Frosty now all better!

Hey Stevy, Sierra, & Frosty here with a bit of important information for you all! Now you need to pay real close attention to this because it could mean the life of our cousins so take care and read carefully!

Okay I know some of you humans do not want to hear this but you NEED too! When one of our cousins bites you before you flick their little nose we want you to flick your nose as hard as you would ours. See how it feels! It HURTS! It makes our eyes water it HURTS so bad. Now when you humans hurts yourself you know how angry and up set you get, sometimes you punch something or you kick something because it hurts so bad, well that is how BAD the flick hurts our noses. So all you are doing is making us want to bite you more and harder. Here are some reasons some of our cousins nip or bite.

Nipper: This is when they grab your hand, ankle, or arm quickly (we call it hit and run) leaving a bit of pain but not breaking the skin. Most generally this is for several different reasons. Some of which are:

1) Play with me please.
2) Tag you’re it!
3) I am frightened, hurt or annoyed.

Bite: This is a bit more serious. Our cousins not only grab your hand, arm, or ankles, but our cousins literally draw blood and sometimes do not let go. Your first question should be WHY?

1) Have they been hurt?
2) Have they been abused?
3) Are they being tormented?
4) Are they in an environment they do not feel comfortable in?

Once these questions have been answered, you can start teaching our cousins how not to bite. BUT you also have to remember that there is a REASON for this. You must find out, as best you can, the cause. Most generally animals do not bite unless provoked or have been trained that you humans cannot be trusted. Actually you are not teaching our cousins NOT to bite you are teaching them that you can be trusted NOT to HURT them so they have no reason to hurt you!

1) We DO NOT recommend Scruffing; we recommend gently putting your hand around their neck so that they cannot look away, placing their face in front of yours Sternly say NO BITES, but no yelling that frightens us! (Keeping the animal away from your face if you have a real biter.) Scruffing is an aggressive move if your pet has already been taught that humans are aggressive and mean they then will only bite harder and faster.
2) NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, flick the nose, hit our cousins or shake him or her. If you feel the need to flick a nose, flick your own (see how good it feels.) Hitting our cousins is only reinforcing the “I don’t trust human reflex”, and shaking him/her can, and will, cause the same brain damage that human children suffer with shaken baby syndrome.

Dealing with a Severe Biter: This is a biter that will bite to the bone, and literally hang from what ever part of the body they have attached themselves to. We highly recommend you find a reputable human/shelter that has experience with severe biters to work with, and rehabilitate these cousins. These guys have been undoubtedly hurt by a human for one reason or another, and they will hurt you every chance they get to keep from being hurt ever again. It takes a very special human to be able to hold the animal that is biting them, with blood flowing down the skin, to talk softly, telling the animal that all is right with the world and they will not be hurt ever again. That Master Largo Kid was one of these cousins and our Aunt Brenda made him all better, BUT not before she gots lots of scars on her arms and legs. That Master Largo turned out to be an okay cousin he did.

So what we is telling you is STOP hurting our noses! Our cousins do not like to be hurt any more that you humans do so if you are gentle with them, if you are patient with them you can get them to trust you enough to stop biting you.

Frosty was a bad bitter the lady that first had us did not know he was deaf and when he did not see her and she startled him he bit her and the more that she hurt him the more he bit her.

Our Mom could not pick him up at all he would attack her, but now she gets kisses and cuddles and no bites.

It took Dad a long time to teach Frosty not to bite but now anyone can pick him up and get kisses just like they do from Sierra and me.

Give us love and not Hurt !!

TheTerribleTrio
Stevy, Sierra, & Frosty
Come Visit Us

Using Brenda's technique of comforting and soothing the ferret when they bite, has been wonderful. I took in a viscous fear biter about a year ago now. Nothing worked to get him to stop biting. I scuffed him, and spoke harshly to him, telling him no, like all the books say to do, and the second he was free he would come at me more viciously that than what he he got yelled at for doing. I knew Brenda had taken biters in before, and was great at rehab with them, so I asked for her help. I played with him with puppets, stuffed animals, and any other toy I could find that would protect my hands and arms yet still letting him learn that I was not going to hurt him. Let him learn to trust me. Learn that he did not have to bite to prevent himself from getting hurt. This is how he was. He was going to bite me as hard as he could to make sure he got me first. It took months of playing with him and loving him to earn his trust. The first time I got kisses from Chompers I was thrilled. He trusted me. Do I trust him? Yes, to an extent. I trust him 100% to give me kisses on the cheek. But, even after a year, when Chompers is out playing, I try to wear long pants, and shoes. He no longer bites out of fear, but he does bite. A week or so ago, I was having a bad day, and apparently so was Chompy. After the third attack and third set of teeth marks in my leg I scooped him up, scruffed him and told him enough. When I set him down, he came at me like the first day I brought him home.. So using Brenda's technique I have a very sweet, loving, normal ferret, what I forgot was I need to remember every day, that I must work to keep his trust. I also think it is important to remember just because your ferret trusts you, does not mean he will trust anyone. Caution should be taken when other people are around. I do not know what kind of trauma Chompers experienced before he came to me. All I know is who he is now, and that trust is easily broken with one bad day. If you have a biter, I could recommend no better system to earn their trust. Thanks Brenda , for helping me make Chompers a loving and trusting ferret. Ret

You helped me back in February with my deaf biter Blaise (who is now one of the sweetest ferrets imaginable!) someone had recommended you to me. Your advice helped & she has not been a biter since! Even with other people (except for white socks, she still has trouble resisting them :) Anna