I was trying to perk up sad older dog with new dog, now I think she feels worse

[crazzzybabs]

There's two things to make sure you're doing:
1. If your lab mix doesn't hang out with you on the sofa, don't let the little one up there. It shows favoritism in the dogs' eyes and your lab may be feeling like it's not as important anymore.

2. Be sure to spend some alone time with your lab. This could be just throwing a ball around or teaching him a new trick. It shows him that he's still important.

Also, don't expect that they will get along right away. It may just take a little while. Do you take them for walks together? Do they do anything together to help them bond?

[carrie]

It is all about sorting out the pack order - dominance. The dog that ignores the longest will be the most dominant and there is nothing you can do about it. The worst thing you can do is show any preference to either dog and if the original dog is allowed on sofas, beds (aaaaggghh!) or is allowed any "human" status at all then the new dog has to show any natural dominance over the original dog in a more extreme way. Dogs can only interact with each other and with their owners as dogs. Treat your dogs as though they are dogs and they will sort it out - you can not decide who is the more dominant of the two.