When I first brought Oscar home as a kit, my one dog, Chaos [a Jack
Russell Terrier] behaved in exactly the same manner.  She would sit right
next to the cage all eager and attentive.  I was worried that b/c of her
natural instinct to hunt and go after small animals that she may do the
same with Oscar [although she has always been good with cats.]  Anyways,
I believe it was that evening or at the latest the next day when I first
took Oscar out and let both of my dogs sniff him and see him up close.
They too enjoy chasing squirrels and rabbits and did in fact catch and
kill a rabbit in out backyard a couple of years ago so I was nervous about
how they'd react to Oscar.  But....they were fine.  Now, Oscar and Jo-Jo
[my terrier mix] are best friends and they LOVE each other.  They love
to play although CLOSE supervision is required [Joey outweighs my brave
little monster man by nearly 20lbs!].  Chaos is not so thrilled with him
and when he gets close to her she runs away and growls.  But she has
NEVER tried to bite or attack him.  All the same...I try not to let them
near eachother and often get Chaos out of the room before I let Oscar out.
I think that my girls realize that he is not an "enemy" but that he is a
pet and therefore respect him as they do each other.  Simply be patient
and be SAFE [ie: hold onto the ferret and/or the dog] when exposing them
to each other the first few times or so.  Hope that this helps!  Good
luck!
 
DiXiE & Oscar [a.k.a Mr. Monster-Man]
[Posted in FML issue 3692]