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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2016 18:17:01 GMT -5
My Mom has our family dog with her at her home, my ferret doesn't live with the dog but I babysit sometimes and would like to introduce them and see if they could be friends. The dog is a female, terrier breed. She is very sweet and has no aggression but I still want to make sure I take every precaution and introduce them in a way that will make them both comfortable. If anyone has advice or has done this before let me know! Thank you
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Post by Corvidophile on Nov 13, 2016 18:27:37 GMT -5
Terriers have a lot of very strong hunting instinct in their lineage, no matter how sweet she is, there's a chance if the ferret darts around and teases, the dog will automatically bite it. There isn't any thought involved in the first bite, it really can happen out of the blue. Take great care to hold onto the ferret if you introduce them so that you can stop a chase-scene from beginning. DON'T just set them down like equals to sniff each other out, their body language is alien to each other and it can go south faster than you can reach either animal to try and stop them.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2016 19:02:43 GMT -5
Terriers have a lot of very strong hunting instinct in their lineage, no matter how sweet she is, there's a chance if the ferret darts around and teases, the dog will automatically bite it. There isn't any thought involved in the first bite, it really can happen out of the blue. Take great care to hold onto the ferret if you introduce them so that you can stop a chase-scene from beginning. DON'T just set them down like equals to sniff each other out, their body language is alien to each other and it can go south faster than you can reach either animal to try and stop them. That's definitely a concern and the first thing I considered. The dog has been introduced throughout her life to cats, kittens, and other small fuzzy creatures so we know how she tends to react. She may chase but once she gets to whatever she is chasing she has always just sniffed it all over and watched it haha she is mostly curious and wouldn't try to eat it or anything. Either way I will definitely keep a close eye if we do the introduction and make sure to not just set them down together! |
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Post by Heather on Nov 13, 2016 22:59:20 GMT -5
This is not a intro I would consider. It's hard enough to teach terriers from pups to tolerate a ferret's movements. A dog who naturally chases on an intro is not a dog who's going to be able to override their natural instinct.
No, my opinion, keep them separate
ciao
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Post by katt on Nov 13, 2016 23:12:55 GMT -5
I second Heather. I would definitely, absolutely not introduce them. :/
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Post by abbeytheferret6 on Nov 14, 2016 5:42:57 GMT -5
Sometimes things may seem ok---then it might be when ferret runs that sets a dog's instincts in high gear. This was years ago, but wasn't aware of having one ferret out--who was sleeping somewhere. Daughter brought over her mini schnauzer(terrier). My ferret came out and Mandy(dog) chased her to the bathroom. She did not bite her but stood over her like ferret was a caught prey. After that incident, i make sure that every ferret is in their bedroom when family dogs come over.
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Post by Sherry on Nov 14, 2016 10:56:25 GMT -5
I have to agree. A ferret''s movements are so different from a cat it is unreal. And your pup may not be able to stop herself from an instinctive reaction.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2016 13:26:40 GMT -5
This is not a intro I would consider. It's hard enough to teach terriers from pups to tolerate a ferret's movements. A dog who naturally chases on an intro is not a dog who's going to be able to override their natural instinct. No, my opinion, keep them separate ciao Thank you and everyone for the input I'll definitely keep them separate!  |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2016 23:15:17 GMT -5
Years ago I was naive and lost a cat to our newly rescued Siberian husky (who has now passed away). I assumed his behavior was playful chasing and roughhousing and nothing more. We were nervous and made the decision to rehome our kitties to my fiance's parents (who had 4 other cats and a massive cat-friendly home) and separated our cats in another room until we could make the trip. After maybe a week of separation, my husky accidentally ended up with the cats and before I could intervene had killed one of them. This was one of the lowest moments of my life. Since then this dog was NEVER allowed around any of our small animals.
My current dogs were raised very deliberately from 8 weeks of age around small animals. Please never assume that a dog that has not been raised careful around an animal is "just playing". Because of size differences, I do not tolerate play behaviors from my dogs with animals any smaller than a ferret. Some would not even advise allowing larger breeds to play with a ferret- or cat-sized animal.
Remember that terriers have a naturally high prey drive and were bred to hunt and kill small prey animals. Remember that we are all concerned because dogs can kill other pets before you have the chance to separate the two.
EDIT: I was quoting the line where you mentioned your dog chasing but then stopping and staring at the animal. The quote got messed up, so I removed it.
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