we arrived home with a new labrador puppy which we have been waiting on for a long time.... we introduced the puppy to our other labs..... all were fine bar one.... he sniffed at the puppy (girl) and was wagging his tail but then when we put the pup onth ground he growled and then ran off and got into his bed and would not come out.... why did he do this and what should we do now... the pup is only 8 weeks old.... the dog is nearly 3 years old...... please help

This is a very common reaction from an older animal (especially a male) at the introduction of a puppy. Many dogs are positively scared of puppies, and of course are likely to feel jealous at the presence of the 'usurper'.

Basically you need to watch the two of them together carefully for at least a week - never leave them together unattended. Even if the adult accepts the puppy straight away the pup can easily be hurt during play - if the adult isn't certain about the pup it could do it serious damage.

Make more of a fuss of your older dog than the pup - he needs to feel that he's not being neglected in favour of the new one. Every time you feed the pup give him a couple of biscuits (from his normal day's ration) in his bowl too - but make sure the pup is well away from his bowl. Don't let either of them steal each other's food, ever.

i was thinking of putting the puppy in her play pen outside where the other 2 dogs are and let them decide when to go over to her.... it seems to be when the puppy makes approaches that the older dog gets annoyed... he had a real snarl at her earlier i really thought he had hurt her... so now i am very worried.... i will never leave them unsupervised.... how long do you reckon before he comes round.. he normally loves other dogs.

Dont get stressed out over this....my german shep was the same when i got my staffy pup, your other dog will just be letting the pup know who's boss before she's accepted :-)....you could put the pup in her pen outside but just be careful that the male doesn't cock his leg up the pen :-) Just follow JG's advice regarding giving the other dogs fuss etc etc :-D and your pup will be fine :-)

It took my dog about 8 weeks AND he'd already had the pup in the house since birth.  When we decided to keep the pup we introduced them at 8 weeks old but it still took a good 8 weeks before he would tolerate him which required good supervision on our part.

It will be OK but takes time.

Two of my adult dogs are not hugely keen on tiny puppies.... but hey, who can blame them, they smell, they are messy, they wreck things and they have VERY sharp teeth and claws. They are also tiny and i think the size of them can unnerve bigger dogs.

Keep an eye on things, dont force your adult dog to be too near the puppy but mostly dont worry about it, its VERY rare an adult dog will intentionally hurt a puppy, and they do come round in time!

Em

thank you so much everybody.... hopefully things will be ok. the pup is just so nosey and wants to be his friend but he is having none of it. should i scold him when he growls at her or just ignore him.... and when he goes into his bed should we go to him or just ignore? he was really nasty to her earlier. he is getting loads of attention and his routine is as normal. if we are at the front of the house with the pup hw wont even come round.. the other dogs do.. and one of them even mothers the pup when she cries... although i will take advice and not leave any of them alone with her and will keep a good eye out...

Please don't scold him for telling the pup to go away. :( He'll only resent the pup more, and if he feels he's not allowed to complain verbally (growling) he may complain physically (snapping) instead. If he wants to take himself to his bed, let him. He'll come round in his own good time.