Joining a puppy with an older female dog

Question
Alright so I adopted a Catahoula Leopard a couple years ago from the SPCA she is now  3 1/2 years old and very established dominatly. I live at another address at the moment and now we have adopted a Siberian Huskie Puppy who is now about 4 months old.  We were waiting to bring them together because the puppy had worms and kennel cough.  Now that she is fully healthy we have tried to bring them around together but my older female wants nothing to do with her at all.  She snaps at her and is very narotic at times.  Shes not biting at her to try to hurt her but to push her away from me.  My question is is there a way that we can introduce these girls without a big blowout happening?  

Answer
Dear Megan,
Thanks for the question. Introducing a new pup into the house can be stressful for all involved. Some adult dogs are actually afraid of puppies. Rather than toss them together and "see what happens" introduce them slowly in a very controlled environment.

I'm not quite clear exactly what happened when you introduced them. Most normal adult dogs (I'll call your adult Tia) will not intentionally hurt a puppy (I'll call the puppy Ginger). That being said, you should set some boundaries about acceptable and unacceptable behaviors.

Crate Ginger and let Tia get used to Ginger's presence in the house. Always praise Tia for polite behavior towards the crated Ginger. Don't use any corrections if Tia gets naughty - just remove her from the room. Corrections will teach Tia to dislike Ginger, and will not teach her to be nice.

Introduce both dogs outside while you are on a leashed walk. Have one handler for each dog and start off walking side-by-side with the dogs separated by a person. After you have walked a few feet, stop and let the dogs sniff each other - just for a few seconds. Then continue with the walk. Do this three times to see how they interact.

If there is no growling, let them interact for a longer period on the fourth introduction.

Here's an exercise you can perform to increase the value of Ginger's presence (from Tia's point of view). Keep both dogs on a lead so you have some control over the situation.  

Have one handler with each dog in different rooms. Walk Ginger into the same room as Tia. Tia's handler should give Tia lots of attention or a food treat the instant Ginger is in the same room, and immediately disengage and remove the attention when the pup is absent. Repeat the exercise several times a day until Tia is happily anticipating Ginger's arrival into the room.

This will help Tia change her mind about Ginger's presence.

Is Tia pushy for your attention? Does Tia know any obedience commands? Tia should learn that in order to earn your attention, she must behave in a particular cooperative manner. Visit this web site and read this article. It's about changing the owner-pet relationship and is a very good protocol for all situations.
http://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB/Proceedings/PR05000/PR00470.htm

In addition, but the book, Feeling Outnumbered? How to Manage and Enjoy Your Multi-Dog Household. (Paperback)
by Karen B. London, Patricia B. McConnell

You'll need to set up a structured environment so that you can enjoy your multi-dog household.

Happy Training!
AT