For those curious about how ferrets were used in rat catching there is now a reprint of the 1911 book "Studies In the Art of Rat Catching - With Additional Notes on Ferrets and Ferreting, Rabbiting and Long Netting" by H.C. Barkley. It does talk a bit about training the dogs not to attack the ferrets. The book is available on Amazon and also available from the library through interlibrary loan if your library does not own the book (that's how I first found it) Judy Mat-Su College Library [Posted in FML 5490]