Ferret Care Secrets

Ferret Training - Can I train my ferret to display certain types of behavior?

Of course. Surprisingly, training a ferret is much like training a dog. You can train her to do simple things such as “come here” or “roll over.” If you are willing to put the time and effort into training a ferret to do tricks, the rewards will be no less than exciting and sometimes hilarious!

If you and your ferret work hard enough together, you can even get it to do fun things like dance or beg. There are a few simple rules to follow when training your ferret, however, and they will not only make the process simpler and less frustrating for you but will set the scenario for success with your ferret.

First thing is first – make learning to do tricks fun for your ferret! Think about it from your ferret’s point of view – it doesn’t have to learn how to roll over.

Rolling over does not help your ferret accomplish anything in its daily routine, and it is not required for survival. Why should your ferret learn how to do it? What does it get out of putting the extra effort into learning to do something new?

When you put the process of training a ferret into this perspective, you can begin to see why some people may have a difficult time training their pets – not everyone is able to look at training from a pet’s point of view.

However, if you make the training fun and rewarding for your ferret, it will want to display the desired behavior – and both you and your ferret will be happy. First, choose an easy to understand command, such as “sit” or “play dead.” More than two words may get confusing for your ferret.
Make sure that when you speak the command, your tone of voice is firm so that you are enunciating properly, but you do not come across to your ferret as stern, disappointed or angry. Next, set up a way to show your ferret how the trick or desired behavior is to be done.

For example, if you want your ferret to roll over, take a treat and hold it in front of the ferret’s nose while it is lying down. Roll the treat above its head – slowly at first – so that it must lie on its back to get the treat.

Then take the treat and put it underneath the ferret’s chin so that it must roll over once more to get it. At this point, repeat the command and praise your ferret repeatedly while giving it the treat.

Don’t get discouraged – a ferret is not going to learn a command or a certain behavior in just one day. It may take several days or even a week or more for it to catch on.

A few rules for success – make sure the command, how the trick is to be performed and the rewards and praises stay the same. A ferret will never learn something that changes and you will both be disappointed and frustrated.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that training a ferret should be fun for both you and your pet – if your ferret is not getting it, leave it alone for a little while and try again later.

You can also train your ferret to use the litter box much the same way. You must first, however, understand that a ferret backs into a corner to go to the bathroom. It is almost always a corner!

It is also important to know that to successfully litter train a ferret, you must exercise plenty of patience and praise the same way you would if you were teaching it a trick. In your ferret’s cage, it will pick a corner that it will defecate in and this will usually be the furthest from its food and water.

Keep a corner pan that snaps in and out that can be emptied in its cage once your ferret has chosen its corner, and it is smooth sailing from there.

The tricky part is to litter train your ferret when it is outside of its cage. Remember the basics – your ferret will pick a corner and most likely use the same one repeatedly unless your ferret can’t get to it in time.

When beginning to litter train your ferret, take it out of its cage only when you are able to supervise the ferret fully and completely. This is not the time to let your ferret have free run of the house – there will be plenty of time for that later if you so wish. Watch your ferret and when it backs up into a corner, lift it up quickly and put it in the corner pan in which you wish the ferret to use.

If your ferret has finished its business successfully in the pan, give it plenty of praise and treats – your ferret deserves it! After a few times, the ferret will get the picture and begin to understand that you want it to go to the bathroom in this corner and not that one.

If you do plan to let your ferret run loose and you have a large house, pick several corners in which to have a litter pan – ferrets can’t wait very long to go to the bathroom due to their extremely short digestive tracts, so when they have to go, they have to go.

Don’t set your ferret up for failure by not having an approved bathroom to go to when it needs to. Keep in mind that there will be accidents. Don’t ever punish a ferret for having an accident; you will only turn your ferret off of the whole litter training idea entirely. Above all, keep the ferret’s litter pans clean. If they’re not clean, your ferret won’t go in them – that’s not the ferret’s fault, it’s yours. If you have patience, it will learn how to use the litter box and both you and your ferret will be much happier in the end.

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