Thanks again for all of the replies.

OK, I'm convinced about the 8 wk thing. Not a problem. The breeder only lives 2 miles from here. I'm sure we can arrange to go over and visit sometime during Christmas break. No big deal there.

However, you guys are bringing up other questions in my mind:
No, I have never had a hound or redbone coonhound.Should I think twice? I have been told these are great family pets. This is all we want. We don't hunt. We don't show dogs... none of that. Just a family pet.

Secondly, as far as outside goes, we live on a farm. Plenty of room to run and play for kids and pets. I have had 3 dogs in my life. All big dogs, all outside dogs. Personally, I always thought it was more cruel to keep a big dog trapped inside than to let it out. Of course, I am not talking about a little puppy in the middle of winter. I am talking about a big full grown dog. What's the hesitation with having an outside dog?

I am open to all your suggestions/comments....

Mardena,

We brought our pup home when he was 9 weeks old. He was a birthday gift for my son. I can't comment about a 6 week old pup, but at 9 weeks we took him outside often during the day. For two months my 16 year old son got up every morning between 2 and 3 AM to take him outside.

Our night time schedule was something like this:
Crate the puppy at 10 PM when my son went to bed. If my wife or I stayed up later than that we'd take him out of the crate and outside to potty just before we went to bed. My son would get up at about 2 AM to take him outside. My son would get up again at about 6:30 AM to take him outside again. We never had an accident in the crate.

In my family of four (we also have a 20 yr. old daughter) we all take care of the dog. In fact, sometimes we compete to. But my son probably does about half of the work. Feeding him, medicating him when he needs it, taking him outside, cleaning up the poop, that kind of thing.

My niece and her husband bought a lab puppy for their 12 year old. They also have an 8 year old and a 3 year old. In that household, the 12 year old and the father pretty much split the duties, with the rest of the family pitching in. The 3 year old is, of course, too young, and the 8 year old is not responsible or big enough to handle a lab puppy. The 12 year old got up in the middle of the night for the first couple of months to take the dog out.

One of the issues they ran into is that to the lab puppy, the 3 year old looked a lot like a prey item. And the 3 year old is a pretty tough kid who plays rough. So the parents have had to spend time protecting the dog and the child from each other. This is something to keep in mind regarding your 2 yr old.

Good luck with your puppy.

Mardena, LOTS of "issues" here <:-)

1) Hounds put their noses to the ground, run off hunting all day AND all night, plus they do plenty of baying, LOL -- so you will need an escape-proof fenced yard & escape-proof kenneling for any coonhound (absolutely NO tie-out chains allowed!)...

2) Personally, I happen to LOVE all the hound breeds, but they can be quite independent & rather stubborn -- so do be very aware that they DON'T behave like Labs or Shepherds when it comes to obedience training...

3) If you want a PET redbone, please tell the breeder that in NO uncertain terms -- Field-bred hounds (i.e., from hunting lines) will have MUCH more restless energy & greater desire to roam all over creation if they ever get loose...

4) It isn't at all cruel to rotate your dog between the house & an enclosed outdoor pen (complete with a secured ROOF, because coonhouds can climb right out of open runs & easily jump or dig under fences!) -- But any dog needs a good amount of supervised daily exercise with its adult owner, either on a LEASH, or in the escape-proof yard <:-)

http://www.redbones.org/redbones/want.html

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/redbonecoonhound.htm

Just a couple links but if you google Redbone Coonhounds there are several decent links there.
Hounds can just be a very tough breed to train as far as obedience, but it CAN be done.
They are pretty easy to train to hunt or trail, since this is what they were originally bred for.
I am not saying not to get one, but I will say that I recommend doing some research to anyone on any breed so that the decision can be made if the dog is right for the lifestyle, conditions or whatever you want to call it. :-)

AMEN, Carol <:-)

Ditto to Candi's post

Hounds are really a FUN dog but they do take some work and they keep you on your toes.

Mardena,
Ok I can see your point on dogs that are kept inside too much.I think a good balance is good.
I am speaking from experience.When we were on 10 acres of property our dogs were on the wood deck that was all around the house.They would be right at our door(outside) waiting to come in ,yet they had 10 acres to roam free! I understood that for the most part dogs want to be with their packs and pack leader. If I was inside the house they wanted in, if I was out they wanted out. I, to this day want more land so that I and my dogs can go run around and play and do stuff together not because I feel they alone need the space.Cause frankly I think they want to be where you are.That is why I always feel bad for dogs that are outside dogs only and are alone outside.The are pack dogs and they have the need to be with their packs.
Does that make sense?
The reason why I mentioned it to you is because you have no other dogs for him to hang outside with.So he will always be waiting on you guys to come out.

Angelique, NO self-respecting coonhound would wait around for its owner IF it had the least little chance to escape & run 3 counties away hunting -- That's what they're bred to do, without relying on handlers to lead OR hang out with them <:-)

My Bloodhound got out and took off, by the time I got to the barn, got the four-wheeler and located him with binoculars he was almost 1 mile away. This is all in about 5 minutes. :-)
Wait....for me??? Yeah right??? I wish....hee hee

Yeppers, I have a Borzoi (Russian Wolfhound) who does 40 miles per hour in about 1.5 seconds, goes for MANY a mile & never looks back !!! This why he WINS open field trials, even over Whippets & Greyhounds <:-) All sighthounds & some scenthounds are bred to locate, flush, overtake & kill the prey before their handlers (often on horseback) ever catch up with them...