You cannot call him stubborn and disobedient when you have only had him for two weeks and he does not even really know you yet. Also, a Coonhound is bred for hunting and they just get their nose down and off they go. He may never get to the point of being off leash unless you put a lot of training into him.

They are not like a lot of the breeds you have had previously which are breeds bred to work with you. Hounds are born to hunt and are quite independent.

 

Work on building a bond with him. Train him, exercise him, play fun games with him, etc... Don't trust him off leash right now, simple as that. If you're going outside, leash him. Some dogs are just not meant to be off leash. You can probably train him to be off leash, but it will take TONS of work. By not keeping him on leash, or allowing him to run off, he could be seriously hurt. He could get hit, or attacked by another animal, or person. Anything is possible, so keep him safe.

Train him with positive training like you would another dog. Play with him like you would another dog, too. He's older, but that doesn't really matter. Older dogs can learn, too. The only difference here is, you can't take him on one of your "hellish walks".

I wish you two the best of luck and I am sure you will bond over time! =] Just remember, it takes dogs about two months to fully settle into a place.

 

What have you done to make Croton want to be near you or to trust you? Two weeks isn't a very long time for him to adjust to a new home, new people and dogs, and new expectations.

Also, as has been mentioned, some dogs / breeds simply aren't good off-leash, are more independent, and are less biddable. That doesn't make them disobedient and stubborn, it makes them different dogs. Find something he loves and use that to motivate him to behave in a more appropriate manner, but don't expect him to be something he's not.

And keep him on a leash or behind a fence. At this time, he's not a good candidate for being off leash (and he may never be). Keep him safe.

 

You have previously owned breeds meant to work with humans. You now own a dog who is of a breed that has been bred for generation upon generation to work AWAY from people, with people trailing THEM (rather than them sticking close to the person/following their lead). This is going to be a learning curve for you, but it is what it is. This dog's job, as a breed, is to run the opposite direction of you, follow his nose, and find racoons and chase them up a tree - and in that scenario the person follows the dog, not the other way around. They are also not bred for biddability, because out there doing what the breed exists to do? They don't need to take direction from humans, either, so that's not a breed trait.

No amount of practiced insecurity (what you call your trust walks) will resolve this issue completely because - well, every instinct this dog has says you're meant to be following him, while he does his thing. His breed design has nothing -nothing- to do with taking direction to you. He's supposed to be taking direction from his nose.

You need to change your approach completely. You have to make being near you rewarding in a big, serious, HUGE, way. You have to bond with him in a serious way. And you have to be prepared for the fact that this dog may, very possibly, never be safe off leash outside a fence. Particularly not in woods or hiking, where that hunting instinct is more likely to kick in.