I know that hendrix and i are beginners to all of this, but i have a quick success story. We have been working on training with distractions and one thing i do is have him sit before we cross streets. I have introduced a sit / stay, where i cross the road first and then call him and Hendrix runs across the street to meet me. Yesterday was a breakthrough, we were able to do this crossing 6 busy streets with 4 lanes and a median. Not bad for a pound dog that wouldn't listen to a thing! I know its not much for most of the dogs and owners on here, but Hendrix is already the most well behaved (read: "well excercised") dog in the neighborhood. I thought it was notable.

Does anyone have any more commands i should be working on? I am always looking for help.

Trav

Don't forget the Down/Stay. 

I think you and Hendrix will enjoy obedience class.  Also, you might want to buy a few books on obedience training.  I have found knowing several methods for training the same thing is helpful as dogs are all different. What works for one, may not work for another. For example, my girl, Belle (5 yo female GSP), is very soft.  I typically only use positive reinforcement with her as anything negative tends to shut her down.  Ringo (8 mo male GSP), on the other hand can handle negative correction, and sometimes needs it.  So, just like people, dogs have different personalities and training needs.

Good luck and keep us posted.  Also, if you have any questions, let us know.  There are some really experienced folks on this forum.

"I have introduced a sit / stay, where i cross the road first and then call him and Hendrix runs across the street to meet me. Yesterday was a breakthrough, we were able to do this crossing 6 busy streets with 4 lanes and a median."

All on leash, I hope? Reason I am asking, I once had a neighbor, that perfected the off-leash heel and sit stay on a busy intersection. His dog got killed by car going about 30 mph (the car, not dog), right in front of his eyes.

In regards to other commands, the list is endless, I add on throughout the life of my dogs, they are lifelong learners

whoa, heel, recall, down are the important ones and potentially lifesaving in a bad situation. back, side, front, move, place, off, fetch, leave it, out/give, wait, go, kennel, hustle, are the ones we use every day. Then words - each toy has a name: kong, red, yellow, orbee, crispy, etc...tricks: high five, stretch, etc.

You can teach verbal commands, whistle commands, hand signals. I once had a dog that was trilingual - English, German and sign language

Bev is right, you may enjoy an obedience class. I always start my dogs myself and then enroll them in a class to finetune the dog...and myself.