Ferreting with a new dog

[jhiggins 48]

Hello, ive got a year old whippet/beddy bitch and during a walk round she seemed really keen in the burrows on the farm and actually marked a couple of them. Shes never had any training as she is my girl friends dog but i was wondering if i could use her with the ferrets. Any tips on how to introduce her to my two gills. I dont want to have prize my dead ferret out of her over excited jaws!!

 

Im quite new to it but i can see how having a dog with you whilst ferreting can make it much more fun so im keen to give it a go if you guys think its possible.

 

Thanks

[fieldsportsman 107]

yes mate, go for it, just make sure your dog is 100% steady with the ferrets.

[The one 8,397]

Try letting her see them threw the wires of the hutch and see what she does and take it from there

[KittleRox 2,147]

put ferrets on the ground with dog on the lead,if the dog wants to sniff at them thats ok,but if it tries to go for them give a good sharp tug on the lead and yell at same time,keep repeating this until you feel the dogs ok with them.

[Linc 0]

I didnt really have this problem because the dogs opened the cage on the first day! Luckily all they ate was their food. Since then tho I've tried letting them play 2gether as much as possible an havent had a problem yet ... fingers crossed

[44david44 43]

put ferrets on the ground with dog on the lead,if the dog wants to sniff at them thats ok,but if it tries to go for them give a good sharp tug on the lead and yell at same time,keep repeating this until you feel the dogs ok with them.

Put some milk/dog food down and let them feed from the same bowl. This worked for me.

[KittleRox 2,147]

put ferrets on the ground with dog on the lead,if the dog wants to sniff at them thats ok,but if it tries to go for them give a good sharp tug on the lead and yell at same time,keep repeating this until you feel the dogs ok with them.

Put some milk/dog food down and let them feed from the same bowl. This worked for me.

[jhiggins 48]

Thanks to everyone for your help

[doris 6]

mates dog had been steady with ferrets, then one day when bunies were bolting the ferret had come up and the dog picked him up and there was a lot of squealing . The dog got a sharp rap across the snout! and a LEAVE!!! from that moment on he has shown no attention to ferrets, and this was the only instance. we put it down to a young dog being excited with bunnies bolting all over the shop.

 

Point I am making is if your dog has not been introduced at an early stage , you will need to introduce him/her very carefully under controlled conditions, perhaps in the house where room is limited . . . good luck.

[jhiggins 48]

Yeh i think that is going to be best, we did give it a go a while back in the living room. Dog was on a lead and ferts were running about. It all got a bit caotic and as i picked up one of the ferrets she gave it a little taste. She is extremely soft mouthed but i think i over reacted a little bit. Hopefully give it another go later on.

 

You dont think the dog may be too old to be introduced to them then? Shes just over a year

[jonnytraff 8]

just keep trying mate she should soon come to. atb jon

[doris 6]

Yeh i think that is going to be best, we did give it a go a while back in the living room. Dog was on a lead and ferts were running about. It all got a bit caotic and as i picked up one of the ferrets she gave it a little taste. She is extremely soft mouthed but i think i over reacted a little bit. Hopefully give it another go later on.

 

You dont think the dog may be too old to be introduced to them then? Shes just over a year

just bring one feret in to start with, sometimes 2 or 3 is too much and the dog may get over excited. keep the dog on a longer leash(letting her think she is off but actually you still have her under your control) and if she shows any attention a sharp tug and LEAVE! will let her know the ferret is off bounds

Edited October 4, 2010 by doris