Hello,
 
I'm mostly a lurker but wanted to comment on the ferrets and dogs theme.
I don't think you can have a certain answer on how will a dog/puppy
react to ferrets.  It depends a lot on the particular character of the
dog.  And the breed does play a key role.  I have the following personal
experience -
 
When I was living with my parents we had a Fox Terrier.  He's the
sweetest dog and loves me to pieces.  I love him very much as well.
Years went by and I married.  My husband got a ferret.  I always
considered myself a dog person, but this tiny little ferret did steal my
heart.  Another little ferret followed her into our home.  At one point I
did consider taking the dog into our house so we could all live together
happily ever after.  Well it could not be.  Being a fox terrier, he has a
very strong prey drive.  I introduced the ferrets, in their cage, to him.
He didn't bark at them.  He didn't snarl or growl.  He did show GREAT
interest in them.  But as soon as one of the ferrets ventured its little
nose to touch the dog, he snapped at him.  The only sound was that of the
dog's teeth clashing.  He was not being playful.  He wanted to hurt them.
It was astonishing how quiet the dog was, and how quickly he moved.  The
only thing that prevented any harm to the ferrets was the cage bars.
 
I still had a little hope - maybe a slow, slow introduction, and after a
long.  long time... But then something happened - a feral kitten ventured
into my parents' backyard.  The fox terrier saw it and went after it.  My
sister was right there.  She says it all happened in a second - the dog
grabbed the kitten by the head and whipped it.  That was it.  The poor
kitten's neck was broken - it died instantly.  She could not prevent it.
I did see the kitten - it had no teeth marks, nothing on it.  It looked
as if it were asleep.  A hunter's perfect kill. :-(
 
After that I knew there was no hope - this dog grew up with a cat.  He
doesn't EVER growl or anything at the house cat.  They even sleep
together.  Now, the cat was there before the dog - so our theory is that
since he was introduced as a puppy, he accepted my mom's particular cat
as a member of the family.  But he's not accepting anyone else now that
he's an adult dog.  My sisters and parents have added more dogs to the
family and there has not been any problem with the dogs (not even with
a little poodle).
 
So I think dogs and ferrets relationships are as particular as the
involved animals.  Maybe if my dog had less of a fox terrier temper it
would have worked out.
 
In the case of the Vizsla puppy question I guess it is better to have the
ferrets first and that the puppy enters the family once the ferrets are
stablished.  But then again, the puppy may turn out to have a very strong
prey drive that would not prevent an accident.  Or it can turn out to be
very very gentle with little animals and everything turns out great.  It
would be a big gamble.
 
Just to be safe, the fox terrier remains with my parents (he is very
happy there anyways) and in my house there will only be ferrets, at
least until all my babies cross the bridge (in a very long time I hope).
 
Sorry this was long - my 2 cents on the subject.
 
Happy Holidays to everyone,
Alicia - owned by Matilda, Mateo & Lucas
[Posted in FML issue 5093]