Chris - good observations. It does often come down to the individual dog's personality and good training techniques - I don't think attending a good obediance class can be overemphasized. I particularly like your observations about kits that stay with mom and dad having better manners - I think that is true as well., (Many responsible dog breeders now advocate keeping puppies until at least 8 weeks vs. the 6 many use because they feel that last two weeks allows the puppy to learn more "dog communication" and results in fewer dog aggressive dogs). However there are still some breeds, the occasional individual aside, that I think are not the greatest idea for ferret homes - these are primarily northern or arctic breeds like Siberian Huskies who have very high prey drives coupled with independent natures. At least these are the breeds I have seen the most problems with. I am interested in your hunting with ferrets experience - I got on some lurcher sites and emailed those people awhile specifically wondering how hunting with terrier's like JRT's and ferrets works out? But I didn't really get any specific answers as they were of course - people with lurchers!:) Please email me privately as I would love to hear more! Mary "For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. " Ecclesiastes 3:19 [Posted in FML issue 3215]