Jennifer,
 
>I know that most dogs, if raised from puppies around ferrets, can be best
>buddies.
 
Works for terriers, too.  Both of our Norwich were raised with (by) ferrets,
and we've never had a problem.  In fact, the Cute Sisters are in the process
of teaching our new dog (an adult rescue, not a terrier but another
"hunting" breed) how to interact with ferrets.
 
When our terriers were puppies, we allowed them to interact with *caged*
ferrets until the puppies had outgrown the nipping stage.  Once they'd
learned not to put their teeth on people for any reason, we introduced them
to our most outgoing ferret, who was happy to teach them that the "no
biting" rule applies to weasels, too.
 
Just be sure to supervise the initial encounters *very* carefully, and put
the puppy (not the ferrets) away if it gets too rambunctious.  Be sure that
there are ferret-sized hidey holes in the room that the puppy can't get its
head into.  Remember that puppies play rough, and even a baby Airedale is
big enough to hurt a ferret by accident.  I'd postpone encounters with
uncaged ferrets until you've trained the puppy to respond promptly and
consistently to a "Leave it!" command.  Once you're *sure* that you can keep
the puppy from damaging a ferret, just let the ferrets deal with it; ours
have been great puppy trainers.
 
We never leave our dogs and ferrets together without supervision, but a
reminder to "be gentle" is as close as we've ever had to come to intervening
in their games.  The dogs and the ferrets seem to enjoy each other's company
immensely, and they're more fun to watch than anything on tv!
 
Good luck with your puppy, and have fun.
 
ellen
 
P.S.  Our dogs' breeder was very concerned about the ferrets, too -- she
apparently envisioned them as timid little prey animals incapable of
explaining The Rules to a puppy.  After we sent her a photo of Gemma
hightailing it across the room with a ferret hanging from her lip, she
stopped worrying about it :-).
[Posted in FML issue 2312]