Joey

Question
My girlfriend and I adopted a 1.5 year old Black & Tan Coonhound Mix a few days ago. He is very well behaved (doesn't bark often, is very gentle, and doesn't go to the bathroom in the house) but he seems a little reserved, timid, or depressed when in the apartment. I know he will take time to get comfortable but I noticed he is much more outgoing and playful with other dogs and seems to only come out of his shell at the dog run. He is hesitant to play with us and isn't active at all in the apt. He mostly lies around and walks very slowly. Any suggestions? Thanks so much for your time, help, and expertise!

Answer
It sounds like he had more exposure to other dogs than he did with people, when he was growing up. I would personally not take him to the dog run and let him run and play with other dogs right now. I would take him for daily walks, play ball with him in the back yard if he likes to fetch, and start teaching him some basic obedience using treats and praise, so that he becomes more interested in hanging out with me than he is with hanging out with other dogs. I have several videos on YouTube that will help you get started teaching him the basic commands, and then you can consider enrolling with him in a group class so that he learns that even when there ARE other dogs around, he still needs to pay attention and listen to you. Here is the link to my instructional videos:

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=465B2A6868C739BD