Ferrets and Other Pets

When introducing your ferrets to other animals, it's important to do so in a way that's non-threatening and supervised. In our case, when we brought our Border Collie pup, Nika, home from the breeder, her first encounters with our ferrets Arthur and Gwen were like this: the ferrets in the cage, and Nika watching. Over time, we would let the ferrets out more and more around her, and they've grown used to one another. It's a different story, though, with Llew, who was raised around the dog -- he thinks she's a big ferret, and he treats her exactly the same way as he does the other two. We do not let our Belgian Malinois, Norris, anywhere near the ferrets. He's far too aggressive to trust. Big/aggressive dog owners shoudl be aware that ferrets may not be a good bet for them.

Somtimes other ferrets don't react well to new addtions. Gwen wasn't happy about Arthur, and neither were particularly impressed when I brought six-week-old Llewelyn home (Arthur and Gwen were three at the time).  In this picture, both adults (in the hammock) are shunning the young kit. Don't worry if your older ferrets aren't enthusiastic about the new baby -- give them time, and they will work out an arrangement on their own. Above all, don't try to force them to "get along" -- ferrets aren't children, and will establish a pecking order on their own schedule.