I got a 6 week old ferret kit for my birthday this September.  We have two
Rottweilers - BIG GUARD DOGS- and we keep our female in the house.  I've had
my ferret, Gidget, for five weeks now and my Rotweiller, Shasta, and her get
along great.
 
With such a great difference in size and concern that Shasta would be jealous,
we were very careful to introduce them gradually.  At first we let Shasta just
see and smell Gidget from a distance.  Shasta did not exhibit aggressive
behavior and we rewarded her with praise and a treat.  We gradually worked up
to letting Gidget and Shasta run free in the same area with us present.  We
have not left them alone together and probably won't.  Shasta is fascinated
with Gidget and enjoys watching her play and is quite patient when Gidget
jumps and snaps at her.  She seems to know that Gidget is a baby.  She has
even shown protective behavior towards her.  When my husband let our male
Rotweiller in the house one evening with Gidget safely in her cage, he
naturally went up to the cage to investigate.  When he got too excited, Shasta
jumped on him and let him know that he was not to go after her baby ferret.
 
Gidget's Mommy,
Vicki Rogers
[Posted in FML issue 0986]