About squeak toys: RikkiTikki got very excited last night when I blew a few notes on an old harmonica--I've never seen him so intent on leaping up my leg toward my face, from which the strange sounds emanated. But I tend to agree with those who intuit that the ferrets are actually troubled by such sounds. It might not be a good idea to tease them with it. But as an emergency siren to round up preoccupied ferrets? Good idea! About dogs as ferret companions: We had to leave our beautiful Doberman, Katja, with friends in Sydney when we moved to Turkey. The ferrets have adapted well to apartment living, but Katja would have suffered. Katja was about 7 months old when she first met baby Rikki, who would now and then bite her lip and hang on as she lifted him off the floor, whining in pain. But they learned to play together, Katja lying down and pinning Rikki gently under her front leg. When things got rough the dog definitely took the worst of it. She would put her big jaws around the ferret's body, but never bite no matter how he tormented her. This never ceased to amaze us, as she was certainly not a wimpy dog generally. We all miss her. To Diane Emery, Yes, both of our ferrets RikkiTikki and Emma give a big YAWN when we rub their ears, or stroke the sides of their cheeks for that matter. I assume that this is a reflexive response. Best wishes from Istanbul... [Posted in FML issue 1206]