Selina,

I'm sure lots of people will remind you to never leave dogs & ferrets
together without close supervision. That said, I think you will not
have problems since the dog is still a puppy. I had a "rescued" ferret
for a couple of years when I brought home my German Shepherd puppy. She
was 18 pounds at 6 weeks old, & my biggest concern was always that she
would step on my dear little fuzzy (the pup was a bit of a klutz). I
noted the same kind of behavior you describe, & everyone seemed to be
"having fun". My wonderful dog grew to be 92 pounds, & the only bad
behaviour I ever witnessed was always perpetrated by the ferret. The
poor dog would lie down to rest & would become the victim of a
"drive-by pouncing". My dog never snapped or growled at this or any
other "ferret harassment"! Even so, I still never left them alone
together (just in case). I think that being acclaimated at a young age
to a critter that was already a member of the household made quite a
difference.

Sounds like you are on the right track. Allowing this introduction
while the dog is still young is probably the biggest help to having
everyone "get along". Ferrets never outgrow "playful", so getting
the dog to bond at this age will no doubt increase the tolerance for
ferrety annoyances in the future.

Best wishes,

Lisa

[Posted in FML 6684]