It's no fun having a dog that pulls. Even if your dog is so small his pulling isn't a hardship, it's still much nicer to have a dog that walks with a slack leash. Luckily, all it takes to train your dog to walk nicely on leash is a little time and patience. You can do it without aversive equipment like pinch collars and no-pull halters.

It's not hard to do. Simply reward your dog for walking on a loose leash, and don't reward her for pulling. If she pulls, you stop. (“Be a tree,” trainers suggest.) When she turns to see what's up and puts some slack in the leash, click. She should return to you for the treat that inevitably follows the click, and you can encourage her to walk by your side, clicking and treating when she keeps the leash loose. If she pulls, become a tree again.

At first it might seem like you're getting nowhere, and walks will seem to take forever. But before long, you'll be able to just give your poodle an occasional treat for walking nicely. Just remember always to reward a slack leash, and don't reward a taut one. And remember that if your dog wants to pull, when you allow her to pull, she's being rewarded.