Obedience training is one of the most common forms of training, and perhaps the most rewarding. With it you can strengthen the bond between you and your pet, open a line of communication and even though it may not cure all behavior problems, it will cure most.

A good exercise you can do before you try the commands below is to teach your dog how to pay attention, teach him to look at you when you speak or step in front of him. An easy way to do this is to simply sit in front of the dog and keep his attention on you, if he turns away simply speak to avert his gaze or slowly move his head back to face you. As a note; Remember to train these commands while the collar and leash are on.

  Sit:Try this while sitting in a comfortable surrounding, perhaps in the house or the yard. Position the dog in front of you and while gently pulling up on the leash push his behind down to the ground and firmly but gently speak the command "Hooch, Sit". If the dog tries to move, simply push his behind back to the ground and speak the command. Each time you do this offer praise to the dog for sitting, or offer a treat. When the dog catches on and sits on his own, reward him with a treat and "Good Sit!"
     The hand signal for sitting is as follows; With your elbow slightly at a down angle at your waist, using your right hand touch your thumb to your first and second fingers. Point the thumb and fingers upward as if holding something(A treat for example). Try using this with the command mentioned above, training your dog to know both verbal and hand signals will be most rewarding later on.

  Stay: Training a dog how to sit is probably one of the most aggravating of the basic commands. First do this with no distractions around, with the leash on. And its preferred to do this after the dog learns how to sit. Sit the dog in front of you and slowly step back to the end of the leash. Keep a close eye on the dog and allow no movement except for his head and eyes as they will most likely follow you, he must stay in the position that you placed him in. If he moves, immediately correct him with a firm "No", placing the dog in the original position and speaking "Hooch, Stay". If the dog catches on, even if it is for a few moments give him a treat and say "Good stay!". Keep trying this exercise for longer stays and purchase a longer leash, allowing more space to come in between you and the dog. You want to be able to make the dog stay, and walk a ways away without him budging. Also, after he has learned to sit, implement distractions to challenge his staying capabilities. As always, properly reward the dog with treats or praise every time that he stays.
     The hand signal for Stay is as follows; Using the flat of your right hand palm facing the dog, sweeping in toward the dogs face slowly and ending at the front of the dogs nose with no contact.

  Heel: Some people usually use this as the very first command to teach your dog or puppy. It can be very useful as a first command as the two I have already listed can follow it very easily. So either way you choose, it is definitely a must have command. The proper way to heel uses both hands on the leash with your left elbow straight and at your side, and your right hand held close to your body. Position the dog on your left side, letting the dogs eyes be even with your left leg. Give the command "Hooch, heel" and step off with your left leg first, doing this indicates the next move to the dog. As soon as he starts to move with you, offer him praise or a treat in return for his work. As an advanced level of this method, once he has learned the basics of heel, take the dog into certain walking patterns, such as circles or figure eights. This will keep the dog interested and teach him to follow your movements. As always offer praise to your pet for any actions that he does right, at the end of the session reward him and play with him, that way he will be eager to go into the next training session.
The proper hand signal for Heel is as follows: Simply pat your left leg with your left hand once.

These are the 3 basic commands of Obedience training, if you wish to further advance the training you can try reading one of the very many books on the subject, or enter your dog into Obedience Classes. Whichever you choose, always remember to keep it fun for the dog, offer praise, a treat or some other sign of affection to show him how pleased you are for his work. Keep the training sessions as short as possible, for puppies 5-10 minutes is plenty of time and for adults 30 minutes to an hour will be a very good training session. Remember, the more fun the dog is having, the easier it will be for him to learn the commands. No dog wants to sit for hours on end. Also, introduce new surroundings to the dog while training, take him into crowded parks, or some place where other dogs will be. If you do this and implement distractions, it will strengthen the dogs concentration on the task at hand. Try it as much as possible, he will be very distracted at first, but the more that you do it, the stronger his concentration will be.