Is my ferret capable of learning her name? Is it worth the time training her or aren't they able to?

Answer 1

All my ferrets are litter trained, know their names, and come when either I call them or I shake the bag of treats. They also respond to the "kissing" noise, because they know it will usually result in treats. :-)

Ferrets are very smart!! They are definately worth the time to train because they are so cute to show off when they learn. You can also teach ferrets little tricks - Google Ferret Tricks to see what you can teach them!

Answer 2

Yes, of course a ferret can learn her name, it just needs plenty of positive reinforcement!

With my 2, I started it when they were pretty young, but I have taught new names to older rescued ferrets without a problem too.

I find ferretone is very useful for training ferrets. It's a coat supplement that all of them adore, and because it comes in drops, you can make a little go a long way, and they won't run off as soon as they get it like with solid treats, cos they have to lick it off a spoon.

To begin with, I would have the ferret in front of me, call its name, and give the drop of ferretone as soon as the fuzz looked up. You have to have the spoon ready, with the drop on it, or else you will be too slow. A few repetitions of this, and the ferret comes running when she hears her name.

They responded quite quickly from the start, if they were awake. What I discovered over Christmas, when we were on holiday with the ferrets, is that I can now wake up each ferret individually with his or her name. Only the ferret I call wakes up and comes! You have probably noticed that it takes a minute or 2 for a ferret to wake up, so you will have to patient if you want that sort of result.

This does now mean that if a ferret were to get lost I could call them out by their names, but because this takes a while to teach(mine are 3 now), at the start I trained them with a doggy squeaker toy too, as this got much quicker results in the beginning. For some reason, ferrets are naturally drawn to that noise, so I would train both with the squeaker and with her name to begin with.

Best of luck with her! Ferrets make fabulous pets!

Edited to add: In response to Firestarter's comments, as stated above, these days, when I call one ferret's name, only that ferret wakes up, we call them in the same tone of voice, and it can be different people calling them at different times, so it really can't be just the tone of voice with ours.

Ours did get out one time when they were very young, from the same place we had them at Christmas, tho we had a different arrangement for them that time.

That time, we used the squeaker, which called out one from her spot which was near where they escaped from, and for the other my OH used the noggin, cos there is a chicken shed there, where the chickens only go to roost at night, so he went and squeaked in the shed, where our male was waiting for the chickens to come home to bed!

Answer 3

Hi there. Sometimes it's hard to ascertain whether the ferret is reacting to the tone of your voice or the actual name. Ferrets roam so if one loses a ferret, it won't return home. Have a great year.

Answer 4

they are very bright creatures
they can come when they are called
It takes time to train any animal but if it means you can call it back when it goes outside It's worth it
I don't own a ferret but I used to have one come regularly into the coal shed. I got quite friendly with him and could pet him
I called him ERMENTRUDE because he was white - like an ERMIN and was never coaxed into my shed so he was an INTRUDER. I never found out what happened to him though

Answer 5

Yes, I have a 2 year old ferret named Rocky and he comes to his name. I taught him to give me his paw for treats. He also sorts laundry (If I put him in a laundry basket and tell him to sort clothes, he pushes half of the basket out-not sorted for real though, just the idea.)They are very intelligent animals.

Answer 6

i dont imagine they could learn ther names. i imagine they could adapt with a accepted sound. i.e. whistle = food. i saved ferrets in the previous, by and large for searching. i'd placed them down a rabbit warren, and waited with the farmer with a shotgun for the rabbits to bolt. any rabbit that bolted, we would shoot. presently after firing, the ferrets would look from diverse holes to get their free food, rabbit livers. i imagine your ferrets will be in a position to associate your with food in trouble-free terms. also they bypass on a experience of scent, you are able to be conscious that they might chew strangers and not in any respect you.

Answer 7

yes, ferrets can learn their name, and it can be helpful, i would say it's worth the time.

Answer 8

i think any pet knows his or her name. just a long as u spent time with it, and constanly "remind" it of its name. even my bird knos its name, ur ferret probably does too. take some time tho.

Answer 9

yes they can learn there name so if you have a name for it then say it to it.

Answer 10

i dunno (don`t know)