The Ferret Click

What you need for clicker training your ferret

• A clicker- I use a regular box clicker, I seem to have them all over the place (but can never find one when I need it!). There are other types of clickers available also- the Triple Crown Clicker and the I-click are 2. An ink pen that can be clicked will work as will a lid from a Snapple bottle (press the center of the lid).
  
  

  
  

  
  

• Treats- you want something the ferret really likes and you want it to be very small- about the size of O is good. With clicker training you want the reinforcement rate to be high so you want something the ferret can eat quickly. This was one of the hardest things for me as most treats for ferrets are big. I also am careful about what food and treats I give my ferrets so I stay away from sugary treats. What I have been using are- freeze dried chicken treats- these can be broken in to small pieces rather easily; N-Bones- these require some cutting with a knife to make sure they are small enough; Chicken gravy or Chicken baby food- this can be put into a syringe or I found it works well with one of those cheap plastic Mustard containers you get for picnics (for those not familiar with ferrets, Chicken Gravy is actually a name for various recipes using chicken, ferret food and other ingredients. I make mine so it is a baby food consistency and use it to give my one ferret her medicine.). You can also use a chopstick or popsicle stick to dip into the Chicken gravy and let the ferret lick off.
  

  
  

• Target- Target training is one of the easiest behaviors to teach. It involves teaching the ferret to touch an object, in my case I taught Hijinx to target my finger and a target stick with her nose. I use a Karen Pryor Target Stick, but a dowel, ruler or practically anything will work.
  
  

  
  

  
  

• A quiet place with not much activity. I don't recommend moving to a new place. In a new place, a ferret will be more interested in exploring. Choose a place they are familiar with and maybe have had time to get the day's exploring for that area out of their system. I work in my ferrets' playpen.
  

  
  

• A ferret- any color or gender will do!

Getting Started with Clickertraining

Charging the Clicker

1. Have your treats, clicker and ferret in an area with very little distracts.
2. Click and then immediately give a treat.
3. Continue with click-treat, click-treat 20 times. You aren't clicking for anything, you are just clicking so don't worry if your ferret is looking away or trying to crawl up your sleeve, so just click and treat. You want to do this quickly so using treats your ferret eats quickly is important.
4. You will know your ferret understands the clicker means a treat is coming when you see a reaction from her. She may become more attentive or may look at or go to the hand holding the treats when you click.
5. This may take a few repeat sessions. You may want to do it at different times of the day or try different treats to see if you get a better response.
6. When you see a reaction, you are ready to start training a behavior.

Some Behaviors to Start Working on with Your Ferret

• Targeting your finger/target stick- teach your ferret to touch your finger or the end of stick.
• Going to mat- teach your ferret to go to something that lays flat on the ground, like a placemat.