Sept 2011
NICI PARKER
Agility Training – Private/Semi-Private Lessons
About Me:
Training and teaching has always been a part of my life. I grew up swimming competitively and began teaching kids and adults to swim while in high school. After college, I joined the Peace Corp and became a science teacher in Sierra Leone. Throughout my career in the computer industry, I attended numerous Train the Trainer seminars where I learned “how” to train.
I was introduced to agility in 1997 and began competing the following year. What started out as just something fun to do with my 3 yr old Australian Shepherds, Brandy & Kuma, slowly turned into a passion. In early 2000, I brought home 7 week old Jili. I wanted a high drive dog and got exactly that -- and more. Not only was Jili extremely driven for agility, she was also, and still is, mentally tough. Classes eventually did not work well for Jili or me. I began attending seminars, agility camps and taking private instruction, and then putting into practice what I had learned. At first Jili’s drive and speed outpaced my skills, but that only motivated me to become a better handler. During this time I also became a trainer for Contact Point, where we had initially taken classes. My work with Jili paid off: our agility journey has included the AKC World Team tryouts, two invitations to compete in the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge, two AKC Agility Invitationals and both AKC and ASCA Nationals.
Nitro joined our family in 2005. Although a half brother to Jili, he is NOTHING like her. While Jili is focused and driven, and agility her passion, Nitro’s first love is chasing the ball or leaping for his frisbee. Consequently, his training required new techniques and strategies.
After 2 ½ years of “home schooling”, Nitro began showing potential and our teamwork started coming together. He earned his MACH (AKC Master Agility Champion) title before age 4. Eight months later, Nov 2009, he earned MACH 2. As of Aug 2011 he has achieved MACH 7. Nitro has also earned invitations to compete in the AKC Iams/Eukanuba Agility Invitational as the #2 (2010) and #1 (2011) Australian Shepherd. However, every new course brings new challenges, and we continue to adapt and evolve.
Agility training is about learning skills and using them in the way that works best for you and your dog. There is seldom one “right” way to run a course; success usually means understanding what works for you and your dog, which also may change as your skill level evolves and your dog becomes more confident. My focus, as an agility instructor, is not only to teach handling skills, but teach the handler to understand what techniques will yield the best results, and why. My focus is not only on what to do, but why to do it. Agility is a team sport, and learning how to best be in sync with your dog is paramount. Most importantly, agility is about having fun with your best friend!
References provided upon request.
My Dogs:
Parker’s Brandy MX MXJ MAD RS-E JS-E GS-O EAC EJC EGC VEAC VEJC (1994-2004)
2001 USDAA Veteran Grand Prix Finals – 2nd Place
Parker’s Kuma AX AXJ EAC OJC OGC PII (1994-2010)
MACH2 ATCH Toprock’s Jumpin’ Jility “Jili” MXF CGC RS-E-OP JS-E GS-E-OP EAC EJC EGC EWC ETC
2004-2007 Top 5 AKC MACH Pointed Australian Shepherd
2004-2007 USASA Agility Recognition Award, 1st Place 16” ExB Standard, JWW, FAST
2004 World Team Tryouts – 1st Place Round 1 Midi Division
2005 Purina Incredible Dog Challenge – 1st Place Western Region
2005 USASA National Specialty – High in Trial JWW
2006 AKC Agility Invitational Competitor, Round 3 JWW 2nd Place
2007 AKC Agility Invitational Competitor
2007 Purina Incredible Dog Challenge Competitor
Apr 2008 ASCA High in Trial Elite, Riverside
2008 USASA Agility Recognition Award, 1st Place ExB 16” FAST
MACH7 ATCH Gulfstream’s TNT – Take No Tail “Nitro” MXF TQX RS-E JS-E-OP GS-E-OP
2007 USASA Agility Recognition Award, 1st Place ExB 24” JWW
Oct 2008 ASCA High in Trial Elite, WLA
Feb 2009 ASCA High in Trial Elite, Riverside
Mar & Apr 2009 ASCA High in Trial Elite, Acton
May 2009 ASCA High in Trial Elite, Lancaster
Nov 2009 AKC High in Trial, Las Vegas
2009 USASA Agility Recognition Award, 1st Place ExB 24” Standard, JWW & FAST
Sept 2010 ASCA High in Trial Elite, Riverside
2010 #2 Australian Shepherd qualifier, AKC Iams/Eukanuba Agility Invitational
2010 USASA Agility Recognition Award, 1st Place ExB 24” Standard, JWW & FAST
2010 #1 AKC MACH Pointed Australian Shepherd and #10 Overall
2011 #1 Australian Shepherd qualifier, AKC Iams/Eukanuba Agility Invitational
