The Stylish Ferret

 

Hiyaz allz Iz finally talked my pet Hooman into letting me have my own column.

Hooman says I am a Fashionista. Iz had Hooman look that up for me and this is what it said.

fash-ion-is-ta: Noun

1. a designer of haute couture

2. a devoted follower of fashion.

I guess that means Hooman is number one and Iz is number two.

Iz do not know if you knew that we, ferrets, have our own Shoppe called Enlightened Ferret Fashions on Etsy and there we sell many of Hooman’s creation for the well dressed stylish ferret. We are also starting to add things for kittys and doggies.

Iz have been lucky enough to keep many of Hooman’s creations. Iz is just now learning all of the terms and started following some of the great designers of the Hooman world and of the pet fashion industry.

Because there are a lot of different categories that the Hooman fashions fall under Iz thought I would look some of them up. Some of them make sense to a tiny ferret like me but most of them make me shake my little head in disbelief as to why the Hoomans would want to wear such strange clothes.

The first one Iz is doing this week is called 70’s Mood. Iz tried to find a good definition of what it is but there were way too many different ideas out there. My definition is mismatched clashing.

Even my pet Hooman raised her eyebrow at some of these outfits. Stating that she grew up during the 70’s and does not remember anything quite like these.

photo from www.fashionising.com 

The other thing Iz noticed is none of da models are smiling.are they mad about something or are they not allowed to look like they might be having fun? Of these three me favorite is the brown coat with the green stripes on the arms.

Have a Chittering Good Day and stay styling,

Marylin

Brushing Ferret Teeth

Manny getting his teeth brushed while I filmed how to do it.

 

 

Have a Chittering good Day,

 

Jo

National Dental and Heart Month.

 

Most pet parents know that February is National Dental month and that many vets give discounts for your pet to have their teeth cleaned. What many don’t realize is that it is also National Heart Month, granted it is more geared towards us humans but I believe that we should also have our pet’s hearts checked out as well since we are seeing increases in human diseases in our beloved fur babies.

Periodontal disease is very common in older ferrets over the age of 3 which is considered middle age. Cardiomyopathy is common in companion animals including ferrets when it is present in ferrets that are considered middle age to senior in age. “Cardiomyopathy comes from three Greek words that means disease of the Heart Muscle” 

 

A more in depth look at these topics to come.

 

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo

Did You Know?

Did you know that a bunch of ferrets are called a Business? In the world of ferrets, pet hoomans say it is their Buzyness that earned them that title.

Did you know that a ferret can learn to use the litter box like a cat? Or use puppy pads.

Did you know that a ferret’s tooth grows from the tip up?

Did you know that baby ferrets called kits have 30 teeth by the time they are 3 months old and should have lost their baby teeth by the time they are 9 months old?

Did you know that adult ferrets have 34 teeth?

Did you know that a ferret can be trained to walk on a leash?

Did you know that a ferret can sleep up to eighteen hours a day?

Did you know that a fixed boy ferret is called a Gib and a fixed girl is a sprite?

Did you know that ferrets are illegal in New York City, Washington D.C, California, and most military bases?

Did you know that the ferret have been domesticated for over two thousand year?

Did you know that the ferret’s Latin name Mustela putorius furo means stinky little thief?

 

Now you know.

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo

Blog Paws Friday Recap

I don’t think I’ve ever been this tired or hyped at blog paws. It is a wonderful and exhilarating feeling.

breakfast was nice and calm being able to interact with just a few people at a time was delightful.

Marylin gave Jo from petside lots of kisses.  

At the first session we attended the speaker was Darlene Arden love her sense of humor and she explained how to create a book proposal in a very detailed way that understandable.

Also in attendance was Glogirly

Does that mean Waffle is planning on writing a book?

The ferrets and I took in the session on how to get free publicity. I am sure that Harrison  Forbes had no idea that there were ferrets attending but I loved his statement that you had “ferret out the information.”

I took the fur kids to hang out at Marshall’s small animal playpen. To their surprise new additions had been added by Bonnie and friend from Washington Metro Area Ferret Outreach 

  after checking everything out it was time for a nice midday meal and then off to the land of Napping  

If you didn’t know ferrets sleep between 14-18 hours.  The rest of the day was kind of a blur as it just seems to pick up speed and fly out the door.

I did put the breaks on and created an Honor Flag for Grace. Honor Flags is the brainstorm of Wanda Kruse and is her take on the Tibet Prayer flags. The Honor Flags can be made to honor a pet, or animal loving person both living or have made the trip across the bridge.

I found it very relaxing and the world seemed to slow back down a slow spin. This is the flag for Grace

Don’t remember much about the rest of the day as I think I was sleepwalking most of it. But I do know I answered a lot of questions about ferrets.

For a select few there was a mini ferret fashion show as Emmy and Allen Pearson took some photos of the kids modeling some of the fashions created for fur challenged ferrets and for the stylish ferret.     

Allen is the professional photographer for Blog Paws this year. Thanks for the great tips. These photos are mine how great it was to have nice clear images.

Can you guess who these Blog Paws Attendees are?

Can’t believe that it is already Saturday.

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo

This post is brought to you by the people of who kindly sponsored us to be at this great event.

Harness Training Pt 2

After choosing harness you want to use on your ferret. adjust the neck first if using a harness with adjustable buckles. Once adjusted to the right width you can leave the neck loop closed so you can slip it over your ferret’s head then adjust the chest strap.

Remember you don’t want it too tight or too loose. You should be able to slip your smallest finger under the harness if you have large hands then use the eraser end of a pencil to check.

Put the harness on your ferret in a room you have ferret proofed and let the ferret get used to having the harness on.

Many will attempt to get out of the harness and if it isn’t adjusted correctly, they will do so in a matter of minutes.

Continue to adjust until your ferret can’t easily get out of the harness and reward them with some Ferretone so they see that wearing the harness is a good thing.

I also use a belled collar as to know where my ferrets are. With Manny being the only hearing ferret in the business he gets excited when I shake his collar as he knows that means he will be going outside.

 

Once your ferret has gotten used to the harness on for more than a few minutes the next step is to clip the leash to the harness and play your ferret in the room.

This allows the ferret a chance to explore the leash while seeing that it is a good thing. It also allows you to interact with your ferret while they are getting use to the leash in a safe environment.

If you have more than one ferret like I do then you should put a harness on those ferrets you plan on taking for walks or other outings.

Manny and Marcuz are very use to the harnesses they have but when I had to get a walking jacket for Marylin because of her small size the boys had to investigate the new type of harness and actually tried to take it off of Marylin. Not that Marylin minded. As she wanted the harness off as well.

Letting the boys play with the harness before I put it on Marylin did two things it let the boys get use to the different harness and let them rub their sent on the entire thing.

It also made Marylin feel more comfortable by having the boys scent surround her.

Once the ferret is use to having the leash trailing behind them and are eager to have the harness put on. You are ready for your first outing.

I would only make it a few minutes in the yard. Let the ferret explore the area while watching for signs of stress in the ferret.

These include but not limited to:

Trying to climb up your pant leg.

Cowering between your legs.

Finding a corner and backing into it as far as they can go. However, don’t pick the ferret up to quickly encase they are using the bathroom.

If the ferret climbs your pant leg cradle them in your arms and let them get use to all the new smells and sounds from the safety of your arms or in the case of Marcuz the top of your head.

Remember this is all new to them so let them get use to the new world you just opened for them. First outing shouldn’t be more than ten minute.

A word of caution when walking your ferret outside keep an eye out for the neighbor’s dog or cat as many will rush the strange creature and many ferrets don’t see this as a reason to run away. Also look up now and then to make sure there are no birds that might swoop down and take your little darling.

The tandem lead is a great way to walk a pair of ferrets as it keeps you from being pulled in two different directions.

The biggest thing to remember is that you will never get your ferret to walk in a straight line, as they have to check out everything. Nevertheless, it is well worth the work to have people stop and ask about your unusual pet.

By harness and leash training my fur kids I’ve opened up a whole new world for them and I as we travel to different places such as Blog Paws and other events along with letting them play in the snow and chase the fall leaves.

With a little work you can provide your ferret with enrichment that will allow them to explore the new wonders that all curious ferrets are looking for.

 

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo

Did You Know…

That ferrets can be taught to walk on a leash like a dog. I get an assortment of different looks when I walk my three fur kids and the most received statement is “I didn’t know they would walk on a leash.”

Like training a dog, you have to have the right equipment.

What you need:

A harness

A belled collar

A leash

A tandem lead

Ferretone

There are different styles of harnesses to choose from and the one you choose has to fit your lifestyle. What works for me may not be the style or design you want. There are three main styles of harnesses and they are:

This is one of the cheapest one it’s made from a twisted cord that loops over the head and has a plastic slider that has a button lock making it look like one of those Bolo Ties   seen on Oil Tycoons but without the silver tips.

To make the second loop you take the line with the metal clip under the ferret’s body behind their front feet and clip it into the plastic loop on the side of the slider.

This type of leash is attractive to many first time ferret owners because of cost but the effectiveness of using this leash is almost nil. The button lock doesn’t stay locked and agile ferrets can maneuver enough to unlock it and slide it so they can walk out of the harness.

The Neoprene Harnesses are usually brightly colored and has Velcro® on the ends that go around the neck and around the body.

 

The Comfort harness is similar to the Neoprene Harness in design but also features buckles for added safety. The furkids buddy Snotface Critter wears one on his travels and Marylin wore a smaller version until she was big enough for her newest harness.

I use the H style harness mainly because it was the only style available where I live until recently when the store started adding more designs to their inventory and Most of the time you bought the harness and leash as a set. These are made from nylon webbing and are adjustable around the neck and body and has the same buckle as the comfort harness.

 

All but the string type harness have a D ring for the leash to attach to. It is important to make sure the harness fits correctly. To loose and the ferret will escape too tight and then the ferret won’t be able to breathe or move properly. Rule of thumb I use is one finger between the ferret and the harness.

Always start harness training inside.

I cannot stress this enough. First, it allows the ferret the chance to get use to having the harness on in a controlled situation. If the ferret realizes they can get out of the harness, they will do so in the safety of their home and not in the big wide world of unknowns.

Second, it lets you adjust the harness so that it is not too tight or too loose without the worry of the ferret escaping.

To Be Continued…

 

Have a Chittering Good Day,

Jo