A small male bichon and a new male golden retriever. A good idea?

Question
Hello,
I have a bichon frise whom I love so much and is very friendly with people and dogs!  I am getting a golden retriever(puppy) in 6 weeks and I decided to get a male golden retriever.  Now, will this be an okay decision?  or will this be a battle royale until one resolve its place in the pack?  I dont want either dogs to get hurt and my bichon is small compare to the golden I am getting who will be 80lbs when full grown.

Answer
The safest thing would be to get a female.  Usually a male and female will settle in and not compete.  If you do get a male, ask the breeder about getting a lower ranking one less likely to compete with your other one.  Problems come when you put 2 dogs each with a strong drive for dominance together.  If the breeder doesn't seem to understand what you are talking about, chances are they don't know enough about dogs to produce quality ones.  That is a red flag, go elsewhere.  

In any case, if you are providing good leadership, it will go better.  The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts.  Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog.  Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones.  You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/  For more on being top dog, see http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm