the first thing i'd ask in regards to "beating" a pred is "what were your stats?" If you didnt spend any time training your two skills (basically endurance and strength) you'll never get out of even the weakest pred, which the frog basically is. As for the deer, after you become friends with her(not even best) you can ask her to use her bed. There's a chance at high friend to best, i think, that she joins you for fun. Sigrid, the Giraffe, is honestly the easiest to work with both for "Fun" and for the fact that she doesnt charge rent.
Also, save often, but dont put your save into a dangerous situation, like a pred. You could easily lock yourself into an unwinnable situation.