Looking over at my driver, the one thing that comes to mind is, “When are we due to deliver whatever it was he just loaded?” The reason I wonder is that he looked like he was in a hurry, tripped over a strap he was dragging, and I heard him bang his knee on the trailer while climbing into it. Then, he complained about the security guard taking too much time matching the seal numbers… at least that’s what he said before we left the distribution center. Actually, I have no clue what he’s talking about, as all I know is he forgot to feed me.
I see a lot of trucks every day with dogs like me hanging their heads out the windows of other trucks with their drool flying all over the doors, and sometimes the small ones sit up on the dashboard yapping at me – they always seem to be mad about something. Maybe their drivers forgot to feed them, too. Maybe if I drool all over my driver’s new shifter knob it might get his attention. Maybe he left some beef rollers in the trash I can find. Instead of that, perhaps starting “A Trucking Dog’s Blog” might be a way to handle the situation.
I’ve been sitting by my old school big rig driver for a couple of years now, and I know from discussing the matter with other four-wheeler owned dogs at rest stops, that I definitely have it better than them. I get to be with my driver every day, we share the bed, see the country together, and I get to smell the grass in almost every state, which far exceeds the life other dogs lead in a back yard looking at the same wooden fence ever day of their lives. The life of a truck driver’s dog must be better than any dog job in the world… however, there are a few things that more drivers need to know about we long-haul hounds.
Let’s break down the things that a truck driver should consider before taking me on the road. Of course, I am completely aware that the benefits far outweigh my hair in his coffee or the necessity of trying to find my leash at three in the morning to take me outside to relieve myself. So, the trade-off is a good one – I provide companionship, an ear to listen to his complaints, and I bark at anybody who attempts to touch our truck – whether they meant to or not.
First and currently the foremost in my canine mind is food. Drivers need to be aware that a dog on the road needs good food. Not all dog food on the market is acceptable – far from it. We canines either spend time bouncing around next to our drivers or just laying down a great deal of time on a hard floor (though the bunk is preferable). The quality of food can mean all the difference in how many times I need to relieve myself daily as my body will use more of the ingredients. It also can help me not get obese, have a better quality coat, and better health overall. It’s sort of like giving me the hot dog without the corn breading and stick. The better the food, the better I will do. Less fillers, less grease, less me waking you up potentially at three A.M. and not caring if you find that leash or not.
I’m not saying you need to talk to a veterinarian, as that is against the dog’s code of conduct, but maybe they could help you pick a good food for my age and breed. As a final note on feeding, as I stare at my driver, it’s important to feed your dog twice daily, never “free feed” me. As much as that would be easier, we dogs are totally aware that looking forward to a meal twice a day is better than staring and picking at an old pile of kibble in a bowl. Another reason is that when you let me pick at food all day and just fill up the bowl whenever it is empty, you have no idea if I am feeling a bit sick that day. When stoic canines like me don’t feel well, we sometimes just eat less, and our drivers might not notice. To be true, we dogs will not tell you either, so feeding twice daily gives you a better idea if we are on our game or not.
Although any excellent dry food will be just fine for all I need in life, it doesn’t hurt to give me some rollers, as I mentioned, or chicken (meat only), and some of your healthy table scraps. Avoid the deep-fried breading if you can, although it tastes absolutely heavenly to me. I do like quality wet food too, which if you want, mix it in my dry food, as long as I eat the entire bowl. Don’t leave wet food out in the truck, as it dries up, and is just nasty looking. About ten percent of my diet can be truck stop food, as long as it’s healthy for me. Yes, I am aware that I ask and beg and drool trying to get that last piece of burger and fries, but I don’t always think of what my bowels are going to say about that in a few hours. As I said before, pick off that breading from the corn dog, and I’m thrilled with the hot dog inside!
Water is the most important issue, regardless of how hungry I may be at this moment (though I’m not at all sure I agree). You see, I am nothing like those drivers that drip sweat trying to tighten a strap or binder, and I can’t complain about how sweat drips in my eyes while standing in the sun talking to a chatty forklift driver. The reason is most of my body doesn’t sweat. This is why my tongue is hanging out all the time. It’s my version of an evaporated cooler.
Like my driver, I require water to function. I want and need the option to drink water at all times. This can be accomplished by a non-spill water bowl that comes in all sizes – made for the smallest dog to the largest. Try to give me a regular bowl full of cold water and I’m sure to either wait until it spills everywhere and rots the cab carpeting, or I’ll drink it all at once and be thirsty while you drive across interstate 90. Some bowls (see photo) have rings around them that allow them to contain sloshing back and forth and bouncing through construction sites. You can find them at most pet supply places online, and they vary in quality and size.
If you settle on a plastic water bowl, please clean it out weekly or they can make my water taste nasty. Plastic tends to hide bacteria and, in some cases, comes from countries with less quality control, so chemicals can be present that I really don’t want to drink every day. I don’t want my bowl looking like the inside of my driver’s “free refill” coffee mug that is forever stained a burnt brown color. Personally, the stainless steel bowl is preferable to me as it can even be sanitized in boiling water – it also makes the water look more inviting, my own thing, but there you have it. Like the food you feed me, water should be fresh and clean. If you wouldn’t drink it, I shouldn’t be asked to either (regardless of the fact you saw me drink out of that nasty drainage ditch at the Flying J truck stop last time we stopped).
There are one or two things I should mention about my desire to be with my driver and what I’m thinking, as a dog. Drivers need to really understand that regardless of that I want to listen to everything you say, and of course I want to stay by your side, I am a dog. I get tempted to go investigate things that you never see and never smell… but I do. So, when we get out of the truck, always keep a collar (or harness) and leash on me at all times! Even the best of us will vacate your surroundings to investigate a corn dog wrapper blowing in the wind a quarter of a mile away should we have no leash on. I know, I’ve done it.
There are some people at truck stops that don’t appreciate my jumping up on them to say hello (although I feel it was a compliment that I left muddy pawprints on that lady’s dress the other day). I am telling you beyond argument, as a dog, though you might need that chain (slip) collar walking me, only use a flat leather or nylon buckle collar when inside the truck! Never under any circumstances leave a slip chain around my neck in your cab!! I am a dog, I get excited, and I can get a ring stuck on a chain collar, panic may ensue, then a disaster happens while you are driving – something I am not that thrilled thinking about. Chain collars are only for training me when I am young and silly, not to be used to hold my ID tags, and certainly not to be worn when my driver cannot see me.
Of course, I must talk about leashes, much to my chagrin. Here again, please be aware we are dogs, and we don’t always want to listen to our drivers about where to go and when to go anywhere. If I had to choose it would be a leash that gives me a little area to have some fun. The flexi-leashes that wind back and forth were definitely invented by a canine. They are the best and allow me to relieve myself without having to stand by your legs. The 16-feet to 26-feet length also lets me bounce around and play a while whilst you walk around doing your post trip. Of course, a driver must be aware when I am doing my bouncing, as there are sometimes other drivers who don’t see me, so if you walk me around during a pre-trip or post, make sure you do my thinking for me, because I’m too busy having fun.
Although the general concept of leashes is not one of my favorite subjects, one thing comes to mind. It is a fact that my driver does not actually like every other driver, shipper, receiver, or yard dog (regardless of the cool name) that he comes into contact with. I also do not like every poodle, pit bull or pug that I meet. A leash is a way that my driver can make sure that a discussion I am having with a bulldog doesn’t end up in a brawl. Truckers can have heated words, so can dogs. Keep us on a leash, but don’t tell my fellow canines I said that.
As I sit here thinking about wanting to crunch kibble, I see yet another rest stop passes by us at 65 mph. I get to thinking about the lush grassy areas some have to run around in. If I could read, I would be appalled that the “pet area” signs located in such areas are not grassy and lush but filled with ants and rocks. Just a dog’s thoughts, wondering why creators of these pet area zombie zones don’t consider that maybe I would like to relieve myself on grass and not gravel. However, given the choice, I would rather have a pet area than not, and I’m sure there is a good reason for them, though why, I know not.
A dachshund told me once it was because some drivers don’t clean up after us, but that seems to me unthinkable. Every single pet store and grocery store, even truck stop, sells poop (I hate that word) bags, so drivers can throw away the load we dogs deliver. That is my driver’s job – that is how he gets exercise, bending over to make sure what I leave is not left behind. There’s no better way of putting it – that is the responsibility of the dog’s driver, and if they don’t, I’m sure that the “pet area zombie zone” will be moved 40 acres away where no man has gone before, so-to-speak. Don’t punish future trucking dogs by being a lazy driver and expecting others to retrieve my leftovers.
Adding to that, there is the three in the morning discussion. We dogs do have to relieve ourselves, and not always when you drivers decide to relieve yourself. That’s fairly obvious by the fact that we always make sure to start whimpering just as you start your clock and begin merging on the freeway for another eleven-hour day. That is our job – to remind you of our needs and wants, we are dogs.
There’s a lot more thoughts about being a truck driver’s dog that rattle around in my brain that would surely help my driver and others, but I think my driver just caught me looking for those beef rollers he didn’t finish last night. We dogs greatly appreciate those cheap trash cans that flip over on those sharp switchback turns, especially if the lid never stays attached. I’ve become fairly good at getting into it myself without the turn, but it sort of gives me permission to grab the contents if voluntarily dumped on the floor. Maybe it was the sound of empty energy drinks rolling across the floor that made him turn and look… I think he’s planning on pulling over to that truck stop coming up and feeding me. Either that, or I’m chewing up that new My Pillow he just bought.
