Part IV: Befriending a Little Critter in Visual Studio .NET

Encoder Code 128A in Visual Studio .NET Part IV: Befriending a Little Critter

eliminates in the litter box, praise him even more Ferrets like your attention and try to repeat the things that make you focus on them, so be sure to give them your attention when they eliminate in the right spot; punishing a ferret for making a mistake may make him repeat the wrong behavior because to a ferret, attention may be desirable, even if it is negative Ignore mistakes completely, except to clean them up Move your ferret to the litter box immediately whenever you see him backing into a corner, a sure sign that he s preparing to do his business Try schedule-training your ferret by putting him in his litter box every time he wakes up from a nap, comes out to play, or finishes eating or drinking Try putting a couple of drops of vanilla extract in all your ferret s litter boxes Some ferrets are attracted to the smell of vanilla

Rabbits don t have to leave those little pills, or round pellets of poop, everywhere they go They can easily be litter-box trained, even as adults In fact, adult rabbits actually are easier to train to the litter box than young rabbits Unlike ferrets, dogs, and cats, rabbits sleep and use the bathroom in the same spot And if your rabbit urinates or defecates in her food or water bowl, that just means she s marking her territory don t expect her never to mark her territory elsewhere in her cage once in awhile especially if you have other pets A large cat-sized litter box works great for a rabbit, but you need to fill it with recycled paper filler or grass pellets rather than cat-box filler, which can be dangerous to a rabbit if she accidentally eats some of it You can enjoy success with litter-box training your adult rabbit in just a few days and your younger rabbit in a few weeks (some rabbits learn more quickly or take much longer, depending on the rabbit), if you follow these tips: Rabbits like a clean environment, so you need to clean out the litter box at least twice a day to encourage them to go in the box Put some timothy or oat hay in the box to attract your rabbit Keep a litter box in the corner of your rabbit s cage and in every room or area where your rabbit spends free time, is allowed to roam, or tends to use for a bathroom Put newspapers in your rabbit s cage while you re training, instead of letting your rabbit walk on the wire bottom and excrete through the mesh Besides, wire is bad for your rabbit s feet, and the newspaper gives you a chance to clean up any messes immediately

Try putting just a little piece of the soiled newspaper into the litter box to direct your rabbit to the right location The rabbit will smell her own scent from the soiled newspaper in the litter box and be more likely to choose that spot as her future personal toilet Put your rabbit in her litter box often to encourage her to recognize the pleasant experience the litter box provides Keep the food bowls scrupulously clean and keep just a little scent of waste in the litter box As long as you do, your rabbit soon catches on Avoid punishing your rabbit for mistakes Instead, shower him with gentle cheerful praise when he does what you want Having your rabbit spayed or neutered makes litter-box training even easier

Smaller animals being prey animals are shy and aren t likely to leap into your hand the first time they meet you When you weigh only a few ounces, you have to protect yourself However, small animals can quickly learn that you indeed are trustworthy You just need to be patient, calm, and gentle Some small animals are easier to hand-tame than others Ferrets, rats, hamsters, gerbils, and mice may be happy to let you pick them up upon first meeting These social critters want to play! Guinea pigs probably won t take long to trust you, but they aren t much for being carried around They d probably prefer exploring you on the floor to having you pick them up Guinea pigs also can learn to purr happily in your lap while you pet them Rabbits and chinchillas tend to be a little more skittish, and so are pets that have been neglected, not socialized with humans into adulthood, or even abused The latter may be particularly shy about letting you hold them To hand-tame a shy critter, use these steps to build trust and confidence: 1 Let your critter adjust to his new home Allow a day or two to pass before you attempt to handle him 2 Interact with your critter in the evening to get him used to your presence Most critters are nocturnal, so visiting your critter at the same time every evening is best Try sitting next to the cage and quietly talking to your critter every day for a few days before ever trying to touch him Approach the cage slowly and quietly, but head-on so you don t look like you re a predator sneaking up on its prey