My Dog Whisperer - Kassidy King

How many dogs have you found homes for in your life?

Not one hundred?

Okay, cash show, cash show to show. Hey everybody, it's Tosh Show Tuesday. Who Eddie? How are you good?

How are you?

I'm great? How long did it take you to get here today?

Hour and a half hour?

For this is the first day that you came here to Malibu via the Pacific Coast Highway the PCH after the fires closed. How traumatic was it? It's different.

It's sad.

You don't want to go though, don't you know? You said you haven't done it yet, right I don't. I don't. I don't drive through the burn areas right now, but I will. I would like to point out I'm not saying that that that I put a mouth on it and caused all of this. But remember when I said the fix to making PCH safer was to slow the speed limit down considerably, right and not allow people to park on the side of the highway. Well, currently the PCH, the speed of them has been dropped to twenty five

I mean, you gave up on stuff a long time ago.

Oh man, you've been out. I got a lot of stuff. I gotta get rid of it. And even bigger news. Luca to the Lakers. Well, As a life long Laker hater, this couldn't be more perfect for me. Oh is he easy to hate? Are you telling me. For the next decade, I get to watch him go like this after every non call, Oh who fouled? Look at my fat, pasty body. You can see the marks. And as a twofer, you know it also knocks down a few more people in the pecking order of Laker Great, you have Lebron and

That was great, Thank you.

Thank you for being here, Thanks for having me. Do you believe in ghost.

I believe in spirit guide? So is that the same thing?

Yes? Okay, and yes, do you believe in dog ghosts. Yeah, so like every species on the planet has their own ghost after death.

I don't know. I go back and forth. Sometimes I think some things reincarnate into something else and other things stay as ghosts.

Good to know.

I feel like that we'll figuring it out.

Well, you let me know when you get there. Well where are you originally from?

I am from Tulsa, Oklahoma.

How long did you live there?

I lived there until I was eighteen, and then I moved to Duluth, Minnesota, where I went to college and stayed a few years after very cold.

One of my screen savers on an old computer or was my dog? I was walking on a pier with a little tiny lighthouse at the end of it, and that was in Duluth.

You've been to Duluth.

Sure, how else would that story be relevant? I don't know if you photoshopped your dogs into no one's photoshopping Duluth.

That's very true. Duluth is so beautiful. I always say it's a hidden gem of the Midwest.

Do you know what I'm talking about?

The little lighthouse of course in Canal Yeah.

A little lighthouse, ah man, I remember that.

Yeah, it's beautiful.

Do you go, But do you still have family in Tulsa.

I do, all my whole families in Tulsa.

Tulsa, I mean just a real awful town. True or false.

True, I don't love it. I think everyone said it's up and coming. It feel like it's behind. Tulsa is up, and everyone there said it's up and coming. I still think it's ten fifteen years behind.

There used to be a crappy comedy club that I worked as a young comedian Tulsa, and it was a jay it was. It shared a building with a nightclub.

It's probably still there well.

And the nightclub, who at the time was played a lot of heavy bass hip hop music and and it was just funny because I'd be performing and you just hear bass coming through the walls and I was like, this is not good.

I haven't been because I was eighteen when I left, so I've never really gone out in Tulsa.

Well, sure, this this is way before your time.

It might still be there, though.

Favorite college football team, Sooners. I didn't know if you were like, you don't care at all, but you.

I mean, I don't watch it, but sure, I feel like.

My favorite Sooners game was what that game. It was like a couple of years ago, maybe it was longer. Where the after they scored that the trailer flipped over and the girl flew out. The horses were just dragging her around.

Yep, I remember that.

That was the delightful. That was delightful. So you finished in Duluth?

What did you study communications?

With dogs?

No? No, no, they do have degrees for that kind of stuff. Now, I don't know. I've heard of it. I haven't endeavored.

Okay, so you had a degree in communications. I used to tell people I had a minor in communications, but I don't think I did.

Probably not.

I think it just lied about it.

Why did I did you have a major?

Yeah? I had a degree in marketing.

I think they're very similar. There's a lot of overlap.

I'm sure I had classes in communications, but didn't. All right, So what was your big plan when you were in college.

I did not have one. My plan was to get out of college as soon as possible.

That was my plan. Yeah, So did you finish early?

Yes? I graduated at twenty and a full year early. It was a full year early, and I didn't really know what I wanted to do. I was waiting tables at the time, and I just kind of stayed in Duluth waiting tables, and and I guess the way I got into dogs, I kind of went I call it the rescue rabbit hole. You kind of spiral when you get into the rescue world I found for me at least,

So real quick, dogs aren't euthanized in southern California.

Yeah they are. Yeah, there's a lot of overcrowding in the shelters, especially in like Bakersfield.

And Okay, I don't know, we'll get into it whether I consider bakers Field Southern California, but share enough. So you started illegally, yes, adopting dogs in Tulsa, bringing them up to Minnesota, the great folks of Minnesota, Yes, and charging them seven hundred bucks per week.

So I did not charge. I only charged what I to cover the expenses, and to be honest, most time I never collected.

So you were just rescuing dogs?

Yeah?

Did you ever see that real depressing movie with what's her name? Who? That's how I talk about people because I never know actors' names from SNL and she what was her name? She's one of that smelled her armpits Molly Shannon and then she just went on this. God just her life just became about helping rescue dogs. And then the end of it, it's just like her happy kind of It's just depressing the whole movie. And she has thousands of dogs with her.

Was she happy with the thousands of dogs?

What's the name of this movie? Year of the Dog?

No, I haven't seen it. One thing about me is I haven't seen a lot of movies.

There's no nobody has seen this movie. Yeah, they're all freaking out right back there that I pulled this movie from a rolodex of randomness that I've seen out. It might be your life story.

I hope it's not.

To be honest, it was depressing.

I hope it's not my life story.

Have you ever smelled jarm pits.

Don't we all doing yoga? I don't know laying there?

No, I don't do yoga.

Do you ever lay like this? Oh?

Yes, if it's ripe, I call in. I call in the wife immediately. What is she doing? I got a good one. She's like, what, I might smell this, and she's like, ah, you know that's what. It's what we do. Smells are my thing. I like smells foul and otherwise say what you will. I don't care. Judge me. How many back and forth did you do from Tulsa to Duluth.

I'd have to I have not counted. I'd have to look at my archives a dozen. Probably. It got to a point where I would just do it, like I would come home for Thanksgiving. Because I didn't tell my parents I was doing this. They don't want them to worry.

It was at first it was like, you know, like a drug mule, but with pooches.

Yeah, and I would I've break it up in the days. Sometimes we'd sneak into a motel in Iowa. Who's we me and the docks, Okay, me and myself and the dog, and.

Then we can bring this stuff up on a chance.

No, I actually don't talk about it. To be honest, I just started talking about it again. I got to a point where they started driving the dogs. They would drive them to Iowa, or they would drive them to Wisconsin. Folks, no the rescue, sorry, like people from the shelter. So there's people who commit their whole lives to transporting these

Is Tulsa so littered with stray dogs?

I have theories it's I think it's just the South, because.

You consider Tulsa the South.

No, but it's warmer climates, so it's warm enough for animals to survive in so a lot of people if they are in between getting rid of their dog, there's no one to take the dog. They can either dump the dog or take them to a shelter, and they're probably gonna be uthanized at the shelter. Then they're just gonna dump the dog because then that dog can at least go and live their life in nature, and then if they're not, say and neuter, then they pro create,

I grew up always having dogs. Okay, but you're not gonna like the story. That's okay, okay, but I'm a huge dog advocate now. But when my parents moved constantly, and whenever we moved, my dad just got rid of our dog, like the dog didn't come with us.

It's very common.

And I was always like, I never even thought to be well, why wouldn't we just bring our dog. He's like, you don't. You're not going to bring a Saint Bernard to Florida. And I'm like, well, fair enough.

That's not terrible though, I.

Know, but like, let me tell you, it wasn't like he went and sought out a good family. It was just the dog just is gone. Yeah, well that was that's one scenario. One time, my rabbit, my mom's like, well, we're moving, you can't bring your rabbit. I'm like, well, why can't I There wasn't even a conversation.

That's so sad. I'm so sorry.

Well, listen, a lot of this stuff is the issues that you see before you but now, I mean, good grief. I get so attached to it. Never and I don't even care about the pain that I go through when one of them dies, I just keep doing it. I'm like, whatever, Yeah, here we go again.

Yeah, it's pretty excruciating.

Oh it's rough.

So, for example, when COVID hit, it was all the shelters in Minnesota were emptied because people were staying at home and they had time to go faster at all.

Their whole country almost got rid of all of our sheltered dogs.

During the Closa, the problem doubled because people were thinking that their dogs were going to give them COVID.

Oh see, okay, so there's just I don't even know about those people.

It got really bad in Tulsa around that time. And also not even just that, but then people couldn't they got laid off, they couldn't afford their dog, they couldn't afford another mouth to feed, so then they would dump their dog because they didn't have a job. So I think it's a I do think that if people's needs were met, then they wouldn't need to get rid of their dogs when times got.

Hard, you know, a rabbit hole. I used to go down, what I don't do it anymore, but I used to go down adopting children. You'd like, look into foster kids and you'd see these videos that they make of themselves, and they're cute and they're doing the big song and dance like I'm great, come on, give me a home. And I would just tear me apart. But I'd watch

That would be horrible.

Oh, it's horrible. So to see them age.

That's at twenty. I wasn't ready for that. So I went to the dog route.

You went to the dog route? Yeah, what does redlisted mean for a shelter dog?

Euthanasia listed? So that means that they'll say this dog is redlisted for two pm, and that means that they will be euthanizes at two pm. Yeah. I don't follow those pages. Anymore.

No, Oh, I try not to, and like, what do you do hustle down there?

Yes? Or people are posting they're pledging money, money that's never collected because you can just comment on Instagram and say I pledged fifty dollars and then someone's like, great, I grabbed the dog. Where's that fifty dollars to help with the dog? Got it for medical bills? And then you don't hear from them.

How many dogs have you found homes for in your life?

About one hundred?

And how many dogs have you fostered?

Probably over one hundred. I think I stopped counting at like forty because I was just like, you.

Rename those foster dogs or no, I'll name them.

Sometimes I'll keep their shelter names. Sometimes they just have a kennel code name, like a number. It'll be like a one zero, three, seven, two nine.

And when did you make the voyage out west?

I came out West three years ago.

What do your parents say when someone in Oklahoma ask what you're up to these days?

That's a good one, my dad goes. My dad says, well, Cassidy's our free spirit child. She's out in California living with the Manson Crew.

The shoe fits yep.

And people don't train dogs in Oklahoma especially, so this career doesn't really exist there as much, so they don't really understand it or see it as a career.

When did you start going to prisons?

I started going two years.

Ago, and explain to me what you do there.

So the Positive Change Program is a programmer in by Marley's Mutts Rescue in Ta Hatchipee, and they pair dogs who would otherwise be euthanized with people living in prison, and then the people the inmates, train the dogs, and then the dog become adopted.

It sounds great. Now. If you were to give me the choice death or prison, I'm not sure which one I would take.

I don't know either.

Is it only male prisons?

I've done a women's prison and right now I'm a part of two male prisons.

You have to bring cats to the women's prisons? Yeah, doesn't seem like that would be the right scenario. Would do you fuck with cats?

I like cats. I don't know anything about training cats. People ask me that a lot, no idea. I like cats, though. I think more people should get cats, because I think more people want something that can just cuddle them on their couch and then stay home all day while they leave. You get You have so much more freedom when you have a cat versus when you have a dog. Dog is a lot of responsibility, and I just don't think

Was your first experience with professional dog training in a prison?

No, Okay, nope. I had a couple of mentors that I worked under for a little bit. To be honest, I kind of started doing it. So had I not left Minnesota, I arguably created the perfect business plan for myself because I brought all of these rescue dogs to Minnesota and now all those dogs need training. So I kind of created a problem that I then became a trainer and could have had the solution for. But I left to come to California to learn more from other trainers.

Your services cost us and you better. You should probably say a higher number than normal.

Just so I'm building. I'm getting my website launched right now, so I've just changed kind of what I'm offering my services. My private lessons are two fifty an hour for a private lesson. I offer daily training, which is four days a week, so I'll come to your house for an hour a day, four days a week, and that is six hundred a week.

For now, do I have to be present for that.

No, you do have to be present for one. So every Friday you have to be there.

We're going to hang out with you for an hour.

Yeah, every we can practice over the weekend. Because this is what's so hard, is that I'm not like selling you this mug and charging you and then you're like, great, I love the mug. It really it's kind of like if you hired a personal trainer because you wanted to get fit, but then you didn't do any of the work, then you're not going to see the results you want.

I agree. I agree with what you're saying. Like I look at all the things that I refuse to do. It's always like, you know, mental health, I won't see anybody, won't talk to anybody, trainer, won't do it. It's just I just want to avoid those interactions. Yet anything else where, it's something like I could I could clean my deck. I refuse to that. I would hire somebody for but I would never all the things that are important to make you a better person, to make people around you happier.

A lot of people don't hire a dog trainer until their dog. I didn't do you do anything training wise until Lonna was attacking other dogs, And then I was.

Like, ooh, if someone couldn't afford your services, what advice would you give them for trying to train their own dog.

There is so much free content out there, and it can be really confusing and overwhelming to people because there's such differing philosophies when it comes to training. I would say, just try it, try something, stick with it for a little bit. If it doesn't work, try something else.

Do reward based systems work long term?

They can kind of, but then at some point, like you're not going to have a treat on you, so you have to figure something else out.

Well, right, But rewards don't have to be a treat. Rewards can be affection.

Yeah, absolutely, Yeah.

That's all I do. I always I just reach in my pocket, like I have a treat.

Do you trick your dog constantly? God?

Ah, you thought I had something? I don't do it? I don't like. I don't like the way treats feel in my pocket.

What about a fanny pack.

I wear a fanny pack more for fashion, not for great, not for function. There I'm not putting the treats smell.

They do smell. They smell, Yeah.

I don't. I'm told you I'm in smells. I don't like it. Yeah, not doing.

I've always smelled like dog and dog treats.

My dad used to not let us have doritos as a child because they stunned. He said they He always would say they smell like a sweaty dog. Really, he would scream at us, get those out of the house. But I have weird all the flavors. No, just not just not Choe. I don't think cool Ranch smelled like a dog to him.

I think that one has a stronger son.

It probably does. Maybe it was cool Ranch too. I have no idea. This is that's so silly. Yeah, what about those bark collars? Do you like bark collars?

I haven't used a bark collar personally, I'm not against them. I do use electric collars, electronic collars. I'll use very low levels.

We cranked ours up to max with he didn't care at all, bark right through it because what it means it's just And then then he just like I think he was getting stronger. I don't know what was happening. All of a sudden, he started like.

Did you just buy when and put it on your dog and just see how it happened.

I don't know how I I uh introduced it to him, but I just know that it was on like a nothing setting and we got no reaction. So then you just we just kept cranking it up, and that's one.

Way to do it.

It didn't work.

That's not the way he doesn't should do it.

Then I bought this little frequency noise thing that when he barks, you're supposed to press it and it does a noise that they don't like.

And then does it did he stop?

Well here's my thing. Right around the time my other dog who has dementia. I was like, well, now she's getting getting a side effect of your bad behavior. I can't do I couldn't in good faith do it went all crazy over here, is like, what the fuck was that?

Yeah, it's a little unfair, it's.

Not fair, right, Yeah. I didn't have a solution to that problem.

Is your other dogs still barking?

Yeah, yeah, constant again. I don't care. I was trying to make my partner, you know, less agitated. Yeah, that ship sailed. Did you ever do the watch? McCall leashes with it with the prongs the prong.

I don't use them.

I don't use it.

I like caller over prong personally.

I have a wide band choke collar. Is that acceptable?

I mean, anything's acceptable. You just have to teach the dog what it means. My dog walks fine, then great, then that's not.

Yeah, he likes to lead and I kind of always pull him back. Should I do that or should I let him?

Is it okay to let him lead if you're not working through any behavior issues? It just depends on what you want. Duckster typically walks in front of me, but Lana stays by my side.

I always like those cool dog owners that go leashless and the dog just stays right next to him and they're not affected by anything, you know.

I saw one down there.

As soon as I see it, though, I'm just like, whatever, you just have more time on your hands. I'm at home spending time with friends and family. Jerk. Can you train any.

Dog hypothetically, I'm still kind of early in my career, so I don't want to be naive and think I could train any dog. And then I get a dog and I'm like tearing you that.

Okay, I've never had a trainer for any of my dogs. I've had trainers come to my house and start, but then thirty minutes in, I'm just like, when is this person leaving? Yeah, because they do too much for me. Read the room, you know, here, here's my thing. Yeah, I don't have dogs that are going to hurt me right physically everything else. Oh you mean, I just need to do spend a lot of time, repetition, do it every day. So I'm like, I don't this is getting silly. I don't need this.

I mean growing up, we didn't have a trainer. Like, we didn't our dogs were perfect. I didn't know dogs needed training.

Is that just an LA thing where these people are just lazy and they want you to do the work for him.

I think that's part of it. But I also think the expectations and modern society that we put on dogs in cities like La New York, just busier cities so used to be so reactive every time I stepped outside of the house, she'd be lunging if a leaf crinkled. And if I lived in an apartment in LA, I have to get her out of the house three to four times a day to go potty. That's non negotiable. So I can't have her acting like that. So I think it's more necessity. But also everybody wants a patio puppy,

But is that a term that I should have known patio puppy?

Oh? I kind of just made it up. But that is like an expectation. We put a lot of expectations on our dogs in LA and busier cities. Everybody wants to be able to take their dog running off leash at the beach with other dogs and not have anything happen. And I agree, I do think to me, dog training is a more spiritual experience, that's what. And that's when you're like, I'm checking out. So how does would your wife stick around?

No, no, she doesn't like dogs.

Oh then yeah, she definitely wouldn't. Yeah, So it's just about But if your dog isn't endangering you, right then I don't really care, Like I'll meet you where you're at.

What's the hardest breed to train?

Huskies?

Huskies?

Yeah, or German shepherds. They're just really opposite. So German shepherds are hard to train because they're so owner oriented that they need constant information, and huskies are the opposite where they couldn't give two shits about you and just want to go be feral.

Let's talk pit bull for a second. Okay, are you love them?

I like pit bulls. Yeah.

Are you afraid of them?

No? At least two are. I mean, he's kind of pit bull. She's a pit bull.

See, I've my brother always has pits, rescue pits. I love them. But I'm always like you. I don't get mad at me because I'm not you.

Know, putting your face up to I'll do that.

I'll even do that because I'm not worried about it. But I understand there's like, no I have an ease. Is not going to kill someone now under any circumstance. It's no matter how poorly trained they are. Some dogs have consequences, other dogs don't.

Yeah, exactly. Owning a pitbull is a way bigger responsibility in my opinion.

I have a burn a doodle.

Okay, yeah, I like doodles. I don't. I think everybody thinks that they're getting one thing. And then I've definitely trained some pretty intense doodles, but I think overall they have pretty good demeanors. I like them.

I'm happy with mine. And the things that people don't like about my dog, I actually like, like when somebody new comes in the house, big bark, Oh yeah, I like it. Oh my good.

That's the thing, and that's what I tell a lot of clients is I my dogs are far from this perfect standard of what a dog trainer's dog should be. If you come into my house, my dogs would be rushing to the door, jumping on you and barking because they're letting me know like someone's here. They're going to quickly sell down and I can call them off and if I know how to work through that behavior, if I wanted to, but I just don't really care to.

What about those people that buy eighty thousand dollars German shepherd.

That's insane?

That only like all the commit nine you have to like they like basically take care of their bite work dogs.

What is it like bite work dogs or like sports dogs something. Yeah, I'm not too into the sports world. It's super opposite.

Not these like security dogs.

Yeah yeah, these personal protection dogs. Yeah, that's a huge responsibility too. I think people just don't realize the responsibility that goes into that. And I know some people who let their guard down and the dog went after a kid or something awful like that, and then it's just unfortunate for everyone involved. Yeah, because the dog was arguably doing their job.

Just give me that money.

Yeah, I know. I'm just like, there's I could do so much for shelters with them money.

Well, see that's what I do. I buy really expensive design your dogs. Then Okay, the guilt from what I've done makes me cut checks to best friends. That's who I always work with. Good it should for years, for decades.

I'm just like, ah, fine, looking at your doodle and you're like, here's here's another check.

Right, So I feel like it it serves a purpose. Yeah, my dog creates guilt great. Also, my allergies. People always say, oh, you get a hyperalergenic dog, you have allergies. I can't put a new shirt on without sneezing for forty five years.

Sog to your doodle.

No, not really, but like dogs, I can oh right, yeah, I can start feeling it.

I used to be allergic to dogs. Yeah, yeah, I agree with that eventually.

You like Chihuahuas, Yeah, I do. Do they outnumber pipples in the UH?

I don't think they outnumber them because people want small dogs, so they'll tolerate like of poorly behaved chihuahua. And to be honest, I don't think everybody should go rescue the red listed piple. I think that there's a lot of really good, well demeanored pities that are up for ad option that you can definitely go. Just get get to know the dog.

Don't ever read the comments on any of my videos. I'm going because it's just people just awful. Yeah. I just can't handle it. They just tried it fun, but they have nothing going on. German Shepherds are not the hardest dog to train. She's an idiot.

Like, Okay, this girl's never trained dogs in her life.

Doesn't matter. Everybody's on the show gets a gift. Your gift is not it's just stuff for my house. Oh great, but I don't want That's all I ever give away.

Okay, cool, but this caution heavy.

This our company sent me. Okay, it's a thunder thunder whatever they do best for dogs. But then they have all kinds of things. There's leashes, there's shirt that's what says my dog's names carl point. Oh that's cute. I'll keep that, thanks guys. But there's just a million things in here for dogs. But here's what have.

You used this for your dog?

No?

The anxiety?

No, my dogs don't. My dogs don't have anxiety.

I mean if she's barking all the time.

Not all the time, just when just when my wife is nearby de menstruating. I don't know. Here, get this off my desk. Please, it's heavy. I know it's you going to be careful with it. You got you're strong. The dogs. There's probably treats in there that they can smell. Let me tell you why thunder Uh is it? What is it called thunder works? Let me tell you why thunder shirt? Yeah, the thundershirt. This is why they sent me this box. I was interviewing my father in law

I don't have a problem with dog parks. I really don't. But I think the problem with dog parks is the dog owners that go to dog parks because they usually just go and they leave their dog there and then they go sit on the bench and then they're just scrolling on their phone the whole time and they have no idea what's going on. So even if I did that with Dexter, who loves other dogs, he would be running around humping other dogs. His brain's not really working. So what I do with dogs is I want to

Go a walk to a dog park, maybe that can be like and the dog park can be the reward.

Yeah. I think what happens is that you pull up to the dog park, the dogs screaming in the car, you let them rush out the door, they run into the dog park, and then they have they don't even know who you are when you're in there, They're just in dog. It's like, I haven't been a LA dog park, so maybe it's different an LA dog park. Now I haven't. I feel like it's got to be. Well, I have Lana, so if I'm gonna go somewhere, I'm gonna take both of them.

And often are you training people's dogs too often? How often? Did how did Pete find you?

He found me? I'm an independent contractor. I was an independent contractor through a dog training company.

They finally got a dog, like, he's great. They they take him and his wife, they did five hundred years to make any decisions, and that whatever, these are impulses he has, you know, the dumb hip sack of treats that's just so embarrassing. And then the sixty foot training leash that he walks around with and I'm just like, what are you doing, man, Let's just let your dog run around? And then they just they're all, oh, well,

I actually talk about them with other because of how amazing they did with their dog when she was a puppy, so I give great reviews to their parenting style.

It just seems a bit much. Cassidy, thank you for being on the show. Good luck, Thank you, and I hope no more dogs in the world die under your watch.

They probably will unfortunately.

Well you're doing your part. That's all you can ask, Casha. All right, I want to thank Cassidy for helping out working with the the pets of Toss Show. Carl, how you doing, buddy? Do you enjoy the Super Bowl? I haven't watched yet. I record it and I'm gonna save it and watch it during the Oscars. But my wife wants to watch the Oscars. I'm positive of that, and then I can just go downstairs and watch the Big Game. Did I place a ton of bets on the Super Bowl?

I mean, imagine if you're blind, come back in.

That room, bust a shin. Anyway, Well, so, anyway, the Pinks satisfaction guaranteed for fourteen days. After fourteen days, you and I both know that bitch spilled some wine. They don't just do in home cleaning either. If you have a highly soiled area rug, they'll pick it up and then redeliver it back to you as cleans the whistle. That's what I was just talking about. That's what all my rug guys do. None of the rug people want to clean in front of you because they don't want