Playing to ruff with bigger dog

Question
Hello my 8 month old male standard poodle plays very rough he makes wounds on our male  Staffie which is 3 years old.The poodle plays plays plays will NOT rest LOL. He nips and jumps when he sees you also I have tried my best please help me. He is highly intelligent and easy to train so tell me how to correct this behavior. He was a rescue and was a VERY angry 8 week old puppy.....would not let you pick him up would lash from side to side NOW very loving. Many Thanks Marie

Answer
Hello Marie,
You are going to have to make your Poodle submit to your Staffie.  When he is being rough with your Staf, lay the Poodle on the floor on his side and with his head on the floor.  Keep him down in this position until YOU allow him to get up.  Allow the Staf to come up and sniff the Poodle, without allowing the Poodle to get up.  This shows the Poodle that he has to listen to you and he is showing the Staf some submissive bahavior.  
Before you let the Poodle play with the Staf, ware him out some by taking him for a long walk (when its warm out) or throwing the ball for him.  That way, when he plays with the Staf, he won't have as much energy(you hope anyway :)
Let them play for about 30 minutes, then put the Poodle in his crate for an hour or so.  This gives him and the Staf time to settle before playing again.  

As for your dog jumping up on you, teach him the "Off" command.  When he jumps up on you, tell him Off, and gently knee him in the chest.  When he jumps off of you, make him sit, then give him his praise.  If this doesn't deter him from jumping up, then when he jumps up again grab his feet and walk him backwards.  This un-nerves a dog and he should stop jumping up.  Again, make him sit then praise him.  You can also use the Off command when he is on the couch, bed or anywhere where you need him off of something.  

Do the Doggie Exam position with your dog.  
Sit on the floor with your feet in front of you.  Lay your Poodle in your lap with his head towards your stomach.  Start off by just massaging your Poodle to get him to relax.  Once he will lay still in your lap without kicking or trying to get up, you can start the exam exercises.  
Go over his head:
Look in his ears, eyes, mouth and teeth.  Next, check his skin and front legs.  Next look at his toenails.  Move on to his back legs.  
When he will let you go over him, you can do a quick exam then rub him as a way to bond with him and to assert your dominance over him, it also builds trust because even though he is in a submissive position he can trust that you won't let anything hurt him.  

You might also think about getting him into an Obedience class.  Poodles (as you stated above) are very intelligent and enjoy pleasing their owners.  Think about getting into a group lesson so that he will be exposed to other dogs and owners.  
Your Staf would benefit from Obedience as well.  

I hope this helps you some.  If you have other questions for me, please feel free to ask.  
Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim