I've been hesitant to post this here because it's related more to dogs than
to ferrets but I haven't had much luck in other forums.
 
I'm going to be getting a puppy.  This isn't a snap decision.  With the
exception of the last five years, I've had dogs my entire life.  The only
breed of dog that has had contact with my ferrets was my last, which was a
Chow.  Ouija used to climb up on the arm of the couch and wait for her to
walk past, then jump on her back for her nightly doggie ride.  Tasha (the
dog) loved the "freebie" back scratch.
 
I've posted messages to many breed related boards asking for information
directly related to specific breeds of dogs and ferrets.  Can you believe
that I didn't get a single response from a ferret owner?  I did get
response after response saying that "dogs will kill them".  A pretty wide
sweeping statement.
 
What I'd like is for people who have dogs and ferrets to reply to me with a
little information.  I'd like the following if it's not too much trouble;
 
1) The dog's breed and sex.
2) The age at which it was brought into the household.
3) Who was there first, the dog or ferret.
4) Any problem or specific concern you had during the introduction.
5) Success of the cohabitation; Do they get along well or do they just
tolerate each other?  Please include the success stories as well as any
failures.  Your own personal experiences as well as any you've heard of
that might be useful.  I'd rather have too much information than not
enough.
 
I'd also appreciate it if you could reply directly to me.  I'd like to
compile the information for future use.  I'll take the breeds and compare
AKC behavior profiles to any breed I might consider getting.  I know there
aren't any definites.  Each animal is an individual and is greatly effected
by it's upbringing.  I also know that "ratting" breeds *generally* don't do
well with small animals (though I've heard of some exceptions).
 
I wonder if there's a ferret web site that might be interested in adding
some type of statistically based list for dog / ferret home sharing?  Is
there one that does already?  People could send in the type of dog they own
with ferrets and it could be formatted on a percentage basis.  This might
be a good idea.  Unfortunately, I don't have the computer knowledge or time
to put up a web site.  If anyone is interested in doing this on their site,
I'll be keeping the information I gather and would be more than happy to
share it, as long as I have the consent of the people who've shared it
with me.
 
Thanks in advance!
Sharon
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[Posted in FML issue 2666]