new dog causing trouble..../?

He may be experiencing "Jan" syndrome. Remember the Brady Bunch? Maybe not. It kind of sucks to be the middle child. You aren't the oldest and therefore the most trusted, and you aren't the youngest and therefore the cutest. You lose identity. You're blah, unimportant, part of the background.

So try making sure each dog gets some alone time with you doing something special you both enjoy.

Next possible issue: puppy passes. She might be being rude. Puppies usually are, in dog social terms. We might think they are being friendly but a dog might think they are being pushy and invasive. When puppies are born, they are issued a virtual "puppy pass" which lets them get away with rude behavior. Adults forgive them for biting their tails and crashing into them. But long about five months old, the adults in the pack start to pull the youngster's puppy pass. The stop tolerating rude behavior and start correcting the youngster for it. This may create some confusion on the part of the younger dog, and it may look like dominance or aggression to the human owner.

Now the third possibility: resource guarding. Your lab has probably accepted the husky as the senior dog in the pack because of the age difference. He has no cause to argue with the husky over ownership of resources because the older dog has the right to just about any resource he wants. However, the lab may be trying to assert his right to ownership of resources over the puppy for fear she will try to take them. Step one is to feed them separately and to pick up all the food bowls after meals and put them out of sight. Step two is to pick up all the toys and leave only one toy per dog, and a spare in your own pocket. If a toy is stolen, replace it with your own toy. The message here is twofold: the human owns the toys, not the dogs, AND there is no need to hoard toys because the human always has more and will share. This one saved my dog's life once when a larger dog came into our yard and went after the ball my dog was playing with. My dog dropped the ball and returned to me for another toy.

This is an ideal time to practice "the trading game." Whenever any dog has something you want, offer a trade. Dogs nearly always take the trade, if the objects are of equal value. The trading game makes it easy to take contraband away from dogs, and is fabulous bite prevention training. The dog gets used to giving up resources to you without argument, without trying to play tug and without growling or snapping.

Now two last things that will certainly help any and all behavior problems, though few people will take them seriously as solutions. 1) increase exercise of all dogs until you are able to wear them out. Tired dogs do not quarrel. Tired dogs do not get into trouble. Tired dogs do not get bored. 2) obedience class. Dogs with something to focus their minds on, like training, don't waste time getting into trouble. School itself can be a powerful reinforcer. My dogs ADORE going to school. They get to meet up with friends, see/hear/smell new people and dogs, and generally soak in the atmosphere of excitement from all the other dogs. they also learn to respect your directions and to listen better. If you see a problem brewing, you can command each dog to his or her own corner to head it off before it becomes a real problem. Each of my dogs has his or her own personal crate. When I give the command "kennels!" everyone runs to their own crate and waits expectantly for a reward. It's like a fire drill. We practice frequently so this emergency command is well ingrained if ever needed to head off a brewing fight.