TVlurcherman 5 Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Hi all, i need some advice on taming my new ferret hob (Ragnar). He is still very young so i should imagine theres enough time to get him tame. I hold him about an hour a day half hour in the morning and half hour in the evening and let him have a little run about the front room from time to time. From what i can tell he has been bred small as his parents are small and bred for hunting (i intend on working him aswell), he is a very confident little man and will happily take on the 5 month old lurcher by arching his back and jumping on all fours toward her and nipping her feet. I hold him around his middle behind his front legs but dare not put my hand by his face as he will nip and sometimes not let go, the longer i hold him the more he wants to get away!! when i open his cage he will come over and try to defend his cage by nipping. Also when he is in his run or has free run of the house he will try to fend of any intruder by chasing and jumping on all fours or nip your toes. I would like to get him to a point where i can hold him and give him food without fear of being bitten as when he gets older i suspect this may get rather painfull. All advice greatfully recieved. Quote Link to post
Kay 3,709 Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Hi all, i need some advice on taming my new ferret hob (Ragnar). He is still very young so i should imagine theres enough time to get him tame. I hold him about an hour a day half hour in the morning and half hour in the evening and let him have a little run about the front room from time to time. From what i can tell he has been bred small as his parents are small and bred for hunting (i intend on working him aswell), he is a very confident little man and will happily take on the 5 month old lurcher by arching his back and jumping on all fours toward her and nipping her feet. I hold him around his middle behind his front legs but dare not put my hand by his face as he will nip and sometimes not let go, the longer i hold him the more he wants to get away!! when i open his cage he will come over and try to defend his cage by nipping. Also when he is in his run or has free run of the house he will try to fend of any intruder by chasing and jumping on all fours or nip your toes. I would like to get him to a point where i can hold him and give him food without fear of being bitten as when he gets older i suspect this may get rather painfull. All advice greatfully recieved. he needs a companion , if he is stuck in a cage all day & is only getting a run round a couple of times a week he will he have loads of pent up energy, does he have a run of some kind outside so he can play ? 1 Quote Link to post
TVlurcherman 5 Posted August 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Yeah he's got a run and he comes in the house most nights Quote Link to post
The one 8,616 Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Keep up the handling ,feed him handle him after a fortnight you should see a big difference Quote Link to post
Malt 379 Posted August 16, 2011 Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 It's important that you don't give in to his demands when he's twisting & squirming to be put down. Wait until he goes limp before you put him back on the floor or back in his cage. You'll know he'll have got the message, they almost give a sigh of resignation as they go limp and accept that they aren't going to get their own way. Quote Link to post
TVlurcherman 5 Posted August 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2011 Thankyou, i think i reached that point today. The 1st two or three minutes he strugled but after that he relaxed and i had my best session of handling yet, when i said about the jumping on all fours thing it was rather alot like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOQPJxPiZjs which makes the whole thing look rather cute but i can assure you i could see the devil in his eyes . im guessing that will calm down over time? Quote Link to post
DanRaistrick 53 Posted August 17, 2011 Report Share Posted August 17, 2011 i had my 3 jills in one hutch, 2 albino and 1 poley, and the poley always used to bite and latch on. then i decided that maybe she was best in with my hob who is a bit bigger as she was always bullying the albino kits and since then she hasnt bit since... soft as muck! i think its down to all the playing her and the hob do... ALLLLL day :L they must be nackered out and can't be arsed with biting on when they finally get a rest from each other. try getting him a pal to play with? if its suitable for you anyway and you'd be able to care for them properly. might make the little guy more sociable, and also if he is used to other ferrets it may help him when he may have to be with others when working? Quote Link to post
Malt 379 Posted August 17, 2011 Report Share Posted August 17, 2011 Thankyou, i think i reached that point today. The 1st two or three minutes he strugled but after that he relaxed and i had my best session of handling yet, when i said about the jumping on all fours thing it was rather alot like this which makes the whole thing look rather cute but i can assure you i could see the devil in his eyes . im guessing that will calm down over time? That sounds like what they call 'the weasel war dance', google it! It's not aggression, it's just the ferret showing you it's happy and wants to play. Ferrets play rough, but don't realise they're hurting you. Let the ferret know that it's hurting you when it bites by letting out a yelp. I had one hob ferret who would only bite hard enough to take hold. He would gently bite on my knuckle and try to pull me under the settee! With enough handling you can get a ferret as tame as a dog, it's just teaching it to know it's limits. They can be great fun when very tame, especially hobs, IMO. Quote Link to post
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