More and more I’m seeing people with ferrets as pets and was even told by a pet owner I recently bumped into that he has trouble keeping them in stock due to their increased popularity. Ferrets are very loveable, loyal, fun loving creatures, but have several drawbacks one of which is that they like to bite. Not finger’s missing huge bites, but more like little bitty baby bites. The good news is that with the right amount of training and patience ferrets can learn to stop doing this annoying habit.

Ferrets are by no means ferocious animals, but when they get to playing and rough housing a bit they do occasional try to bite they playmates. Like with cats and dogs (and children for that matter) positive reinforcement is always the best way to handle problems and teach them that good behavior can be worth their wild. That being said, if treats don’t do the trick you may want to consider a few alternative methods.

A quick flick of the nose is a good, as long as you aren’t dealing with an animal that has been abused in the past. If this is the case any type of physical discipline may have a reverse effect and the last thing you want is a pet that is afraid to be around you. Try several different noises. Ferrets have very sensitive hearing and a you may just discover that a well placed squeak may get him to stop whatever he’s doing.  If these ideas don’t work try a round of old fashioned Time-Out. According to the guys at FerretCentral “Confining the misbehaving ferret to a cage and ignoring him for a few minutes can be very effective, especially if there's another ferret wandering around conspicuously having fun.”

The last thing you want to do is scare the animal or hurt him in anyway. It’s important to try several non-violent approaches to training before you move on to nose flicking. Remember to give your feret some time to understand your actions and accept the fact that biting leads to some type of punishment. It may not be the easiest thing you have ever done, but eventually your feret will understand the consequences of biting and will stop in no time.