It may be hard to believe, but Poodles were not just bred to be show dogs.
The Poodle breed was originally developed to be gun dogs or retrievers.
Poodles also showed excellence at a number of many different activities such as herding, tracking and hunting.
Some Poodle owners around the world still use their dogs in some of the more traditional roles, though hunting has faded through the years and is no longer an important activity.
Nevertheless, there are still a handful of competitions in which Poodles can show off the talents that are prominent in their breed.
Poodles perform successfully in many of these competitions and some of the events they participate in include tracking, obedience, herding and agility.
A herding trial, often referred to as a sheepdog trial, is a competition in which a handler or owner instructs the Poodle to move and herd sheep through a particular area, which often contains gates, fences or even enclosures.
There are some competitions that prohibit Poodles from participation because they were not developed exclusively for herding purposes.
There are other herding competitions that will allow any breed of dog trained to herd to participate.
A herding trial will usually consist of various types of events, but in each one, a few dogs must be able to take control of a group of sheep (usually between three and six), and keep them on a prescribed course.
These competitions can be centuries old and Poodles have been actively participating for quite a long time.
Agility trials are becoming one of the most popular dog sporting events; all variations of the Poodle, the Standard Poodle included, have participated and excelled in agility trials.
This is a sport where a Poodle must run off leash through an obstacle course, make sure to pay special attention to the obstacles and do it in the shortest amount of time possible; the handler/owner runs next to the dog and directs the dog through the course and over and under the obstacles.
The handler/owner is not permitted to touch the obstacles or the dog (accidents do not get penalized) and cannot give any type of treat or enticement to the dog.
Using voice commands and body signals are the only things permissible for an handler/owner to use.
Poodles seem to excel at this event because of their high intelligence and being extra sensitive to their handlers; some handler/owners have reported that a Poodle instinctively knows what they want even before a verbal command is spoken.
Because a Poodle is highly intelligent and eager to please its handler/owner, it is very successful in obedience trials.
This type of event is where the Poodle must perform a series of tasks upon command; and the tasks must be done without error.
The tasks of an obedience trial are highly stylized, and more complex and difficult as the dog moves through the levels of competition.
Poodles are known to do well in tracking trials, thanks in part to their breeding for use as gun dogs.
In these types of trials, a track is laid to represent a lost person or an item, and the dog while on a long leash, must track down the person or lost item; the specifics of the trial will vary.