# how do gsds usually react to ferrets?



## pets4life (Feb 22, 2011)

Someone wants to give me their ferret. My dog is fine with cats but will usually eat anything else. Small speedy dogs can really trigger my dogs prey drive like patterdale terriers or any speedy small dog but not french bull dog or pugs. Rabbits also. Shes fine with big birds like geese though. 

You think it just not worth the risk? I am not sure why she has such a soft spot for cats.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

usually with "ow , get this thing off my face !"


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

I wondered how my GSD would react to me bringing other animals into the house. She hated cats and all other dogs. The first pet I brought in was a parakeet. We caught it in our yard. Next we had a guinea pig visit and later adopted two of our own. Later still, we added two house rabbits. My dog accepted everything that was brought into the house. Never a problem. She didn't bother the small animals, but I also did not allow them freedom around the dog. I know some people do, but I was never that brave.

Does your dog have a good "Leave It!" command? Can you bring the ferret in for a visit and see how your dog reacts? I'm betting your dog would be OK.


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## Syaoransbear (Sep 25, 2008)

Chrono goes crazy when he sees the ferrets at the pet store. He definitely wants to kill them. But he's not good with any small animals. I have parrots that he is absolutely not allowed near. He's not that great with the cats either.


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## pets4life (Feb 22, 2011)

i could probably force her to touch noses with it but if the ferret bounces around? My dog will listen but shes got very high prey drive. I dont let her play with small dogs that are speedy. no rat dogs ever, with small dogs she pretends shes a cat and scares the crap out of them. But shes totally safe with my cat. Id just hate to keep the ferret locked in a cage. But again I would hate to have something happen to it. WIth my cat and dog they have a bond so I dont worry about them. Years have gone by and they are never an issue. The cat does get annoyied if the dog licks her too much though.


My dog has caught birds and animals in the yard also.


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## Ken Clean-Air System (Feb 27, 2012)

It depends on the dog and how and when they are introduced. Jazz has been around our 2 ferrets (both about 3 year old females) since we brought her home at 10 weeks. She does ok with them, but can get a little pushy and when she does our older ferret, Abbie, will bite her. 

Our ferrets have their own room in the house that Jazz doesn't have access too, so any and all interaction is supervised. I wouldn't trust her alone with them, and it's not because I think she'd intentionally try to hurt them, but if and when she started to get to rough in trying to play with them and Abbie but back out of anger, I fear it could get a bit ugly at that point. 

Ferrets are great pets, but with a GSD with a high prey drive I would make sure any interaction between a ferret and the GSD is closely monitored and supervised. 

Here's some pics of Jazz with our ferrets:


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## meldleistikow (Oct 24, 2011)

We had two ferrets. The dogs wanted to kill them for sure. We kept them separated at all times. They did meet in a very controlled way and it was clear that the dogs prey drive was way up.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

OMG that is the CUTEST!!!! 

I"m sure every dog is different, my dogs tend to behave differently with small animals IN my house vs outside..they are fine with my cats, ok with my birds, but have seen them go 'after' a cat outside (not mine) and birds..

I probably would be ok bringing in a ferret, but might be a little dicey to begin with.

Can you keep the ferret in a cage , introduce and see how she reacts?? I would never leave a ferret alone with a dog tho, just in case


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## Cstout (Mar 19, 2012)

We own two ferrets and a 9 month old puppy. Stark has a be nice command which just basically means calm down and no rough housing. He is very fascinated with them and wants to play eith them so badly. But, we taught him to be calm around small animals. That being said, I would never trust him alone with them. We have them in a cage in the basement and we never have to worry about Stark being too wild around their cage, he just smells them through the bars and licks them. Not sure if you could train every dog to be that calm around small animals, especially ones such as nouncy and fun to play with as ferrets. I would imagine it depends alot on their prey drive and their obedience while distracted.


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## pets4life (Feb 22, 2011)

ken that is cool but were u more worried with the ferrets than with the cat? its just ferreets remind me so much of my dogs weasel toys that i bought and she ruined them in a matter of seconds and tore them apart. You know those dog toys they are in the shape of a weasel? Aare you more careful with the ferrets while the cats kinda get free range with the dogs? with my cat and dog i dont worry at all and my dog is such a prey driven nut. I like the peace here. But I always loved to have a ferret and they really wanna get rid of it. It is litter trained also. ITs a big male sable.

Yeah i could cage it at first or something but i would want it to be a free animal eventually like my cat is and not have to worry about it getting hurt. It does sound like they are not an animal that would ever be left unsupervised with a high prey drive working dog.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

ferret, cat, small dog, horse, flocks of birds, aquarium, chickens,
children, old people, loud noises and whatever else. you have to
train and socialize.


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## pets4life (Feb 22, 2011)

meld how long did you have ferrets and dogs for? Did the dogs just try to grab them? did you try to make it work or was it just too hard?


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## Kyleigh (Oct 16, 2012)

OMG those are the cutest pics ever!!!

I've had ferrets, cats, a dog and parrots at the same time. My last dog was fine with them. 

The only thing I would really caution ... ferrets generally don't have fear ... they are carnivores and predators too ... so depending on the ferret's personality ... I had a few of them that loved to "attack" the dog ... if I had them with Kyleigh? Not a chance I would let them interact, her prey drive is too high.


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## Ken Clean-Air System (Feb 27, 2012)

Part of the equation is the ferret. They are all different, and will react to the dog differently depending on their personality and their history with other animals. My ferrets are both the sweetest, gentlest ferrets I've ever known. They grew up around cats, rabbits and small dogs ... We got them when we lived in an apartment that only allowed small dogs, so they interacted with our neighbors small dogs. They had free reign in the apartment, but when we bought our first house we decided to just devote a room to them and confine them there when we can't supervise them in other areas of the house. 

Ferrets are predators and obligate carnivores. They can and will defend themselves if they feel threatened, so unless you can 100% trust your dog to not attack them as prey I wouldn't leave them together without supervision. Generally, once they are familiar with their home, a ferret can (like a cat) find places to escape to if need be ... If they can fit their head into something they can fit their whole body through. Still, it's a risky proposition having them run free with a dog that will chase them as prey (both for the ferret and potentially even the dog). 

As far as associating the ferret with a toy ... I don't think that is really a problem. A GSD (and any other breed really) can most definitely distinguish the difference between an inanimate toy and a living creature. They can also be trained to distinguish an small animal that is a non-K9 pack member and one that is not. It takes work and training, but it can be done. We give Jazz a bit more freedom when visiting the ferrets every time she is allowed to and she is corrected when she gets too pushy or excited. We aren't 100% trusting with her yet (especially because Abbie can be a little bitey monster with her if she crosses the line) but we make progress a little every time.


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## pets4life (Feb 22, 2011)

but kyllie is fine with your cat?


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## Kyleigh (Oct 16, 2012)

WELLL ... LOL She likes to chase the cat, but that's it. And she will leave him alone when I call her off. 

The cat has a number of high spots that he can get to where Ky can't reach him.

It's a game with the cat b/c he will tease her - he walks around her, puts his tail across her snout - honestly, it's kind of funny some times. 

For me, it all depends on Ky's energy level. If we've just come back from a long hike and she's tired, then I can usually let them have some fun. 

If it's first thing in the morning and she's wired for sound, I'll put the cat in my room and shut the door. 

Ky's cornered the cat a number of times and has never done anything. THAT was actually really funny - the first time she cornered him. It was like ... hmm, now what?

She's almost 18 months, but I still wouldn't leave them out alone together ... not yet!


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

Some dogs will see ferrets as fellow carnivores, like puppies rather than prey items, and play gently with them. Mine did. My ferret used to hang off the lip of my dog, it was pretty amusing. 

But much depends on the dog, and on the ferret. Introductions must be slow and supervised, and I would never leave a dog and a ferret alone together, especially if said dog has high prey drive and likes to kill small squeaky animals.


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## LARHAGE (Jul 24, 2006)

I went to my brother in laws with my JRT, I didn't know he had a Ferrett so when we went to lunch we locked the Ferrett in a cage in his room, when we got back my JRT had torn a hole through the drywall and was in the walls trying to get to the Ferrett. :O His face and paws were bloody messes but he wouldn't quit so I had to leave.


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## pets4life (Feb 22, 2011)

yeah my dog doesnt mix with jrts for some reason they really trigger her prey drive she can't play with them. There is another shepherd i know that is like that. Mine treats them like rabbits. and goes into cat mode. She goes really low to the ground and starts stalking them and will pounce and try to force them to run by using scare tatics. She doesnt care how aggressive the jrt is either to her its a prey animal and shes the cat. I saw another shepherd that was like this that my dog plays with but grabbed the jrt and ripped it up. Ever since i saw that i just keep mine away from them.


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