>At first it was just friendly play, but sometimes Dixie starts to put the
>ferrets head in her mouth, and it scares me.
 
I'm not sure what your dog means when *she* does this, but for my dog, she's
just playing.  I have a 70 pound shepherd/akita mix who loves playing with
the ferrets.  Sometimes I have to remind her to be gentle when she starts
*pouncing*, but she's quite gentle when she mouths the ferrets.  I have a
picture of my Cal in Sugar's mouth all the way to his shoulders!  :) Sugar
just picks them up a little bit and flips them on their back.  She also will
pluck them off the gate if they're trying to climb out, and deposit them
back on the floor (much to the annoyance of said ferret).
 
If she gets too rough, the ferrets bite her lip and she backs off.  (I find
it amusing when the dog stands there with a ferret hanging from her lip like
some giant leech).  The ferrets have never chittered or acted like it hurt
when the dog mouths them.  In fact, they seem to like it as much as the dog
does, and being flipped on their back seems to really wind them up.
Especially Cal.  Sugar doesn't pick them *all* the way up off the floor,
though ... just a bit from one end or the other and flips them.
 
Your dog may just be playing. I'd watch carefully, and certainly if the
ferret acts like he doesn't like it or it hurts, I'd separate them, but she
might not be hurting them (or intending to hurt them).
 
--Barb--
[Posted in FML issue 2379]