Introducing a new pup to the pack

Question
Hi Dawn, I have a ten year old German Shepard she is spayed, she has a wonderful gentle nature, she is very protective to us with strangers but if we let them in she becomes very mello, she is the head dog and does the disciplining. The four year old male doberman has been neutered, he is playful, loving and gentle and never looks for a fight, he is now too active for the old girl. I am the head human and they both obey me to the letter. we have just introduced a four month old female Sheperd to the household (SPCA) she too has the gentle nature of the Other Sheperd, she is extreemly obedient and never yaps or growls. We have let them have a bit of time together to introduce them and the male has totally accepted her but he constantly wants to mount her, what can we do about that? The sheperd is interested but does not seem overjoyed, on one occasion while walking them her tail tucked under her and she went for the pup, I had to physically grab both her top and bottom jaws to let the pup go, she did not draw blood but pup keeps a weary distance. What is the best way to get them to bond or introduce them as we would like her to sleep outside with them.

Answer
Hi Sonya,  I hope your dogs are getting along by now, but just to let you know, it is a very common thing that GSD females tend to not get along with other female dogs, spayed or not.  An older dog in general will get on puppies to keep them in line which is what she needs to do because she is older, and has to establish her dominance over the other dogs to protect herself as she ages.  Female GSDs are well known for their fights, especially as they mature.  It is hard to say, without a description of what actually was going on at the time, what triggered her reaction to the puppy at that moment, but it sounds like the puppy triggered a fear reaction in her so she responded in kind.  Maybe the puppy came up behind her and startled her or something.  Hard to say.  As far as the male mounting her, use a spray bottle filled with water, and everytime he mounts her, spray him in the face and tell him "no".  That should hopefully deter him from doing that.  He is mostly doing it to establish dominance over her in the pack.  Hope this helps,

Dawn