get excited.
Using bitter apple
A very helpful aid in preventing biting is the use of bad-tasting sprays. Visit your local pet store and look for Bitter Apple, Bitter Lime, or Fooey in the dog or cat section of the store.
I discovered that bitter sprays could upset my ferret’s stomach when I use them too much. I only use them when I have to
Spray a little on your hands, feet, fingers, and toes or wherever your ferret likes to bite. For the ferret, these things taste terrible and should normally discourage biting.
But don’t forget to clean it up after a series of training sessions, because you don’t want to discourage licking.
Licking is the way your pet ferret will show affection and you don’t want to be scared of approaching hands or feet. You just want to avoid the bite.
Time-out cage
Moving the misbehaving ferret to an empty transport cage gives the signal that they have done something wrong.
The timeout cage must be completely empty. No food, water, or toys. Usually, they will get the message and realize that biting is unacceptable.
I just like to keep my boy in the time-out cage for about 5 minutes. Don’t forget about your pet leave it there too long. This will backfire and begin to make your boy more mean by negligence.
After 5 minutes, I like to go to a play session to let him know that I still love him.
My 5-day Bite Training Action Plan
Step1: Take your ferret to the vet
Certain medical conditions can make your ferret more aggressive. A complete checkup can reveal some of these factors.
Step 2: Scruff the ferret
Lift your ferret by the back of the neck (scruff of the neck). Drag your ferret for 1-2 feet on a soft mat or the top of a bed.
Step 3: Repeat
Every time your ferret bites, nips, or displays aggressive behavior, repeat the scruffing.
Step 4: Pay attention
Be sure to pay more attention to your ferret. When a ferret exhibits aggressive behavior, it is important to pay more attention to it, not less.
Step 5: Hug your ferret
Cuddle your ferret and constantly speak in a soft, smooth voice.
Step 6: Use toys to play
Never play with a ferret with your hands. Always use a toy.
Step 7: Timeout when scruffing fails
If your ferret does not respond to scruffing use a timeout cage. I use an empty transport cage to position my ferret when it misbehaves.
Step 8: Be patient and consistent
Some ferrets need more time to be trained than others. Don’t give up, be persistent.