Much like the miners during the Gold Rush, dogs and cats are territorial animals. They may “stake a claim” to a particular space, area, or object. They let other people and animals know about their claim by marking it using a variety of methods at different levels of intensity. For example, a dog may bark to drive away what he perceives to be intruders in his territory. A cat may mark a valued object by rubbing her head against it.

Some pets may go to the extreme of urinating or defecating to mark a particular area as their own. Urine-marking is not a house soiling problem. Instead, it is considered territorial behavior. Therefore, to resolve the problem, you need to address the underlying reason for your pet’s need to mark his territory in this way. Before this can be done, however, take your pet to the veterinarian to rule out any medical causes for
his behavior.

House Soiling or Urine-Marking: How to Tell the Difference

Your Pet May Be Urine-Marking If:

• The problem is primarily urination. Dogs and cats rarely mark with feces.
• The amount of urine is small and is found primarily on vertical surfaces. (Dogs and cats do sometimes mark on horizontal surfaces.) Leg-lifting and spraying are dominant versions of urine-marking, but even if your pet doesn’t assume these postures, he may still be urine-marking.
• Any pet in your home is not spayed or neutered. Intact males and females are both more likely to urine-mark than are spayed or neutered animals. However, even spayed or neutered animals may mark in response to other intact animals in the home.
• Your pet urinates on new objects in the environment (a shopping bag, a visitor’s purse), on objects that have unfamiliar smells, or on objects that have another animal’s scent.
• Your pet has conflicts with other animals in your home. When there’s instability in the pack hierarchy, a dog may feel a need to establish his dominance by urine-marking his territory. If one cat is intimidating another cat, the bullied cat may express his anxiety by urine-marking.
• Your pet has contact with other animals outside your home. A cat who is allowed outdoors may come home and mark after having an encounter with another cat outside. If your pet sees another animal through a door or window, he may feel a need to mark his territory.
• Your dog marks frequently when you walk him.

What You Can Do

• Spay or neuter your pet as soon as possible. Spaying or neutering your pet may stop urine-marking altogether. However, if he has been urine-marking for a long time, a pattern may already be established.?
• Resolve conflicts between animals in your home. (For help, see “Canine Rivalry” and “Feline Social Behavior” and “Aggression between Family Cats.”)
• Restrict your pet’s access to doors and windows through which he can observe animals outside. If this isn’t possible, discourage the presence of other animals near your house. (See “Discouraging Free-Roaming Cats.”)
• Keep your cat indoors. He’ll be safer, live longer, and feel less need to mark his territory.
• Clean soiled areas thoroughly. (See “Successful Cleaning to Remove Pet Odors and Stains.”) Don’t use strong-smelling cleaners because they may cause your pet to “over-mark” the spot.
• Make previously soiled areas inaccessible or unattractive. (See “Aversives for Dogs” and “Aversives for Cats.”) If this isn’t possible, try to change the significance of those areas to your pet. Feed, treat, and play with your pet in the areas he is inclined to mark.
• Keep objects likely to cause marking out of reach. Items such as guests’ belongings and new purchases should be placed in a closet or cabinet.
• If your pet is marking in response to a new resident in your home (such as a roommate or spouse), have the new resident make friends with your pet by feeding, grooming, and playing with him. If you have a new baby, make sure good things happen to your pet when the baby is around. (See “Preparing Your Pet for Baby’s Arrival.”)

For Dogs

• Watch your dog when he is indoors for signs that he is thinking about urinating. When he begins to urinate, interrupt him with a loud noise and take him outside. If he urinates outside, praise him and give him a treat. When you’re unable to watch him, put your dog in confinement (a crate or small room where he has never marked) or tether him to you with a leash.
• Practice “nothing in life is free” with your dog. (See “Nothing in Life Is Free.”) This is a safe, nonconfrontational way to establish your leadership and requires your dog to work for everything he wants from you. Have your dog obey at least one command (such as “sit”) before you pet him, give him dinner, put on his leash, or throw him a toy. Establishing yourself as a strong leader can help stabilize the hierarchy and thus diminish your dog’s need to mark his territory.

For Cats

• Try to monitor your cat’s movements. If he sniffs in an area he has previously marked, interrupt him with a loud noise or squirt him with water. It’s best if you can do this without him seeing you. That way, he’ll associate the unpleasantness with his intent to mark, rather than with you.

What NOT to do

• Don’t punish your pet after the fact. Punishment administered even a minute after the event is ineffective because your pet won’t understand why he is being punished.

Pets aren't People

Dogs and cats don’t urinate or defecate out of spite or jealousy. If your dog urinates on your baby’s diaper bag, it’s not because he is jealous of, or dislikes, your baby. The unfamiliar scents and sounds of a new baby in the home are simply causing him to respond like the animal that he is. Likewise, if your cat urinates on your new boyfriend’s backpack, it does not reflect his opinion of your taste in men. Instead, he is behaving like a cat.

Dominance or Anxiety?

Urine-marking can be associated with dominance behavior. Some pets, though, may mark when they feel anxious or upset. For example, a new baby in the home brings new sounds, smells, and people, as well as changes in routine. Your dog or cat probably isn’t getting as much attention as he was used to getting. All of these changes cause him to feel anxious, which may cause him to mark. Likewise, a pet who is generally anxious may become more so by the presence of roaming neighborhood animals in your yard or by the introduction of a new cat or dog into your household. If your pet is feeling anxious, you might consider talking to your veterinarian about medications to reduce his anxiety while you try behavior modification techniques.

Adapted from material originally developed by applied animal behaviorists at the Dumb Friends League, Denver, Colorado. ©2000 Dumb Friends League and ©2003 The HSUS. All rights reserved.

Is your pet getting into mischief when you are away from the house? Maybe it is getting in the trash, destroying furniture or other household items, or making a lot of noise. There could be a variety of reasons behind your animal’s behavior, but one possibility is boredom. Just like you probably prefer to be busy or “entertained” during the day, your pet could benefit from some mental stimulation while you are away.

There are many ways to keep your pet active and entertained while you are out, but one of the easiest is to use food-release toys. Food-release toys are exactly what they sound like – toys that release food as the animal interacts and plays with them. Most animals are food-motivated and will gladly work for food. Using these toys to keep your pet busy has several benefits:

• Your pet is engaged in an appropriate, positive activity.
• Your pet can’t get in the trash or destroy the furniture when it is playing with the toy.
• Your pet stays active while playing with the toy which helps to release excess energy.
• The mental stimulation of puzzling through the toy helps tire your pet.

Hopefully, your pet will be sufficiently tired from working on the toy that it will take a nap instead of moving on to inappropriate behaviors.

Below are some examples of quality food-release or puzzle toys you might try with your pets. As with any new toy, you should always supervise your animal with the toy the first few times you use it. Once you are sure they know how to play safely with the toy and will not destroy it to get to the food, you can begin leaving it with them while you are away from the house. If you leave often or for long periods of time, you might consider getting a variety of toys that you can rotate. Or you can give your pet several of the toys at one time to keep it busy all day.

Please remember to account for all of the calories you are feeding your animal throughout the day. If you are leaving several food-release toys with them while you are away, consider reducing the amount of food you feed for their regular meals. Better yet, do away with the regular meals, and feed all of their meals through food release-toys. If you do this, be sure to use a high quality, balanced food in the toys rather than just “treats” and other “junk-food”.

Dogs

Good food-release toys for dogs include: Kongs®, Buster Cubes®, Nylabone® Crazy Balls, Molecuballs®, SPOT Roll-a-Treat® balls, the Busy Buddy Twist-n-Treat®, and Canine Genius Leo® toys. To get your dog interested in the toy, fill it with their dry kibble, and roll it around with them until they figure out that the food will fall out. Kongs® are particularly versatile as a food-release toy. As your dog gets really good at getting the dry kibble from the Kong®, you can make it more challenging. Begin by soaking their kibble in water so it is somewhat mushy, stuff the Kong®, and then let them play with it. If your dog gets really good at getting the softer food out, place the stuffed Kong® in the freezer overnight before giving it to your dog. You can make the Kong® even more enticing by topping it off with a little bit of peanut butter or by sticking a dog biscuit out the end of it like a popsicle stick.

Cats

There are currently no food-release toys designed specifically for cats, but several of the dog toys work well for cats. Use the smallest size of the toys designed for dogs. Good ones to try include the Busy Buddy Twist-n-Treat ®, Molecuballs®, and SPOT Roll-a-Treat® balls.

Birds

There are a variety of puzzle toys designed for birds, and many of these toys can be found at any reputable pet store that carries bird supplies. The puzzle toys can be filled with food or you can try stuffing them with old newspapers for your bird to shred. Bird Kongs® can be stuffed with a mixture of seed and peanut butter; however, please be aware that some larger birds can destroy these Kongs® if they choose to.

Ferrets

The Kong Company makes Kongs® designed specifically for ferrets, and these too can be stuffed with food. Ferrets also enjoy running through tunnels and shredding newspaper. Your ferret may enjoy exploring toys or objects that make crunching or crackle noises, and some toys that crackle that were designed for human babies may be appropriate. As with any new toy, please be sure to supervise your pet and ensure your pet’s safety.

All Pets

Use your imagination in creating fun, interactive, puzzle toys for your pets. Just be sure any materials you use are safe and non-toxic. Always supervise your pet the first several times you give them a toy until you are positive the toy will be safe if left alone with your pet. Many of toys on the market are designed specifically as human-interactive toys, and should not be left with your pet unsupervised.

To get the most out of your training sessions with your dog…

• Establish a relationship that is gentle, calm and non-threatening. Follow this rule of thumb: if you can’t laugh, don’t train. Do something else that is relaxing like throwing a ball or taking a long walk together.
• Decide on the beahvior you want to work on ahead of time. Know what you want the finished product to look like so you can work steadily towards that goal.
• Plan your building blocks to the behavior. Break it down into small, achievable steps and gradually build it up. Remember to be flexible.
• Prompt the behavior whenever possible. Use a lure, target or find a time of the day when the behavior is most likely to occur when youa re first teaching it.
• Keep your session short, positive, fun, easy and end on a high note if possible.
  Plan to incorporate training sessions throughout the day and in all interactions with your dog. Remember, every time you do something with your dog, he’s learning, whether you intended it or not, so use that to your advantage.
• Train a minimum of fifteen minutes per day, 4-5 days per week. Your training sessions do not have to be in fifteen minute blocks, although they can be if that works for you. The most effective training is spread out throughout the course of the day.

Fun, Fun, Fun ...

Exercise is a critical component in making life with our canine companions pleasant to be around. Without it, we would all be very boring, and they would be very … difficult to live with. It’s been estimated that if dogs were getting enough exercise, their behavior problems would decrease by half! The average dog is BORED! We do everything for them, because we love them. The average dog, barring any health problems, should have a minimum of a half hour per day or aerobic exercise. Doing just that could help your dog be calmer and more attentive. Bored dogs, like bored kids, find things to occupy their time, and it’s not ususally a behavior we would pick out for them. They enjoy things like digging holes, barking at the sky or redecorating the house.

Making sure that your dog gets enough exercise is mostly a matter of planning it into your day. Dogs are crepuscular, meaning they are most active early in the morning and again in the evening. At one of those times of day, plan a meaningful exercise activity with the dog, like a romp outdoors, a retrieving game, or a jog. Make sure the dog is moving most of the time. (Caution: before beginning any intense exercise regimen with your pet, please consult your veterinarian).

Remember this – most of our companion dogs, whether mixed breed or purebred, were designed to be very busy and active during the course of a day. For example, the average border collie can average 30 or more miles PER DAY in the course of it’s work as a sheep herder and still have energy left over at the end of the day to play with the family. Are you meeting that exercise need in your buddy? Plan on some exercise every day – it will be good for both of you and you will enhance your bond and relationship with your companion.

Training Secrets

Good trainers:

• are quick
• are generous
• are unpredictable, but dependable
• are variable in when, where, how much and what kind of reinforcement they offer
• concentrate on and reinforce what the dog does right
• offer the dog a reinforcement it really likes
  keep their training sessions short and interesting
• use a bridge or conditioned reinforcer to mark the behavior they like
• find a gentle, non-threatening way to show the dog what to do
• phase out the ‘help’ as soon as possible
  do not use commands until they have the desired behavior

Dogs do What Works

Dogs (and humans, for that matter) do what works. Another way of saying this is that a behavior is under the control of its consequences, or a behavior is reward driven. Say, for example, that when you come to class I give you a $50 bill. The chances of you coming to class again are very good, and you may keep coming to class often in the hopes of getting another $50 bill! Dogs do the same thing. If they jump on the counter and get a sandwich, no matter how much you punish jumping on the counter, they keep trying for a while in case they get another sandwich.

This has a direct bearing on training our dogs. If being around us and responding to the cues we give has a direct positive effect on the lives of our dogs, they will continue to do what we ask of them. If not, the behavior will end. If you can control the consequences of your dog’s actions, you can, in effect, control their behavior. There are two ways to control consequences – reinforcement and punishment. Reinforcement means that a behavior will increase, and punishment means that a behavior will decrease.

Positive reinforcement is the optimal method for shaping behavior because the consequences that effect a behavior are associated with the environment in which those consequences are delivered. Think of punishment here. For punishment to be truly effective it must be immediate, on a large scale, only be associated with the behavior you wish to decrease, and must happen each and every time the behavior occurs to be truly effective. It is often impossible to meet these four criteria. Punishment can also lead to finer discrimination (teaching your dog to be sneaky, for example), and that is definitely not what we want in our dogs.

Using positive reinforcement strengthens and enhance the animal-human bond. To be truly effective it must be used less and less when a behavior is learned, it never leads to avoidance problems, and when poorly times does not harm your relationship and can only slow down the learning.

In using positive reinforcement we are giving the dogs an opportunity to do what works for them, and each time they receive their paycheck and their pat on the back, they are learning what works. If each cue or signal causes the best things in life to rain down on their heads, they will continue to do what you ask, and in fact seek to become better at it! HAPPY TRAINING!

Suggested Reinforcers

If you’re having trouble finding something your dog loves to work for, try some of the suggested reinforcers below.

Food:

Hot dog bits, Cheerios and other cereals, Freeze dried liver, Crumbled ground beef or turkey, Pounce cat treats, Pedigree Tandem, Alpo beef bites, Alpo beef burgers, Rollover, Natural Balance, Red Barn, Pupperoni, Snausages, Kibbled dog food, String cheese, Left over bits of meat from dinner, Hard boiled egg bits, Atta Boy treat sticks, Trout pellets, Rabbit pellets, Corn Nuts, Popcorn, Wheat thins, Cheese Whiz, Ice Cubes, Bread Crust, Croutons, Rice Cakes, Peanut Butter (on a spoon), Canned cat food (spoon), Pureed liver, Cooked pasta, Rice balls, Jerky treats, Charlee Bears, Obey, and Old Mother Hubbard

Objects/Toys:

Tennis balls, Kongs, Buster Cubes, Activity Balls, Rope tugs, Frisbees, Sticks, Firewood, Cressite balls, Boat bumpers, Buoys, Bicycle tires, Burlap sacks, Leash, Collar, Fire hose pieces, Soap bubbles, Hockey pucks, Cardboard tubes, Basket balls, Soccer balls, Boomer balls, and Carpet squares

Activities:

Fetch, Eat dinner (workfare), Hose/sprinkler, Belly rub, Back scratch, Play with other dogs, Play with cats, Play with kids, Play with you, Down, Go for walk, Chase flashlight beam, Swim (for some dogs!), Target , Cuddling, and Praise from you

It Positively Works!

Positive reinforcement is the best way to train your companion. We all know that, but the definition of positive reinforcement is a little more vague.

• Positive reinforcement is the presentation of something pleasant and rewarding IMMEDIATELY following a desired behavior.

Why should we use positive reinforcement in a training class? Because it:

• Strengthens and enhances the human animal relationship
• Is used less and less as a behavior is learned to be most effective
• Never leads to avoidance or avoidance related aggression
• Never causes damage to your relationship if you make a mistake with your timing.
• Produces enthusiastic, happy people who love to train animals
• Keeps dogs coming back for more and more training – they love it!

Punishment is Much Less Effective

Punishment is what we think of when we want to correct a problem behavior, or we’re not sure of how to handle something we find troubling to us. But it’s definition also remains fuzzy.

• Punishment is the presentation of something unpleasant and unwanted IMMEDIATELY followed an undesired behavior

Why do we avoid using punishment in a training class? Because it:

• Is confusing when learning is very new – how would you like to be punished for something you don’t know well?
• Is only effective when done IMMEDIATELY at the time of or following an undesired behavior.
• When administered weakly can cause a dog to need higher and higher levels of punishment
• When administered harshly can seriously damage the human – pet relationship

Training Your Dog (or Cat or Bird!) with Treats and Praise

We all like to be praised rather than punished. The same is true for your pet, and that’s the theory behind positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement means giving your pet something pleasant or rewarding immediately after she does something you want her to do. Because your praise or reward makes her more likely to repeat that behavior in the future, it is one of your most powerful tools for shaping or changing your pet’s behavior. Correct timing is essential when using positive reinforcement. The reward must occur immediately— within seconds—or your pet may not associate it with the proper action. For example, if you have your dog "sit" but reward her after she’s already stood back up, she’ll think she’s being rewarded for standing up. Consistency is also essential. Everyone in the family should use the same commands. It might help to post these where everyone can become familiar with them. The most commonly used commands for dogs are: "Sit," "Stay," "Down" (which means "lie down"), "Off " (which means "get off of me" or "get off the furniture"), "Stand," "Come," "Heel" (or "let’s go" or "with me"), "Leave it," "Settle," and "Watch me." Consistency means always rewarding the desired behavior and never rewarding undesired behavior.

Using Positive Reinforcement

For your pet, positive reinforcement may include food treats, praise, petting, or a favorite toy or game. Food treats work especially well for training your dog. A treat should be enticing and irresistible to your pet. It should be a very small, soft piece of food, so that she will immediately gulp it down and look to you for more. If you give her something she has to chew or that breaks into bits and falls on the floor, she’ll be looking around the floor, not at you. Small pieces of soft commercial treats, hot dogs, cheese, or cooked chicken or beef have all proven successful.

Experiment to see what works best for your pet. You can carry the treats in a pocket or fanny pack. Each time you use a food reward, you should couple it with a verbal reward (praise). Say something like, "Good dog," in a positive, happy tone of voice. Some pets may not be interested in food treats. For those pets, the reward could be in the form of a toy or brief play. When your pet is learning a new behavior, she should be rewarded every time she does the behavior, which means continuous reinforcement.

It may be necessary to use a technique called "shaping" with your pet, which means reinforcing something close to the desired response and then gradually requiring more from your dog before she gets the treat. For example, if you’re teaching your dog to "shake hands," you may initially reward her for lifting her paw off the ground, then for lifting it higher, then for touching your hand, then for letting you hold her paw, and finally, for actually "shaking hands" with you. Intermittent reinforcement can be used once your pet has reliably learned the behavior. At first, reward her with the treat three out of every four times she does the behavior. Then, over time, reward her about half the time, then about a third of the time, and so on, until you’re only rewarding her occasionally with the treat. Continue to praise her every time—although once your dog has learned the behavior, your praise can be less effusive, such as a quiet, but positive, "Good dog."

Use a variable schedule of reinforcement so that she doesn’t catch on that she only has to respond every other time. Your pet will soon learn that if she keeps responding, eventually she’ll get what she wants—your praise and an occasional treat. By understanding reinforcement, you’ll see that you’re not forever bound to carry a pocketful of goodies. Your dog will soon be working for your verbal praise, because she knows that, occasionally, she’ll get a treat, too. There are many small opportunities to reinforce her behavior. You may have her "sit" before letting her out the door (which helps prevent door-darting), before petting her (which helps prevent jumping up on people), or before feeding her. Give her a pat or a "Good dog" for lying quietly by your feet, or slip a treat into a Kong ® -type toy when she’s chewing it instead of your shoe.

Why Punishment is Ineffective and Potentially Harmful

Punishment can be verbal, postural, or physical, and it means giving your pet something unpleasant immediately after she does something you don’t want her to do. The punishment makes it less likely that the behavior will occur again. To be effective, punishment must be delivered while your pet is engaged in the undesirable behavior—in other words, "caught in the act." If the punishment is delivered too late, even seconds later, your pet will not associate the punishment with the undesired behavior.

Punishment delivered by you will erode your dog’s trust. That’s why punishment is most effective when it does not come directly from you. For example, after your dog acts in an undesirable way, use a shake can, an air horn, or keys— but don’t draw attention to the fact that the noise comes from you. If your dog perceives her "environment," instead of you, to be delivering the punishment, she’ll be more likely to avoid the behavior even when you’re not around. In addition, if you’re too late in administering it, punishment will seem unpredictable to your dog. She’s likely to become fearful, distrustful, or aggressive, which will only lead to more behavior problems.

What we humans often interpret as "guilty" looks are actually submissive postures by our pets. Animals don’t have a moral sense of right and wrong, but they are adept at associating your presence, and the presence of a mess, with punishment. If you’ve tried punishment and it hasn’t worked, you should stop using punishment and use only positive reinforcement. And never use physical punishment that involves some level of discomfort or pain, which may cause your pet to bite to defend herself. Holding the neck skin and shaking your dog or performing "alpha rolls" (forcing your dog onto her back and pinning her on the floor) are both likely to result in bites. And punishment might be associated with other stimuli, including people, that are present at the time the punishment occurs. For example, a pet who is punished for getting too close to a small child may become fearful of, or aggressive toward, that child—or toward other children. That’s why physical punishment is not only bad for your pet, it’s also bad for you and others.

Most fearful behaviors elicited by pets in response to having been punished are almost always reversible with the appropriate behavior modification techniques.

Adapted from material originally developed by applied animal behaviorists at the Dumb Friends League, Denver, Colorado. ©2000 Dumb Friends League and ©2003 The HSUS. All rights reserved.

Ferrets make great companions. They're friendly, smart, inquisitive and playful. They do require a lot of care, but it is well worth the effort.

Home Sweet Home

Your ferret should live indoors with you. When you're unable to supervise your ferret's activities, it should be confined in a cage.

Wire mesh cages made specifically for ferrets have one-inch by two-inch mesh on the top and sides and one-half-inch by one-inch mesh on the bottom. The cage should be at least two feet wide by three feet long by two feet high. It should have two to three levels so your ferret can have a sleeping area away from the litter box and food area. Although wire cages are good for ventilation, the wire mesh is hard on a ferret's feet, so you'll need to cover the floor with towels, sheets, blankets or carpet.

There should be a removable pan beneath the cage that's lined with newspaper. Inside the cage, secure a litter box with a bungee cord, string or binder clips so that your ferret can't overturn it. The litter box should have sides at least three inches high all the way around. Small cat litter boxes and Rubbermaid shoe boxes work well. The best litter to use for ferrets is wood pellets because there's no dust or oils and it's excellent at absorbing odors. You can also use newspaper pellets, sheets of newspaper or corncob litter. Avoid using cedar chips, wood shavings and clumping clay litter as they can cause major respiratory problems and even respiratory arrest.

Provide your ferret with a hammock to sleep in, blankets to burrow in and a cardboard box or plastic house for privacy. Ferrets are very susceptible to heat stroke, so make sure your ferret's cage is in a well-ventilated area of your home, and not directly in the sun's rays. Ferrets are extremely sensitive to warm environments, so please be sure to keep your ferret in an air-conditioned room if the temperature gets much above 70 degrees. Place a thermometer in your ferret’s room to monitor the temperature.

Ferrets also need at least two to three hours of exercise outside their cages each day.

Chow Time

Commercial ferret food is available at pet supply stores. Make sure that it has 30 to 38 percent protein, 15 to 22 percent fat and no more than three percent fiber because ferrets have difficulty digesting fiber. The first ingredient should be meat, preferably chicken. If you keep your ferret on a high-protein, high-fat diet it will have less waste, more energy, softer fur and be healthier in general. Consult with your veterinarian about the quantity of food to feed your ferret. Use a heavy crockery bowl that can't be tipped over and is easy to clean. Keep fresh water available in a suspended "licker" water bottle at all times.

Your ferret may enjoy the same type of treats that are made for cats. Don't give your ferret any "people food," however, as it can be harmful to your ferret's digestive system.

Health Matters

Most ferrets live six to ten years. Ferrets are full-grown at four months. Ferrets can only see reasonably well, but they have excellent senses of hearing and smell.

Take your ferret to the veterinarian annually for a general examination and vaccinations against canine distemper and rabies. The examination should include a check for internal parasites.

Ferrets frequently have ear mites, which can be treated topically using Tresaderm (topical) or Ivermectin (oral). Ask your veterinarian to show you how to safely keep your ferret's ears clean.

Ferrets adopted from the Larimer Humane Society are spayed or neutered before going home with their new families. Spaying and neutering not only helps control pet overpopulation, but also helps your ferret live a healthier, happier life.

Ferrets nails grow quickly and need to be trimmed every other week. Either small cat clippers or regular nail clippers work fine. To keep your ferret from squirming, put some Linatone or Ferretone on its belly or scruff the ferret (most scruffed ferrets will hang limply while you trim their nails; always observe your ferret to make sure it is comfortable in this position). When clipping, be careful not to cut the red line in the nail (the blood vessel) as it will bleed profusely. You may want to ask your veterinarian to show you how to trim your ferret's nails before you try it at home.

Ferrets, like cats, groom themselves and don't need to be bathed regularly. They have a distinct scent, which comes from oil glands throughout their skin. This scent is normal and is not a result of being dirty. Having your ferret descented won't change this smell, because only the scent glands near the tail are removed, which prevents it from releasing a strong scent if it's frightened.

If you keep your ferret's bedding clean and don't bathe it very often, this will help keep the scent to a minimum. After a bath, your ferret's skin glands go into "overdrive" to replenish the oils you just washed away, so your ferret may smell worse for a few days after it's been bathed. If you do give your ferret a bath, be sure to use a conditioner afterwards. Your veterinarian can recommend the best conditioners to use for ferrets.

Handle With Care

Your ferret will indicate when it wants to be picked up by holding on to your leg or by grabbing your wrist when you extend your hand. Pick up your ferret from behind using two hands, one supporting its chest and the other cradling its hips. Don't ever grab at your ferret or pick it up by its tail, as it may become nervous and nip at you.

Most ferrets like to go places with their people, so your ferret might enjoy riding on your shoulder or in a bag or pouch.

Behavior Bits

Ferrets are naturally curious animals and will tunnel under rugs, pillows and other things. They can squeeze through small spaces, so check for holes and window and screen openings. You may want to have your ferret wear a harness with a bell on it so you can easily track its whereabouts.

Ferrets usually sleep 15 to 20 hours a day and tend to be very sound sleepers. If you find your ferret napping, don't be surprised if it doesn't respond quickly to your touch or to any sounds you make.
Ferrets are "nippers" by nature. They will nip for fun, attention or simply to say, "I'm the boss." They enjoy rough-and-tumble play with each other, which includes nipping. You may need to teach your ferret that it cannot be as rough with you. If your ferret nips, calmly place your ferret back into its cage and give it a short “time out”. Do not grab or shake your ferret to punish it; this will likely result in the ferret getting more upset and biting again.

Ferrets love to chew, so you'll want to provide your ferret with toys made of hard plastic or hard rubber (like "Kongs"). Plastic balls with bells, plastic golf balls, squeaky stuffed animals made for dogs and cardboard tubing are also good toys for your ferret. Ferrets get bored easily and like variety, so it's best to alternate their toys so they always have something "new" to play with.

You can train your ferret to use a litter box. Ferrets generally go to the bathroom within a few minutes of waking up or after eating. When you first wake your ferret up, place it in the litter box. Don't let it out of the box until it has gone to the bathroom then immediately give it a treat. If you catch your ferret going somewhere it shouldn't, immediately place it in the litter box and give it a treat. Never physically punish your ferret for any reason, as it will only learn to be afraid of you.

Most ferrets get along well with each other and they usually get along with cats and dogs.

Resources

The American Ferret Association
PMB 255, 626-C Admiral Dr., Annapolis, MD 21401; 1-888-FERRET-1;
www.ferret.org

STAR* Ferrets
P.O. Box 1832, Springfield, VA 22151-0832;
www.ferretcentral.org

The World Ferret Union c/o Pat Wright
P.O. Box3395, San Diego, CA 92163

Bell, Judith A., DVM
The Pet Ferret Owner's Manual. Miracle Workers 1995.

Field, Jay and Mary.
A step by Step Book About Ferrets.

Jeans, Deborah.
A Practical Guide to Ferret Care. 2nd Edition 1996.

Morton, C. and E. Lynn. Ferrets: A Complete Pet Owner's Manual.
Mahwah, Barron's Educational Series, New York 1995.

Schilling, Kim.
Ferrets for Dummies (A Reference for the Rest of Us!). IDG Books Worldwide 2000.

Shefferman, Mary R.
The Ferret: An Owner's Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet. New York: Howell book House 1996.

For more information on ferrets or other companion animals, please contact the Larimer Humane Society at 970-226-3647.