DEAF FERRET, need advice

[LilleaPromise]

My boyfriend and I recently adopted a Marshalls ferret. Currently he is teething, so that can make for a nippy, rough housing ans sometimes irritable ferret buddy. The problem is we have come to the conclusion that he is deaf, making nip training much harder. I need advice on what I can do to make his life and ours much more pleasant.

[Barbara]

It's more difficult but with my Daisy when she bit I would hold her by scruffing right in front of my face and mouth no and shake my head. Then I would put her down and ignore her for a few minutes. It took her a little longer but she learned. I also taught her hand signals from come. They're pretty smart and even if their deaf, they don't know the other or humans can hear. BTW she was a screamer, not a little, a lot. But that was part of why we loved her so much.

[kpaz]

Possibly try hand signals with something for a reward, like a tiny piece of meat or drop of ferretone/extra virgin olive oil.
Here is an idea that someone else used with their ferrets:
"Let them smell the treat in your hand by passing it by their scnhozz and bringing it up to your face, near your eye. Make your eyes wide, say watch me. When they make eye contact, reward with a teensy, weensy bit. It helps to get down to their level, so get a comfy place to kneel or sit on the floor. Later as they are more experienced you can stand up.
Watch Me!: Start with your arm extended towards ferret, use treat hand, fingers outstretched, treat bit tucked under thumb, after brief sniff, roll fingers closed and point finger next to eye, widen eyes, saying Watch Me! The very second the ferret meets your eyes, reward. Repeat until rewards are gone.

All Gone: Open all fingers on both hands, outstretch arms, turn hands palms up, then palms down, say "All Gone." This means end of session. Scoop up ferret and scruffle and smooch.

Come Here!: Use "Watch me" to begin session. Then extend hand towards ferret, folding it in repeatedly towards your chest, beckoning the ferret to you. As she moves towards you reward. Move to a different spot, repeat gesture, reward when ferret comes to you. Repeat process until rewards are gone. End with "All Gone!"

SIT! Tuck treat into hand, ball hand up into a fist, extend hand towards nose of ferret, keep it close to the nose but keep pushing it over the top of their head. When the butt hits the ground, reward immediately. Use a slightly larger bit of reward so they have to chew a bit, as they are chewing you move to a new spot. Use "Come Here". Do "Sit!" Again. Repeat until treats are gone. Finish with "All GONE".

See how each step builds on and reinforces the one they already learned?

"Stay!" or "Stop!" Arm outstretched, Palm facing ferret directly in typical traffic cop stop gesture. Use this after a "sit!" command. Step back away from ferret, if ferret breaks sit to follow you, simply put them back in sit. Reward for sit. Do stay gesture again as you step back one step. Then walk to ferret, still showing "Stay" and reward if they haven't broken the "Sit!". Eventually you'll move back farther and farther. Remember their eyesight isn't that great - so don't back off too far.

You'll know they are picking up on the signals when you can alternate "Stay!" and "Come Here!" from the "Sit!".

"Sit Pretty!" is easy for them. Put them in a sit, pinch all fingers together in one hand and use a pull up gesture over the ferret's nose until he stands up. reward while the ferret is sitting up. This is a good one to help strengthen and tone abdominal and back muscles.

Dance! Bring pinched together fingers a little higher to get ferret off butt and onto his toes, swirl hand while getting ferret to follow the hand movement. Reward while ferret is "dancing".

"Down!" From a sit point finger downwards touching the ground in front of the ferret. Don't reward until ferret moves to position their belly along the floor.

"Creep, Crawl, Army man": Put ferret in "Down" then gesture like you are sweeping with a Whisk broom, fingers extended, together, brushing crumbs along the floor in front of the ferret. This one needs short steps. Reward as ferret stretches forward then inches hind feet forward. Don't reward if ferret moves up from "Down".

Rollover: Put ferret in "Down" or "Sit". Draw treat from nose, along cheek, behind ear, across neck. Ferret should follow treat with nose and roll over to get it. Reward when rotation is completed and ferret is returned to down. After a few initial introductions to the follow the treat around their neck, you can back your hand up and simply rotate it like you are drawing a circle in the air.

These are the basics, you can build from there. The key is to get their attention, hold it, communicate CLEARLY what you expect, reward IMMEDIATELY, and repeat. Don't move to a different gesture until they are consistent with the current gesture."

[Dingo]

Good advice above.

I once had a ferret that was stone deaf and had bilateral cataracts that rendered him totally blind.
That being said, he was the most gung ho ferret I've ever known and he enjoyed life to the fullest.

[imaginarium]

One of my first ferrets was deaf. I would put ferretone on my hands everyday, and let him lick it off. Then when he started licking without it, I'd give it to him after he licked. He caught on really quick. He also got cataracts on both eyes and went blind, but was also adrenal and quickly lost his will to go on.

That being said, he was the craziest, friendliest, smartest ferret i've ever owned. Being deaf was never a concern, except when he was backing up to poop in a corner and couldn't hear you yelling "NO NO MILO BAD!" while running at him full force... i think the deafness made him that much more special.