Train Your Ferrets to Do Tricks

Did you ever see a dog dance different moves with a flick of the fingers? Or even see a dolphin do a back flip? Ever wonder how to teach cool tricks to a ferret? Read on to find out!

Steps

Shaking Paws

  1. Put your hand out.
  2. Keep a treat about an inch farther than your hand.
  3. As soon as your ferret steps on your hand *with one paw* give her/him the treat.

Sitting

  1. Hold up your treat above the ferret's head. Make sure that the treat isn't too high or else the ferret might jump to get it.
  2. As soon as your ferret lowers his bottom to sit, say "Sit" loud and clear.
  3. Immediately give him the treat.
  4. Praise him and pet him. You'll have to do this many times before the ferret gets what your saying.

Standing Upright

  1. Ask your ferret to sit and as soon as he does, give him a treat.
  2. Put the treat in front of his nose but a couple inches up and a couple inches forward so that he will have to stand up and get it.
  3. As soon as he starts to shift and get up, say "Stand" loud and clear, then give him the treat. Practice this as many times as you can.

Coming to You

  1. Tell your ferret to stand (if he's already standing, then great).
  2. Hold the treat about one foot away from the ferret. As soon as he makes a move for it, say "Come" loud and clear. Practice that for a couple days.
  3. Begin holding the treat {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} away, then 4, then 5, then as far as you want to go. If the ferret goes for the treat before you say, "Come" then try hiding the treat in your hand and say "Come" and show the treat.

Sitting on Your Shoulder

  1. Find a place with soft mats, like your bed, so that if the ferret falls, he won't land on the floor and get hurt.
  2. Sit on your bed (or wherever you chose) and place the ferret on your shoulders and say, "Steady" or something you would like to use as a command.
  3. Start counting to ten slowly. If your ferret falls before you reach ten, then place him back on your shoulders and count again. Do this until your ferret stays still for ten seconds 3 times in a row (in other words, 30 seconds altogether).
  4. Move on to 20 seconds, then 30 seconds, then 40 seconds, then 50 seconds, then one minute. Remember to keep the lesson short so that your ferret won't get bored.

Laying Down

  1. Say, "Sit" (let's hope you were still persistent with these old lessons).
  2. Put the treat on the ground (still holding it) and wait for the ferret to lay down to get it. If the ferret backs up to bend his head and eat it, then keep moving the treat towards him until he reaches a dead end and becomes forced to lay down. As soon as he lays down, say, "Lay down" and give him the treat.
  3. Do this many times and make sure to give him the treat afterwards.

Rolling Over

  1. Ask your ferret to "Lay down".
  2. Start moving the treat around his mouth until he goes belly up. Give him the treat then. Practice this for a couple lessons.
  3. Start going full circles. Go around his mouth until he goes back to the laying position.
  4. Do it again, but the next time, say "Roll over". Practice this a lot along with the other tricks.

Begging

  1. Tell the ferret to "Sit".
  2. Take a treat and hold it near his nose, almost directly in front of it. Then start moving the treat up. Don't go too fast or the ferret will start jumping to get it.
  3. As soon as the ferret reaches standing position, give him the treat. Do this again but as soon as the ferret starts moving, say "Beg" loud and clear.

Jumping in the Hoop

  1. Take a hula hoop and put it in front of a door. The bottom of the hula hoop has to touch the bottom of the door.
  2. Hold the treat on the other side. As soon as the ferret goes for it, say, "Jump in" loud and clear.
  3. Give the treat to the ferret when it goes to the other side.
  4. Put the hula hoop higher and put a blocking material (books, cardboard, wood, etc.) on the bottom to cover up the hole.
  5. Wait for the ferret to jump over.



Tips

  • Never do lessons longer than 30 minutes. After that, the ferret gets bored and never learns anything. 10 minutes of short lessons would be better than 30 minutes of long hard work.
  • If you've been working with your ferret for a long time, give it a little rest. If you don't your ferret will not do the tricks well, and will try to sleep!
  • Praise (whether it be hugs and digs on the head or food) is a MUST! A ferret won't perform a new trick if he/she isn't praised.
  • Try to catch a ferret when he's happy and energetic, not tired and sleepy. You want your ferret to pay attention to you and not wander off.
  • If your ferret wants a rest, give him a rest. This probably means that you worked him too hard and his brain need resting.
  • Treat your ferret with love and delicate hands so that he/she may be your habitual and soon will learn what you want.
  • Practice every one of them each day. Even one day of rest could make a ferret's mind lazy and forget the lesson.
  • Always give treats after they do a trick. Even if you've been practicing for years, they still might expect a reward.
  • You should start earlier rather than later. The young mind is more flexible and the tricks stick much better than in an older mind.
  • Do not use fatty treats or treats that include grains. This will make your ferret overweight.
  • Learning the tricks in the order of this article is best for the ferret. Then you don't have to force a ferret to sit to do beg or lay down to do roll over.
  • Patience is seriously needed. Never leave your patience behind! Patience is the main thing you will need. A ferret can't be expected to learn a trick after two days of work.

Warnings

  • Don't get frustrated! Be calm and if a ferret doesn't do what you wanted it to do, then try again.*
  • Don't make the hula hoop too high or the ferret could get injured.*

Things You'll Need

  • ferret
  • treats
  • quiet place
  • soft place to land
  • partner(optional)
  • hula hoop
  • blocking materials

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