Adopting a rescue - puppy or older dog? What's better for a beginner?

My partner and I will adopt a dog in late summer.

We already made our minds up about adopting from a rescue organization that mostly has strays from romania and bulgaria. We live in a flat but it's 100m² with garden, we earn good money and we are really active so we hope to be a good home to a dog.

So far so good. The thing is that I grew up with big dogs (german shepherds), we also had litters a few times and so I know how to treat and train dogs of all ages. My bf loves dogs but never had one of his own nor did his closer relatives have one. So his knowledge about interaction with dogs is limited and since he is such a soft and inconsequent person I don't really know if he has a natural thing for training one, I think probably not. I will have to train him and the dog at the same time I guess.

So what I am asking myself now is if it would be better to adopt a pup or an adult dog? All the dogs usually are not potty trained (because they lived outdoors til now) but most of them have a basic education about not biting, going on a leash and accept to be handled.

The pro side for an adult is that its character is already visible (rather shy, lazy, active, friendly, quiet...) and we already know how big it will be. On the down side it will be harder for a dog who already is 2 or so years old to adapt to life in a flat with humans in contrary to living outdoors with a pack.

For a puppy we can't know how big it will become since nobody knows the parents of most strays. Also puppies are so much work and it's easier to fuck things up with a puppy if you don't train it properly. On the other hand it is still young and will most probable easier adapt to living in a flat. And it is less likely that it already has traumatic experiences from the past. Plus maybe it's easier for my bf to bond with a pup and grow into dog ownership while the dog grows...

I am sure I could handle both anyway but I am absolutely not sure which would be better for a first-time owner like my parter.

Anyone has advice?

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