Nicole Fischer

Nicole has been passionate about animals since she was a little tomboy who made wide-ranging trips through the woods and fields around her childhood home with her aunt's Scottish Terrier and later her very own Golden Retriever.  That passion found its ultimate outlet when she brought home an overly exuberant standard poodle puppy about six years ago.  "Mayday" could barely contain himself on a leash and when first released in the park, spent five full minutes sprinting in tight circles around his bemused new owner.  Nicole resolved to learn all she could about dog training and behavior and fortunately had ample opportunity to socialize her new pup and watch dogs interact during off-leash hours in the public parks of her Brooklyn neighborhood.  

Entirely self-taught as an obedience handler, Nicole armed herself with books about positive training methods and a clicker:  She and Mayday earned the UD title in a minimal number of trials, placing in nearly every one with scores above 190.  Then when someone suggested she and Mayday try agility, something *really* "clicked"!  

With the help of like-minded instructor Kim Seiter and seminars and camps with Susan Garrett and Greg Derrett, Nicole has been able to channel Mayday's drive and his obedience background into a solid foundation for great teamwork. They've earned their MX and MXJ and are well on their way to a MACH, most often placing within the top 5 competitors In their class even though they must compete against the speediest of BCs.

 In USDAA competition, they're currently a couple Qs from their MAD title and have earned the Tournament Master title.  In both 2005 And 2006, they qualified to compete in all events at the USDAA Cynosport World Games: In 2005, they attended the games and their Dog Agility Masters team finished within the top 15 percent of more than 200 teams.  

Though he's a serious competitor, Mayday is also a ham with a huge repertoire of tricks and enough steadiness and patience to perform them in any conditions -- once with an entire little league baseball team crowded around him shouting the commands!

 As a professional photographer, Nicole has worked with hundreds of dogs and their owners and finds her dog training experience invaluable In helping to capture the perfect posture and expression for portraits.  In fact, each portrait session by necessity often becomes a miniature training session!  Shooting and pouring over tens of thousands of agility action shots has given Nicole a unique perspective on a wide range of breeds performing the same obstacles and she finds that this experience benefits her training as well. She's grateful that both types of clicking, both of the shutter and the clicker, complement each other so well.