Walking Your Ferret part 2
Our ferrets each have a three-quarter inch (20mm) diameter engraved brass disc on their harness bearing their name on one side and our full telephone number on the reverse. They have also all been micro-chipped.
Finally, each ferret has a small bell attached to its harness. This is useful for locating your pet in the undergrowth, or to let you know that he is underfoot!
What else will you need? Remember to take some water with you and offer it to your animal regularly throughout the walk. You will probably find however that your pet will prefer to drink from puddles, the muddier the better.
You should also take a two ton JCB with you to dig him out when he dives down some especially attractive hole. If you can't get one of these in your pocket then take along something to dig with, such as one of those curved tools designed for getting weeds out from between paving stones, or a small trowel. Take a squeaker toy along if you have trained your ferret to come to this sound, and a sharp knife in case you need to cut him free from a tangle.
You might want to walk your animal somewhere other than in the immediate locality. In this case you will want a secure carrying box. We have found the 'Cityhoppa' carrier to be excellent as it is strong, light in weight and easy to clean.
We have never tried taking our ferrets on a bus or a train so we have no idea what kind of reception you would get if you tried it. It would be best to contact the carrying company before you attempt the journey.
We transport our ferrets in our car. We put the 'Cityhoppa' carrier on the back seat and fix it in place using a luggage strap. This is passed over and under the carrier and a loop pushed into the gap between the seat pad and the back of the seat and into the boot space. A block of wood inserted into the loop prevents the strap from being pulled back through the gap.
Technique
Don't expect walking a ferret to be like walking a dog. Your ferret will not walk to heel, or even stay on one side of you for that matter. He will constantly be stopping to sniff or dig at something or, at the other extreme, bounding along at full tilt. He may also be doing a lot of 'upping and downing' as we call it: that is climbing up your trousers (or asking to be picked up) only to go down again ten seconds later.
You will find it much easier to 'go with the flow' and let your ferret take you to where he wants to go than to try to force him to meet your desires. It is, after all, his walk. You can train your pet to go around the same side of obstruction as yourself. We have even had some success in getting our boys to go over rather under stiles.
Walking one ferret is difficult, two is extremely hard and three is well-nigh impossible - you will end up looking like a maypole!
A ferret-walkers greatest asset is patience. You will need this 'in spades' when he has wrapped his lead around your ankles, or when he has dived down a tiny hole and won't come out, or when he simply decides that he isn't going anywhere just now, thank you. Resist the temptation to drag him away, he will just dig his heels in both literally and metaphorically. Instead, reduce the tension on his lead and wait for him to become bored. Ferrets are so nosey that they just cannot stay in one spot for too long. On this topic, I once saw a young boy taking a poley for a 'walk' at an indoor ferret show some years ago. The unfortunate ferret was sat on its haunches being dragged along the polished wooden floor of the school hall on its bottom. I offered up a prayer that there would be no splinters en route!
Where should I walk my ferret?
So now we are all set to go on our first outing. Where should we go? Do not be overly ambitious. A stroll round the garden is quite enough for starters. Once you and your ferret have got used to the idea you can progress to walks off your property. This is where the problems begin. These can be categorised thus:
1. Dogs
2. Dogs
3. Dogs
The average dog owner has about as much control over their animal as you have over the weather. Possibly less. We have heard harrowing tales of ferrets being bitten in two by marauding dogs which can appear as if by magic, and we have every reason to believe that they are true.
There are two extremes of possibility when meeting a dog whilst out walking your ferret. Scenario A is where dog owner spots you coming some distance away. Stops and attaches lead to dog before proceeding. Animals and owners pass with polite greetings on all sides. Dog let off lead again some distance away. Scenario B is where the dog comes up to you barking and growling its head off. Owner ignores this behaviour. You end up on tip-toe holding your ferret high above your head while dog and owner snap and snarl at you for taking such a 'stupid' animal for a walk in the first place.
Continued on the Walking Your Ferret Part 3
