Training your pet ferret to race is much like training them to do anything else, from sitting, to using the toilet, to simply not biting your hand. Ferrets are small, furry, adorable, and also curious and intelligent. Being such evolved and adaptable creatures, they have an amazing ability to learn, too.
Ferret-racing is a ton of fun … but! Before you can teach your ferret to zing and zag through the tunnel, they need to be disciplined in other skills. Once you can train a ferret to perform some basic tricks, you’ve gained their trust and loyalty, and you can move on to more advanced acts.
It’s a blast watching a ferret race, but one of the most frustrating - and silly - parts for the audience and trainers is when the furry stinkers don’t cooperate. They stall, sniff around, back up, or just fall asleep in the tube. Being so intelligent, ferrets are also independent minded. If they don’t feel like running, it’s mightily difficult to get them to change their minds.…show more content… Hold a clicker in one hand and a treat in the other. Say “Come!” and use their name, until they obey and reward them with the treat. With each success, practice a little farther away each time.
The ferret will soon recognize your voice and their name alone, without the clicker. Just don’t forget to feed them a treat each time, or they’ll forget the point of obeying you.
Starting the race
Before starting the race, get the ferret riled up and happy with a round of petting at the starting line. Ferrets were bred in order to drive rabbits out of their burrows, so they’re more than happy to crawl into a small tube the moment you show it to them, and they’ll love exploring the tunnel within. Trainers are also encouraged to tap on the pipe gently but firmly, enough to remind the ferret of the goal they need to
