I've frequently heard of people being concerned about whether terrier breeds
and ferrets can get along.  Our experience has been very positive.  When we
brought home our first two ferrets, our Yorkie was thrilled.  I think that
they reminded her of her favorite toy--a man-shaped stuffed fake sheepskin
toy that we call Fuzzyman.  When she first saw them, you could almost hear
what she was thinking "Oh boy!  Moving, jumping, living fuzzymen!" Her tail
was wagging so fast that it was a blur.  We carefully introduced them to
each other.  Coco, the Yorkie, started to pounce and bounce playfully.  The
gib just looked at her attempts to play and walked away.  He clearly
communicated to her "I don't play with dogs." The sprite, however, loved it.
She played right back, pouncing and play biting with the Yorkie.
 
Now my Yorkie is not exactly standard for the breed.  Last time she was at
the vet she weighted 17 pounds.  We call her a mega-Yorkie.  This makes her
ten times the size of Sweetie.  But guess who consistently gets the worst of
it?  Coco, of course!  We hear a "YIP!" and we find that Sweetie has latched
onto the dog's lip.  This is accidental; she's aiming for Coco's mustache or
the long hair on her ears.  When she grabs the dog's lip it's a
miscalculation.  It soon became clear that this is interspecies play...sort
of like a French speaking child playing with an English speaking child.
 
- Dog- "I'll jump on top of you and pin you down, then you'll lie quietly
  and let me lick you."
- Ferret-"You'll jump on top of me and pin me down, giving me the perfect
  opportunity to latch onto your nipples."
- Dog-"YIP!"
 
- Dog-"I'll roll you over onto your back, and you'll bare your throat and
  surrender."
- Ferret-"You'll roll me over onto my back, giving me the perfect opening to
  bite your nose."
- Dog-"YIP!"
- Ferret-"I'll jump on your back and bite the back of your neck, and you'll
  go limp and surrender."
- Dog-"You'll jump on my back and bite the back of my neck, and I'll roll
  over on top of you."
- Ferret-"Let me outta here!" (running away)
 
What fun!  However, they are both careful with each other.  Coco never puts
too much weight on Sweetie when she pounces, and Sweetie usually latches
onto hair, not flesh when she attacks.
 
It's a riot to see Sweetie leaping full out at Coco or sneaking around to
jump onto her back, where she clings with all four paws and her mouth.
Interspecies fun and games!
 
Melodyt and the three fuzzbutts
[Posted in FML issue 1772]