20 Summer 2010 Applegater
Dog trainer extraordinaire
By TASHA KNOWLTON
Potter and Cary Voorhees.
O
riginally from Buffalo, New York, Cary
Voorhees, dog trainer extraordinaire
always dreamed of moving to Oregon.
In 1984 she did just that making her home in Ruch.
How very fortunate we all are.
Cary has been training dogs in obedience and
behavior for about 25 years. Additionaly for the last
12 years she has been training dogs in agility, (running
through tunnels, jumping over ramps, etc.). She also
teaches classes in agility and obedience and offers private
in-home training.
Cary’s interest in animals began when she was
just a child. She was raised with animals and learned to
love them at a very young age. Her first commitment
toward her goals was to receive degrees in zoology and
animal behavior. Cary didn’t always know that she was
going to be a dog trainer; she thought that she would
eventually live somewhere in Africa studying monkeys
and other interesting animals.
As it happened, Cary’s first job here in Oregon was
working with Dogs for the Deaf. This is when her real
interest in dog training began. She was employed with
Dogs for the Deaf for seven or eight years, beginning
as a Certified Audio Canine Trainer and then became
a behavior consultant. After Dogs for the Deaf, Cary
worked at the Jackson County Animal Shelter and at
the Humane Society, placing dogs with people whose
personalities were compatible.
For a while, Cary volunteered for the American
Humane Society to make sure that animals on movie sets
and commercials were treated humanely, she made sure
that there was sufficient food and water and the animals
were not over-worked. Cary worked with a yellow lab
used in the movie River Wild, filmed here in southern
Oregon. In a National Geographic documentary she
was able to work with tigers. Both of these she says were
fantastic experiences. She also has trained dogs for use
in international movies and commercials.
Currently the Voohees household has five dogs,
three horses, two cats, and a parrot. One of her dogs,
a border collie named Potter, she has trained in agility
trails. He also does “nosework” which is similar to
searching for items used in search and rescue. Cary is
also in the process of training a small Papillon rescue
dog named Timmy.
Cary enjoys training canines so much because
every dog, every owner and every situation is unique.
Each dog has a special personality. Cary has the uncanny
ability to figure who is who, and who needs what. When
working with the unique behaviors of a dog, she prefers
being at the owner’s house, where the dog is familiar and
comfortable. She is also able to see how the animal acts
in its own environment, thereby teaching to individual
needs.
The seminars and classes she hosts, taught by
visiting trainers, are usually fully booked months
in advance. The most popular class is by the world-
renowned trainer from England, John Rogerson.
Rogerson teaches tracking and searching in a four-day
seminar called “Crime Scene CSI. ” To add excitement
and interest to the training class for the canines and
handlers alike, the class has a murder theme. After two
days of training, suddenly there is a “murder” and the
dogs and handlers need to look for clues to solve the
murder. To cover the crime scene the dogs and handlers
roam over acres of land, looking for many clues. “It is
so much fun and very motivating,” Cary says.
Having expanded her horizons into the wilds of
nature, Cary’s interests always reflect back to her animals.
Two years ago she completed a nine-month study in
herbology. Her new passion is wildcrafting, medicinal
gardening and making medicine, which often benefits
her animals. Because of her committed interest in an
Looking for crime-scene clues.
animal’s well being, Cary has been learning about better
animal nutrition and has witnessed incredible positive
results due to dietary changes. Cary looks at animals
holistically, with an eye to their physical, emotional
and nututritional balance. Kinesiology, a method of
muscle testing which gives feedback about the status of
the functional state of the body, has also been integrated
into Cary’s realm of knowledge and practice. Through
the use of muscle testing she has helped an animal’s
owner determine the benefits of particular foods and
herbs. This testing sometimes works when dealing with
behavior modification as well.
Cary says all this training keeps her young because
she gets to spend each day playing with dogs, while
training them at the same time. For her this isn’t just a
job, it is also a hobby of love.
Tasha Knowlton • 541-846-9197
Ellee Celler
“Please send in a few dollars
to support the APPLEGATER
NEWSPAPER, I love to read it,
chew it and it was my favorite
paper for potty training.”
Barney McGee
Owner/Broker
541.899.2035
541.899.2034 (fax)
email:jacrealest@gmail.com
www.the-jacksonville-realestate.com
Direct: 301.7893