When you're interacting with your poodle, whether you're formally training her or just living life with her, you're well advised to follow the principles of the most progressive training experts. That is, catch your dog doing something right, and reward her. When your poodle does something you don't like, don't punish her. Instead, either ignore the behavior (if it's not dangerous), or distract her. Then get her to do something you like and reward her for that.

This positive approach is in stark contrast to traditional training methods (and, sadly, to human nature most of the time), in which you ignore your dog when she's behaving herself and yell at her when she does something you don't want.

Positive training operates under the theory that dogs (and all other beings) repeat behaviors for which they're rewarded. If you've ever taught a dog to sit using treats, you probably noticed that the dog sits the moment you ask her to. She quickly learns that she gets a treat when she sits, and soon she's sitting just to ask for a treat!

Focusing on positive interactions with your dog can require a fundamental change in the way you think. Instead of thinking about what you don't want your dog to do, you have to think about what you want her to do.

If she's jumping on you, for example, don't think in terms of “don't jump.” Instead, think about what you'd like her to be doing when she greets you. Sitting works well. So if your dog jumps on you, turn your back (so her jumping isn't being rewarded by your attention), and when she puts all four feet on the floor, ask her to sit. Then reward the sit.

Poodles tend to be so sensitive that yelling at them or giving them collar corrections might make them shut down or hate training. Stick to positive training — clicker training in particular — and you'll have a poodle that adores training and fulfills your expectations of a well-behaved dog.