The ferrets I have had are absolutely unafraid of dogs.  Provided you
don't have a Terrier or some other vermin killing dog, they should get
along fine.  Obviously, close supervision at all times is necessary, for
the protection of both species.  Everyone knows a large dog can easily
kill a ferret, but what people forget is the tenacious little ferret can
really do a number on a dog!
 
I have 8 cats, a 55-pound Chow/Husky/Collie mix, and my new ferret Shar.
They all seem to get along fine.  Ferrets seem to be the safest of the
small pets around larger carnivores like cats and dogs, most likely
because they are carnivorous predators themselves and thus have the same
aggressive, confident persona of the predator.  They don't scurry about
like rats or mice and they come right up to meet cats and dogs.  They
just don't give off the small, furtive, scurrying prey signals that
trigger predatory behavior in cats and dogs.  Shar and my cats really
get along, chasing and nipping each other all over the place.  My dog,
although she would love to play, is only allowed to greet and sniff,
because she is simply too large to play safely with any of my other
animals.  Anyway, she gets to go biking with me and play with other dogs
at work, so she really isn't missing out on companionship by being banned
from playing with all the little predators that live here.  Fortunately,
Eve (my dog) is a very laid back, gentle animal, and so it was easy to
teach her proper ferret manners.  She grew up with cats and is used to
their crazy antics so a ferret was no big deal.  It is definitely a good
idea to give your dog plenty of one-on-one time away from your ferrets,
as even the most patient dog can become stressed, and anyway, an Am Staff
is a working breed that needs plenty of heavy exercise and brain
stimulating training (I have a lot of dog training books I can recommend
if you are interested.)
 
It is very important to teach your dog not to roughhouse with the
ferrets.  Tough as they are, an Am Staff falling on them would be like
a house falling on you!  So let that puppy interact when she is still a
puppy and the ferrets will teach her what is appropriate behavior, while
she is still small enough to not hurt them easily.  She'll grow up
thinking of the ferrets as the bosses.  Am Staffs are great because they
have a high pain tolerance and eons of patience, so they can put up with
a lot of abuse from ferrets and not get angry or upset.
 
Anna and Shar
Greenwood, SC
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[Posted in FML issue 4037]