introducing a new puppy

Question
Hi, a quick background: I currently own two retrievers (spayed, female, both about 8 yrs)and a male golden (nutered) 3years. The male has been spoilt and treated like the baby by both the older dogs and the humans at home. I recently introduced an Irish setter puppy (female) to the gang. Altho the older girls wont play with her and ignore her totally, The 3 year old male absolutly HATES her !! He's jealous, spiteful and angry all the time. He teases her with a toy, and when she takes the bait, snarls and snaps giving her a nip now and then. As a result, i have to keep the puppy isolated most of the time. The problem is, i'm aware dogs have a pecking order and the puppy needs to find her place. However, she has attitude and every time he snaps at her she snaps back which anoys the male even more! is there a more civil manner to achive harmony without bloodshed? the size difference is so large it' scary. Sorry for the long message.
niki

Answer
The behavior of the 2 older females is just what I would expect, only giving the puppy enough attention to drive it off.  The male confuses me.  Is the puppy still young enough to have the distinctive puppy breath?  If so, normally adults are quite tolerant of them, although firmly declining puppy biting games.  Are you sure his attacks on her are real?  If they are, as she grows bigger and better able to inflict pain on him, it could get worse.  I would like to say, that is how they play, and although each may yelp with pain, soon the other one will learn not to go quite so far.  If I am wrong, he could kill her.  Likely there will be small chunks of fur ripped off first.  

If so, keep her away from him, and maybe try to find some younger dogs for her to play with.  Be very careful.  Even with an aggressive shot program, there are windows when a puppy can catch parvo and other dangerous diseases.  

Better a long question, than one leaving me guessing about many important details.  Not that I was able to do that well with what seems to be atypical behavior.  It seems I am seeing a bunch of more difficult questions lately.  Nobody has all the answers.