Hi Leslie, I have 4 ferrets and 4 dogs, so I can probably help you out
with some of your questions. The dogs that I have are Huskies, they
have that instinctual prey drive. I never let my ferrets and dogs
interact. We too have a fenced in backyard, so when the ferrets get the
run of the house, the dogs go in the backyard. But when the dogs are
inside, the ferrets stay upstairs. They have the run of the upstairs
part of the house. I built a plywood gate at the top of the stairs,
thats about 4 feet high (so the dogs cant jump over it), and totally
ferret-proof so they cant get by, thru, under, or over it. This works
for us, but you have to be in complete communication with the others
in your household, so they all know when the ferrets have the run of
the house, so they know not to let the dogs in.

This topic has come up before, and you'll get varying answers, but from
my opinion, I wouldnt trust any breed of dog with ferrets. But I can
tell you especially, if the breed that you are looking at, has any type
of prey-drive or hunting instincts, I would definetely never trust that
breed of dog to ever be with the ferrets. Some people say you can
"train" the dogs out of it, but its their instinct, its in them. And
all it takes is once. Its always in the back of my mind to keep the
ferrets and dogs seperated, and its now in my personality to double and
triple check that they gate is secure at the top of the stairs, or that
my husband knows when the ferrets have the run of the house. I'm not
sure if this makes sense, but I'm trying to say that I'm always on
guard and always aware of whats going on and double checking things...
I think you have to be a type who is overly cautious to make it work
(with a preydrive or hunting instict dog). But even then, you have to
be aware, that accidents can happen.

I think its great you are doing your research ahead of time. Its a bit
of work keeping tabs on all of those in my little zoo, but I love them
all so its not really work. It can be done, but you just have to be
really aware of whats going on. If you have any questions, feel free
to contact me.

Andrea

[Posted in FML 6298]