Introducing a puppy to our 7 month old female labrador

Question
Hi Labman

We have a 7 month old Labrador bitch. My friend is temporarily living with us and had planned to get a male golden retriever puppy but has not yet found a place. We are happy to have the addition but concerned about the issues that may arise for our own dog. We work full time and would not have all day supervision.
Can you please advise as to whether it would be ok to proceed and under which conditions it would be ok to do so.
Many thanks
B

Answer
If you have been leaving a Lab loose in the house, you are lucky to have one that hasn't shredded everything.  I wouldn't count on being so lucky with a second puppy.  I would plan to crate them both.  Usually 2 young dogs take to each other very well although you will need to make sure she still gets plenty of attention.  I wouldn't expect any problems with the 2 playing.  We have frequently had different aged puppies playing together.  Sometimes you do need to settle the older one down a little.  

It is only natural that a puppy resists its crate at first. What the puppy wants more than anything else is to be others, you, anyone else in the household, and any other pets. In our modern society, even if we are home, other things distract us from the attention an uncrated puppy must have. The only real solution is to crate the dog when you aren't around. The dog may be happier in its den than loose in the house. It relaxes, it feels safe in its den. It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water and relieving its self. Dogs that have been crated all along do very well. Many of them will rest in their crates even when the door is open. I think the plastic ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den feeling. Metal ones can be put in a corner or covered with something the dog can't pull in and chew. Select a crate just big enough for the full grown dog to stretch out in.

Leave it some toys. Perhaps a Kong filled with peanut butter. Don't leave anything in the crate the dog might chew up. It will do fine without even any bedding. You will come home to a safe dog and a house you can enjoy.

A dog that has not been crated since it was little, may take some work. Start out just putting its toys and treats in the crate. Praise it for going in. Feed it in the crate. This is also an easy way to maintain order at feeding time for more than one dog.

The "shut the puppy in a safe room" is a fallacy. Very few houses even have a safe room. How many of us have a room with a hard surfaced floor and nothing else? Most rooms have electrical cords to chew if nothing else. In addition to destroying anything a bored puppy finds to chew, it may choke or have intestinal blockage from the pieces. I had a friend that left her dog in a "safe" room. It ate a hole in the floor covering. The safe rooms fail to give the dog the comfort of the enclosed space their instinct requires. Nor do they restrict activity extending the time the dog can go without relieving itself.