suffering depression?

Question
We have a 5 yr old neutered male beagle mix (not sure what with, possibly mini pin) that we adopted from a shelter when he was 8 wks old. He has become very attached to my husband and I over the past 5 yrs. Does not particularly get along well with small children and doesn't like loud noises or quick movements.  Three days ago we adopted a spayed female beagle mix (approx 6 months - 1 yr old) to give him some companionship and expose him to more exercise.
He does not like her at all. She continually tries to play with him, jumps on him and tries to sniff so he bears his teeth growls and snaps at her. We cannot leave them together for fear of what he may do to her. He now runs and hides under our bed and stays there all day. He is eating and drinking water ok when he is coaxed, but he appears depressed and upset with us. He smells her all over the house and he does not like it and cowers about when outside of our bedroom. He does sleep with us every night. We have not allowed her to enter our bedroom to keep her scent out of there.

Please help! We love our family pet very much and are upset that he is feeling like this. We do care for the new pet as well as she is a very loving and wonderful dog, however, if it is best we give her back to make our other pet happy, we will do so. Perhaps we just haven't given it enough time. What are your thoughts? Thank you for any insight you may be able to provide me.

Answer
Hi Nancy,

Not every dog wants or needs the companionship of a second dog in "their" house. It's a very common dilemma, but it's seldom recommended to get a dog for the purpose of keeping another dog company. If your dog hasn't particularly enjoyed the company of dogs in the past, your newly adopted dog is going to be a hard sell.

It can take a month or longer for the dust to settle after introducing a new dog into your house. During this time, don't try to force the new dog on your older dog. Their relationship must be forged through time, and under their terms.

During this adjustment period, have daily one-on-one time with just your older dog. It's important to reassure him that he still matters to you, and to give him some space from the other dog. You are correct by not leaving the two dogs together. You should not attempt this until you are quite sure that it's safe!
You can also try to engage both dogs in supervised play too. Offer plenty of treats, so that they can learn that good times can go hand in hand with each other.

If you want to keep the new dog, it's just going to take time, plenty of patience, and lots of love.

Here are a couple of helpful web pages on adding a second dog:

http://www.pets.ca/articles/article-dog-second-dog.htm

http://www.dogownerconnection.com/articles.php?ai=45

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=2465&S=1&SourceID=47

Best of luck,
Patti