New puppy and wild older dog

Question
I just brought home a new puppy and am having difficulty introducing her to my 3 year-old dog.  He is still a puppy at heart and was thrilled to have a new playmate.  The problem is unique in that it is not a young puppy annoying a geriatric dog, but a wild older dog playing too rough with a new tiny puppy.  How do I teach my older dog to be gentle without making him feel that he has lost his rank in our pack?  Thanks.  

Answer
Hi Jenny,

You must supervise your adult dog and not allow him to hurt the new puppy, just as if the situation was reversed, you would prevent the puppy from overwhelming your adult dog!

Because you are the "pack leader" you must set the boundaries for acceptable behavior.
If you see your adult dog playing too rough, you must tell the dog "NO!" and separate them. Let your adult dog know that it's wrong, and he'll learn not to do it.

Do not trust the adult dog alone with your new puppy for another month or two. You need to make darn sure that the dog will not injure the puppy before you ever leave them home alone.

When you can't supervise both dogs, one of them needs to be crated. It might help to keep your adult dog on his leash inside your home. Tie one end of the leash to your belt loop, so he's always near you, and under your watchful eye. It can only take a moment for him to hurt the new puppy, and the fault will be yours, for not watching the adult dog close enough.

Because your new puppy probably isn't house-trained yet, you won't want to give him the run of the house just now, anyway. When you can't supervise him, the puppy needs to be crated. This will give your adult dog some special time with just you alone. At this time, give your adult dog extra exercise and take him with you more often on errands, talk to him more, give him longer walks, etc. It's important to reassure him, and let him know he's still loved, while the extra activity will tire him out, so he'll be less likely to rough house with the puppy.

Since you've only just brought the puppy home, it's very possible that once he's feeling more "at home" (in a week or two) things might change quite a bit. Before the age of 4 months, puppies may not recognize subtle body postures from adult dogs which are signals they have had enough. Well-socialized adult dogs with good temperaments can set limits with puppies with a growl or snarl. These behaviors should be allowed. Adults which are not well socialized, or who have a history of fighting with other dogs may attempt to set limits with more aggressive behaviors such as biting which can harm the puppy.  Like I said, don't let down your guard, either your adult dog or the puppy is going to need you to come to their rescue at some point.

If things don't improve over the next month, contact a professional animal behaviorist immediately. The longer a problem continues, the harder it can be to resolve. Punishment won't work, and could make things worse.

I hope I've been a help.
Best of luck,

Patti