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 [log in to unmask] [Posted in FML issue 4037]