I can assure you that this behavior is not typical of poodles. I have had poodles all of my life and have never had one act like this. My only thought is that these dogs have not been socialized well, if at all, although I still can't imagine one of my dogs acting that way. Of the three sizes that poodles come in (standard, miniature and toy) I can tell you that the standards, being the largest, are EXTREMELY easy going and are absolutely unflappable when it comes to new experiences and/or meeting people and other dogs. As you go on down in size there may be a bit of intimidation involved, with the tiny ones feeling somewhat threatened although I can't see this being any more of a problem than with another small or toy dog. My two toys were extremely outgoing but they were taken everywhere with me from day one. My answer to you would be simply to please not judge all poodles by these. They are awesome dogs and I am currently on my 6th!