To Rochelle-
I got a new puppy before Christmas and have had an interesting time adjusting
him since he's a scottie.  My three ferrets and the dog (now 5 months old)
respect each other but do not yet play very much.
As for the water--my ferrets highly prefer the bowl and all three dunk
their heads in it.  I have decided that it isn't a terrible habit since
it keeps their heads very clean and smell-free!  I simply purchased a
cheap rug-loop type doormap which controls most of the water spray.
I suggest that you make the ferret food inaccessible to the puppy because
cat or kitten food is quite different (and very high in protein) compared
to puppy or dog food.  You shouldn't have a problem with the ferrets
stealing dog food because it shouldn't be left out ad lib like in ferrets--
in my experience it leads to finickiness and my vet tells one and all that
it's bad "behaviorally and biochemically"--dogs have longer digestive
systems and after puppyhood you can feed once or twice a day without any
problems.  I offered my puppy food for 15-30 min 4 times a day when very
young, then 3 times a day when 4 months old.  I will keep him on this
until 6 months and then drop to 2 twice a day forever (1/3 ration in the
morning and 2/3 in the evening).  He knows that when I put the food down
he'd better get to it--unlike ferrets which DO tend to eat in discrete
meals, dogs tend to do the "mouthful every 10 minutes" thing or just
plain overeat when offered ad lib.
 
amy
 
[Posted in FML issue 0748]