Pet Ferrets with Dogs?

Home: About Hunter's Heart Brittanys: Pet Ferrets with Dogs?
Page Updated December 28, 2002

We have had as many as 10 Brittany Spaniels and 5 ferrets. (We breed the dogs, but have never bred ferrets.)  Unfortunately, we don't know anybody else who has kept pet ferrets and dogs, long term. But we can tell you about our experience.

  First of all, it's important to keep all of your dogs' and ferrets' vaccinations up to date. That's because ferrets and dogs can catch rabies & spread it to humans if they're not protected.

  We had the ferrets first. Our ferrets stay in their house most of the time. We let them out to play for at least 1 hour a day. They're alone to play in the ferret - proofed living room for most of the night. (All dogs & humans sleep in the bedroom.)  We brought our first Brittany home to meet them when he was 9 months old. At first he thought of the ferrets as prey!  (We were so discouraged that we talked to his breeder about returning him.)  We spent the first few weeks keeping them separated & just letting them get used to each others' scent.

  Next we supervised them together with a nylon muzzle on our dog. The muzzle does not prevent the dog from opening his mouth (e.g. to bark), so the ferrets could still potentially be injured. But we watched closely and corrected our dog for playing roughly. Gradually, we increased the amount of time they spent together and decreased our watchfulness. It was a long process, but once we felt our dog wouldn't intentionally hurt the ferrets, we removed the muzzle and continued to supervise their play. Finally, our dog started to look at them as pack members. They learned to play games that they made up themselves. Their most common game is probably hide & chase. Another favorite game begins when the ferrets burrow into a blanket left on the floor. Then the dog pulls them around (inside the blanket).

  Ferrets love to steal & hide any dog related things they can. Almost every morning there's part of a dog leash or something else sticking out from underneath the ferret house. Ferrets carry chew toys around in their mouths, teasing the dogs. The dogs bark & give chase & play tug - of - war, when the ferrets aren't dancing around making their "dook" noise. The ferrets and dogs sure seem to enjoy each other.

  One of the problems in keeping both ferrets and dogs is their food. The dogs love ferret food & will stretch their head through the door of their house to get it. They insist on getting Ferretvite (a sweet ferret treat), because they like that too. Ferrets also like dog food. And this is problematic because ferrets require a much higher percentage of protein in their diet, i.e. they really need ferret food. So we have to be careful that the ferrets only get a few treats of dog food. On the "up" side: Linatone is a healthy treat that ferrets and dogs can enjoy together.

  The other problem we discovered is that when our bitch is pregnant or nursing, she behaves more aggressively towards the ferrets. She has never harmed a ferret, but it seems wise to keep them separated during these times.

  We sometimes have a litter of puppies raised from birth with ferrets as part of their household. They grow up thinking of the ferrets as members of the pack. So they don't require such a lengthy introduction to each other as our adults did. But they do require supervision. For the first few weeks, the newborn puppies are blind and deaf & totally dependant on their mother. Obviously, they can't play with the ferrets. We don't let the puppies play with the ferrets until they've gained some co-ordination & confidence (at least 10 weeks old.)  Before that, many curious pups go over to the ferret cage & stick their nose through to get a better look. The ferrets usually nip the nose & teach the pups to be careful & respect ferrets in future. But pups have been known to forget & stick their nose in again.

  None of our puppies have ever harmed a ferret. The ferrets don't seem to be scared of them. But the young pups have no manners, and play rough. We watch them & step in if they're pestering a ferret.

  Because the ferrets are so much smaller than the dogs (a ferret weighs about 2 pounds), they're at risk of being accidentally hurt. For example, they might be sleeping under a rug where a dog decides to sit down. Three of our ferrets came to us because their former owners said they weren't getting along with their new puppy. Getting along does seem to depend on the individual personalities of the animals. But we've been lucky in that our dogs and ferrets get along well. It certainly makes life interesting.

   A good place to learn more about ferrets is www.albertaferretsociety.com