TLDR: It's called obedience training; mixed with some mental and physical exercise- for the working breeds especially- but it's also important for all breeds. In 2 months at ten minutes a day, with a travel kennel and a leash and consistency and a few hours of educating yourself, you can have a jam up dog that is awesome to be around. For nearly every dog on the planet without it, OBT is what they need (other than a responsible, realistic and educated owner).

Long version below. Maybe it'll help someone with a chit-for-attitude pup. I deal with this subject regularly:

I'll still take a pointer or retriever in to train if conditions are right in both mine and the dog's life. It's working-based, but the foundation of all training is OBT, aka yard work.

I promise you that, if done correctly, OBT for ALL dogs flips a switch in their head and turns them into a different animal- a better animal. The other part of the equation is physical and mental excercise, preferably in a way that conforms to what they were bred to do but ANY mental/physical activity is better than none for ALL breeds, but ESPECIALLY working breeds- even if they're from a backyard breeder, aka a puppy mill pup. The beauty of OBT is that it is a mental exercise for the dog, and if done right, they quickly grow to love it.

Using a travel crate inside and out of your home is the most critical tool a dog owner can have. The others are a leash and consistent use of the word "no". The crux of successful OBT is CONSISTENCY. Socializing is important too. My saying is, "From 6 weeks to 6 months is the critical period," but you can, in fact, teach the oldest of dogs new tricks.

I love GSP's and can pretty easily turn one into a basic, well-rounded, obedient hunter in no time, but I get calls from fed up, non-hunting GSP owners who are at their wit's end. When asked about the dog's lifestyle, it never fails: the dog is hemmed up 23.5 hours a day in a tiny space. My GSP regularly runs 10-15 miles a day when hunting wild birds (GPS'ed via a Garmin Alpha E-Collar/tracker) and is also highly intelligent. A breed that can do that, and that's also highly intelligent, cannot be "fixed" with any amount of OBT in the situation the owners had the dog in. The owner is the problem- they're always the problem.

Buy the book "The 10 Minute Retriever" because it's a good book for beginners all the way through, but it is especially good in the OBT parts. It's really not hard to do this either: A few days of careful reading followed by 10 minutes a day of actual leash work (you're always training by holding the dog to a standard), and you'll see results within a week at most- if done correctly and with consistency. In 2 months you'll have a new, better pet that's 100% reliable on OB in any environment.

Educate yourself, be consistent, work the dogs mind and body periodically, and you'll have a pup that can ride and go anywhere, and have one that people actually like to see coming; because nothing is more miserable than a bad pup- both for you and the rest of us.