Adding another Rottweiler to the 'pack'

by Whitney Mosley
(Weeksbury, KY)

I have a 2 year old female Rottie who is spayed and we call her Bella. I have been wanting another one for a while now, but i'm afraid of my rottie getting jealous of the new pup.

I have had an experience of one of my rotties when i was younger, getting aggressive at the age of 6 months and then he died over Parvo Disease, after that incident it was just recently that i got Bella and now that i know Bella is not like that at all.

To be honest the whole neighborhood brags about how playful she is towards them and their children. So would it be possible to getting another rottie and not having to worry about jealous or her attacking it out of jealous and try being territorial towards it?






Hi Whitney
There's no reason to believe that Bella will be aggressive towards a puppy as it seems as though she has an excellent temperament and is friendly and well-behaved. If you have a dog who is very territorial and has dog-to-dog aggression issues or is very protective or jealous of their owner, then adding another pup or dog can be more challenging - and sometimes not possible. But that doesn't sound as though it's the case here.

Most adult dogs are very tolerant of puppies and if a good bond is formed between pup and adult dog early on, they are usually friends for life. However, sometimes as the pup matures the older dog becomes more 'dominant' and particularly if you have two dogs of the same sex, fights can occur.

To minimize this risk I'd recommend adding a male pup to your home rather than another female, and do make sure that you always supervise their interaction etc. until you're certain they are friends.

Rotties are wonderful dogs and many, many homes (including mine) have more than one, without any real problems. I used to have three Rotties, and the two adult females couldn't be trusted together alone, so had to be supervised and kept apart if I wasn't there, but the older 'girl' sadly passed away recently aged 13. However, the male and female I have now get along wonderfully.

With love, patience and the correct training and approach you should be fine to add another pup. Do choose carefully though and look at my Rottweiler Breeder page for tips and advice on choosing a good breeder.

Hope this helps. Best of luck with whatever you decide to do.