new dog not getting along with current dog

Question
Here is my problem, me and my roommate have a 9yr old female English bulldog, she is very kind and gets along with all other animals. We just adopted a 2yr old shepherd/retriever mix female from our local humane society, we absolutely love the new dog she is great. At first the new dog seemed very scared of the bulldog and ran away (even though the new dog is twice the size) now she dose not run away but avoids the bulldog she still sometimes growl at her and will not play together, its only been a couple of days when will they be buddies and what can I do to help the process?? please help!

Answer
Apryl, it can take some time for them to settle in. One thing you can do is take them for walks together. Walking together helps to form the 'pack bond' between them and yourself, and it's good for their health, too! Another thing is that you need to be sure that you do not cater to the new dog. Your older dog was there first, so you should treat her as the 'alpha' dog for now. It could be that the new dog will eventually take over as 'alpha,' but right now, you need to reinforce the older dog's place by greeting her first when you arrive home, feeding her first, giving her attention first, etc.

Be advised that the energy level of the new dog may be a bit too much for the older dog, and that could be part of the reason for the growling. You need to make sure that the new dog receives PLENTY of exercise so she isn't so apt to be annoying to the older dog.