Ok, so I don't have a beagle.  I do have a basset hound.  They are
closely related, both are hunting dogs.  My basset came to us when he was
about 5 weeks old.  He has been raised with and by the ferrets.  Although
I would never leave him or his brother, Norman the 200 pound mastiff in
the house with the ferrets without supervision...both dogs are VERY
tolerant of the ferrets.  This is how they were both brought up.  Sherman
will actually try to play with the ferrets.  Norman just wants them to
leave him alone.  My ferrets have actually chased the mastiff up on the
couch.  He will run from them.  THey think it is a great game, especially
the baby, Dexter.  We always remove Dexter and give him a time out, much
to Norman's immense relief.  When the ferrets begin to bother either dog,
the dog will come to us for protection.  Neither of my dogs have ever
even tried to harm the ferrets.  I don't take this for granted.  We make
both of the dogs stay in the room the we are in to make sure that no
ferrets are harmed during out time.  For the most part, they leave each
other alone.  With the exception of Dexter.  He is a monster and has to
be watched when he is out.  I know that he thinks his name is "Dexter!
Leave the dogs alone!" We do try not to laugh at the sight of a 200 pound
dog being chased by a 4 pound ferret.  It isn't good for Norman's self
esteem.
 
Looking back, I didn't so much think about the fact that Sherman is a
hunting dog as that he was very young when he came here and could be
raised not to give a second thought to the weird looking smaller "dogs"
that he lives with.  Both of my dogs came to us very young, but both
look to us as their parents.  We bottle fed the mastiff from three weeks
because his mother had 13 puppies and could not possibly feed them all.
He is the gentlest dog I have ever lived with.
 
This is how things work for us.  I can't say that it would work for
everyone.  Animals are different just as all people are different.
We might have just gotten very lucky with our mix.
 
Kim and the crew in Reno
Wishing spring would get here, we are tired of the cold.
[Posted in FML issue 4102]