[scaliwag]

I'm a long time lurker and have obtained wonderful advice from this site.

We are considering adopting a rambunctious 4 y.o. male rottweiler (Mack) from a family who is moving and can no longer keep their dog. We have a female rottweiler will be 8 and suffers from arthritis, so she will be happy to play, but probably not as as vigorously as the male would probably like to do as he lived with another male rottie (not a litter mate).

I would like some advice on a couple of points. First, Mack is very sweet, quite energetic, has basic commands, but needs training on leash walking, stay, come, etc. I have heard that it is more difficult to train adults and would like to know if that is true and if so, how much more difficult. My girl was pretty easy and I would hope she would be an example for him, but is that wishful thinking? We would like to be able to take him hiking, but if it is too late to teach him to stay close, that might be a problem.

Second, how much more work is a second dog?

I thnk my girl would love it because she always has a blast when she stays with her "cousins" (a lab and a ridgback), but there is also the issue of whether she would have not like to share what has been "her" house for 8 years.

They had an initial meeting and there was a some polite sniffing, followed by posturing and some barking, so I also don't know if they will have more clashes in working out the pecking order and that concerns me. I was told that Mack was the submissive one, but the other male was larger.

I would appreciate any thoughts/pointers you might have.

Lorene