Poodles are descended from herding dogs. (See initial paragraphs of "Gordon's Poodle Visuals", and Rosa Engler, Pudel (Cham, Switzerland: 1995), English-language crib.)
Several branches of the proto-Poodle family--several ancestor/cousins--are categorized as herding dogs and used for herding to this day: see Show dogs (conformation exhibition), "cousins." See also Engler, p. 15, here's a photograph of Cora, descendant of the Westerwald (area) sheep Poodles, a working dog of the 1990s whose job is to guard flocks of sheep. Cora is shown in her summer clip; in winter, her fur twists itself into a corded-type coat. For a brief description of Poodles/proto-Poodles used as herding dogs, see Ernest H. Hart, The Poodle Handbook (Neptune City: TFH: 1966), p. 16.
Herding techniques vary. For an interesting introduction, see David Outerbridge, photographs by Julie Thayer, The Last Shepherds (NY: Viking, 1979). Four essays/photo essays: Yves Hébrard, berger, St.-Hippolyte-du-Fort (Languedoc, France) and the transhumance (and his dog is Poodle-reminiscent, pp. 39, 42, 44, 45); Duncan McDonald, crofter, Mallaigvaig (Scotland); Giuseppe Nesti, pastore, Pistoia (Italy); Miltiades Xsilouris, voskos, Anoyia (Greece). A fifth type of herding, "tending," is practiced in Germany: large herds of sheep are moved from field to field.
NB: "Medieval dog graves [on the outskirts of Ely, Cambridgeshire; in the as-yet-undrained Fens, a geographical signal for possible water-dog, i.e. proto-Poodle, activity] a sign of owners' caring," by Matt Wells, The Globe and Mail (Canada), Saturday, 6 November 1999, reprinted from The Guardian (England): "Roddy Reagan, joint director [with Richard Mortimer] of the dig, said: '....My guess is that they would have been working dogs used as sheepdogs or for herding.'" For more information, see Versatility in Poodles, Inc. , awards versatility certificate points for this achievement.
The closest the editor ever came a "herding Poodle" was a black Standard Poodle named Tout. In the stable behind his house lived a gentle Jersey cow, Gypsy; the house's pasture since the 18th century consisted of a couple of acres across the road and kitty-corner to the house. In the morning after milking, Gypsy went to her pasture. In the afternoon, before milking, she returned. During the day, if she got lonely, she escaped to stand on the front porch of the house and gaze longingly through the kitchen window. Tout was her friend.