First off, I apologize for being a bit off topic with this, though it is
somewhat ferret related.
 
My fiance and I live in an apartment with two ferrets, a 9 month old male
and a 4 month old female.  We love our ferrets very much and would do
anything to help them if they were in trouble.  My parents have a 3-4 year
old c cker spaniel, Henry, as well, who they adopted from a breeder when I
was 16-17 and still living at home.  I=92m very attached to Henry and
consider him my own as I care for most of his medical and physical needs,
though not his day-to-day requirements.
 
Henry is a very sweet dog with the family (though not too bright).  He does
however have some sort of a behavioral problem.  Kids are a big no-no
around him..  he must feel threatened by them or something because he barks
like a madman whenever he sees/hears one.  Since he=92s been living with
us, he has attacked (though not harmed) two children, both relatives.
Luckily there was not a problem since their parents were understanding.
Henry can also be a bit jumpy..  if my younger sister (13) comes out of her
room and down the hall, Henry will sometimes bark at her as if she is a
stranger.  And just tonight he bit my grandmother while she was preparing
dinner.  She dropped a piece of onion on the ground and she bent down to
pick it up as Henry was going for it.  He bit her hand and drew blood (yes,
she is up to date on tetanus and he is vaccinated for rabies).
 
My parents have talked at length about giving up Henry.  It is possible
that we will take him into our home.  My problem is this: while I know we
can keep the ferrets and the dog apart, I would prefer for us to be one big
happy family, but I worry for the ferrets=92 safety.  I would also like
to help Henry with his behavioral problem..  mainly so that nobody gets
injured, but also to improve his quality of life (he would be able to go to
parks where children play, etc).  My parents have a bit of a history of
turning dogs into shelters, mainly for mental or safety reasons, but I
would like Henry to be the dog that we didn=92t give up on.  I would do the
same for my ferrets, and feel that it would be unfair to Henry to not do
likewise.
 
So here is my request.  I would like to hear from anyone who has experience
with dogs, specifically with correcting behavior problems like this.  I
would also like to hear suggestions on how to possibly integrate the
ferrets and the dog.  Henry has met the ferts and sniffed them while being
firmly restrained with no problem, but they have not had free access to one
another.
 
Thank you in advance for your time,
Rachel, Doug, the fuzzbutts Accolon and Morgan, and Henry
 
--
- Rachel
http://raidra.cjb.net
[Posted in FML issue 3080]