Walking Your Ferret
Why should I walk my ferret?
If ferret walking is such a risky business, why do it at all? The answer to this lies in the mental and physical stimulation that it affords both ferret and owner. Surely there can be nothing worse for an otherwise well cared for ferret to be stuck in a tiny hutch all day with nothing to do. Your ferret is a very intelligent creature and requires a stimulating environment for its proper mental health. Our three ferrets live indoors with us and have free access to most of our bungalow for most of the time during the day but they still enjoy their two or three walks each week. They love to explore new environments and enjoy walking, running, digging and even swimming.
Exposure to the huge variety of scents, sounds and sights experienced on a walk can help desensitise your pet to sudden or strange stimuli and make them a more relaxed and confident animal.
You and your pet will also benefit from the fresh air and exercise provided by ferret walking.
One thing we can promise you is that you will meet and talk to a lot of other people, some of whom will think that both you and your ferrets should be locked up, but most of whom will be both fascinated by and delighted to see these charming and endearing little creatures out and about.
How do I walk my ferret?
Firstly, let us consider the equipment required. Do not try to walk your ferret with a collar and lead, you must use a proper harness with a strap or straps going both around the neck and behind the front legs. This is because a ferret can easily slip out of a collar.
We have experimented with both nylon fabric and leather harnesses. The nylon types have a number of advantages. They are infinity adjustable and have snap-together clasps, which are both secure and easy to use. They are also available in a range of colours and patterns so that if you are walking more than one ferret at once, you can easily see whose lead and harness is who's when they get in a tangle. Their main disadvantage is that they quickly become dirty and are not easy to clean. Leather harnesses on the other hand are trickier to fit as they have buckles and straps, the holes in which are never in the right places. This can be very frustrating if your ferret has an attack of 'the squirms' whilst you are trying to put it on. They are easier to keep clean then the nylon type however. We tend to use the nylon type indoors and the leather type outdoors.
We have not got on well with the figure-of-eight one-piece harnesses and much prefer the three-piece 'H'-type; they are easier to fit and more secure. If the connecting ring for the lead is not fitted centrally on the cross bar of the 'H', then we would recommend that this be place over the shoulders rather than over the neck as this will be more comfortable for the ferret. Right-handed people will find it easiest to have the buckles on the right hand side of the harness.
When the harness is secure check that you can get your little finger between the straps and the ferret's body.
Next we need to consider the types of lead available. The coloured nylon harnesses come with their own matching leads. These look smart and can help you keep track of who has hold of which ferret. However they are on the short side at around 45 inches (115cms) long and they do tend to get caught in brambles etc. very easily.
In our experience by far the best material for a ferret lead is a kind of synthetic cord used by rock-climbers and mountaineers. This is made in various thicknesses (3 millimetres is best) is perfectly round in cross-section and has a very smooth non-snagging finish. It costs around 30 pence per metre. We make up our leads around 70 inches (180 cms) long. Heat the cut ends of the cord to melt the fibres and prevent fraying.
A word about flexi-leads. We have experimented with these but have found that they have one major disadvantage. This is the handle, which contains the spool on which the lead is wound. At some point during the outing your ferret will decide that he wants to come up for a ride and/or have a snooze. He will climb up your trouser leg and then under your jacket or coat. No problem thus far, unless you object to the muddy paw prints of course. However, when he decides to come out again, which is usually about 20 seconds later, he will almost invariably come up out of the next of the jacket or down your sleeve. If you are using a flexi-lead this will leave your ferret dangling in mid-air while you frantically fumble around trying to get the handle disentangled from your clothing: been there, done that! A simple lead can, of course, just be pulled through.
Next we must consider the most critical piece of the equipment, the joint between lead and harness. Whatever you do, do not rely on a 'G'-clip to do the job. This is because they can quickly become undone when your pet starts charging through the undergrowth. We have removed all the 'G'-clips from our leads and have replaced them with spring links and, as a back-up, a special kind of screw-clip. Like our leads, these also come from specialist outdoor sports suppliers. Each clip consists of an oval of thin stainless steel rod with a knurled brass barrel on one side. This barrel can be screwed down to reveal a gap in the oval, which is closed by screwing the barrel back up again. These are the most secure clips we have found.
Continued on the Walking Your Ferret Part 2
