I had always had male dogs before I adopted my little female pug. My current male dog is the most loving, adoring, loyal, devoted, smart, most willing to please dog I have ever met. He's not agressive at all although he does lift his leg when he pees. I adopted him when he was about 9 months old and I had to have him neutered. If you get them neutered younger they often will squat to pee. He's alot more loving then the female I have, he's alot easier to train and far more willing to please me, although he's a super inteligent breed and the pug breed is not know for their smarts. In my opinion, the male dogs are often better looking, depending on the breed. I like the extra size, longer coat, and extra muscle that the male dogs often have.

I don't feel you made a mistake. He will be noble, beautiful, and as long as he's given the proper training, he'll be an extrodinary companion. Standard poodles are a beautiful breed and they are also very easy to train and intelligent. There's a male standard poodle that comes to the dog park that I take my dogs to and he's absolutely GORGOUS! He's also very well behaved and he ADORES his mom and does not stray far from her. He's a great dog.

From my limmited experience, I do prefer male dogs to female dogs, simply because they are so devoted. Don't worry...the winds of change will surprise you I bet the male poodle will turn out to be better then you originally thought.