Have A Chittering Good Day,
Jo
Wish I could just drop and snooze like my fur kids. I love their little kissable paws though.
Have a Chittering Good Day,
Jo
We are defiantly feeling the Blog Paws Hangover today. Still can’t believe it is over already.
Next year we are headed to Vegas! Enjoy the photos.
Have a *yawn* Chittering Good Day,
Jo
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.
Where has the time gone? Soon the fur kids and I will be joining other like-minded bloggers and pet related people in Tyson Corners, VA to expand our network and reconnect with friends.
This year is even more special for Enlightened Ferret because in addition to our long time supporter Lisa Taron the Pet Blog Lady.
Manny has known Lisa the longest and can’t wait to give her more ferrety kisses and introduce her to his sister Marylin.
Marshall, no not the clothing store, is also sponsoring us. Manny and Marylin are both Marshall ferrets and will be enjoying their sponsored small animal play area along with their brother Marcuz off and on throughout Blog Paws.
I am excited that there will be a brand there that geared to the ferret parent (ferrent).
Who knows maybe the 3M’s will give a weasel war dance demonstration for those that would like to learn those crazy moves. No guarantee though as ferrets have their own ideas of things.
We are grateful to our sponsors both old and new and can’t wait to see them both in just a few days.
Have a Chittering Good Day,
Jo
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