"Mel L. Chandler" <[log in to unmask]>wrote:
>I was curious if anyone knows how well ferrets will get along with dogs.
>I have a 3 year old male sable ferret and I'm getting a 3 month old
>Siberian husky female.  I'm curious if they're going to go at it ...
     and
Cynthia Ann Kramer <[log in to unmask]>wrote:
>HELP!!!!!!!  I just adopted a very sweet two and a half year old female
>samoyed from the Humane Society this week. ... I am really worried as to
>whether they will ever get along.
 
Ferrets and dogs can get along just fine.  They can also *not* get along
just fine.
 
With the nordic breeds (huskies, samoyeds etc) you have an extra challenge
because these breeds have an extremely high prey drive and the sight of
little critters scurrying about just about drives them bananas.  It's
somewhat unfair to expect anything different -- I'd like to avoid the whole
"ferrets as wild animals" thread, but consider that just as we warn people
to keep little rodent critters and birds far and away and safe from your
ferrets, who will kill and/or eat them (one of my jills was seen scurrying
across the kitchen yesterday with my dead short tailed opossum in her mouth.
Poor Petie), you have to expect that most dogs with high prey drives will
want to kill and/or eat your ferrets.
 
If you have even an inkling that your dog is likely to show aggressive or
"hungry" tendencies toward your ferrets, then you'll have to keep them
seperated.  One of our border collies is wonderful with the ferrets, the
other would happily kill them given the opportunity, so she is never allowed
near them.  The ferrets play in rooms she doesn't have access to, and they
are always, always supervised when the ferrets are out playing.  We are
extra careful to double latch cages and close doors so that there is never a
chance that she could injure one.  It's frustrating, makes things awkward
and inconvenient sometimes, and life would be much easier if she would just
like the ferrets, but she doesn't.
 
So before you get a dog, it's really ideal to ask questions _before_ you
choose the breed and try to roughly determine how things will work out.  But
that's not always fool proof either -- careful introductions and supervision
are always important, no matter what the breed.  I'm sure some Nordic breeds
of dogs get along with ferrets wonderfully, but in my experience they are
generally untrustworthy with ferrets and often cats and other small animals.
Having multiple species households can be work enough, and I think it's
probably wiser to not go out of one's way to choose breeds that are unlikely
to get along in the first place.
 
I don't want to sound discouraging, and I hope that I'm wrong :-)   But for
the person with the Samoyed that already wants to kill the ferrets, you've
got your work cut out for you and you might want to consider another breed.
For the person with the Husky, she may be young enough that with lots of
training and work you can achieve harmony.  Either way, for both parties, a
good private behavouralist / dog trainer is extremely important and advised.
Once you've made the committment to having both these animals, you have to
be prepared to do whatever it takes to keep everyone safe.  If that means
having seperate playtimes, then you'll have to make the decision to committ.
If you don't think you can do it, then you need to reconsider your decision
to get a dog, or least your choice of breed.
 
Sheena and the   |  proud LOMIG member  8-)
Wherret Ferrets!   |  "to be sane in a world of madness
Come see us at:   |    is in itself a kind of madness"
           http://www2.portal.ca/~wherret/
[Posted in FML issue 2263]