>Michele Doyle
>Does anyone have suggestions on how to integrate ferrets and a dog?  I
>could use all the help I can get!
 
I now have a 12 week old GD puppy, had him since he was 9 weeks and I am
also in the process of getting him used to the ferrets and them used to
him.  So far so good.  My biggest concerns are his sharp puppy teeth and
squashing them with his big feet as he plays with them.
 
I let the fuzzies out to play and keep the puppy on a leash.  I can
supervise better this way and have more control.  At first all he did was
bark but then he became braver.  I am there to tell him "no bite" if he
tries to mouth them or yell "ouch!!" really loud.  I don't let the pup
mouth anyone.  And "leave it" when he decides to chase them.
 
I give him treats when the ferrets are out, pet him, tell him he is a
good boy so he learns "the ferrets are good, when they are out, I get a
treat!".  Same thing with the cats.  If he does not chase the cats, he
gets a treat and gets told he is a good boy.
 
The ferrets don't seem afraid anymore, they were just a bit taken aback
when he would bark at them.  They do want to play with him and steal his
toys.  He just watches them with a puzzled look when one is dragging a
much larger toy under my desk.  Then later he will whine and I have to
crawl under the desk to retrieve the stashed toys.
 
I bought a book called Guide to Raising a Puppy by Liz Palika from the
Keep It Simple Series.  There is a few paragraphs about how important it
is for your pup to meet other animals and it actually mentioned ferrets
along with cats, rabbits, horses and tortoises.  I was thrilled to read
that.  Nice to see them including ferrets in a positive way.
 
Good luck,
Ingrid
[Posted in FML issue 4455]