I am due to get my rottie pup at the end of June. My friend is going to lend me her crate to begin with but obviously, I don't want to use that long term.
My concern is that the pup may get a little too playful with the 11 year old male staffie when left alone.
My question is when will it be safe to leave the pup (female) alone with the staff? I would dread for them to fight.
I am meeting the breeder and the puppy this weekend.... so excited
Any advice would be great

Hi there, how long will you be going out for?  The best option would be to put the pup in the crate when you are not there to supervise her......or do you mean if you pop upstairs etc?  The best thing would still be to use the crate as that is what it is there for, to keep her and your staff safe certainly until she is older, and you have established their relationship.

I bet you are excited, great choice of breed by the way ;)
 

For the first couple of weeks I will be there full time, but the 2nd week, I will try to leave her for a little at a time. After that I go to work in the morning, will come home for an hour at lunch, and back to work then my partner is back by 3.30 usually, if not my neighbour will be coming in during the day. The most the pup will be alone for is 3-4 hours at a time. I am lucky that I work very close to home.

I will use the crate at the begining but as she gets a little older I don't want to leave her in there too long, she has a large kitchen that can be her domain. But I would like her to roam downstairs. I plan to put a baby gate up so she can't go upstairs.

Maybe the staffie can be up and the rottie can be down. I have a stupid staffie and if he is sleeping downstairs and sees me at the window, before I open the door he is already at the top of the stairs.

The one thing I definalte know is they need to be fed in different places as the staff attacked my last dog over food and he was 10 years old and in the house for 6 years before the staffie came along. I don't plan to have that happen again.

My last dog was a rescue and was older when I got him so I never had this problem.

this weekend will be the most exciting when we go to chose her. Everyone I speak to says what a great breed of dog this is (apart from my brother). I am planning in starting a family next year and he is concerned that this dog is not going to be good with kids. Part of the reason to get the pup now is so that she is settled before a baby comes along, not sure I could handle 2 babies at the same time LOL.

Hi Sarah, I have sent you a PM :)