Keeping your Trucker Dogs Safe, Happy, and Healthy
We personally know that the company of a trucker dog is completely unmatched! There is nothing like having your fur-ball to cuddle up with you when you go to bed, or keep you company while you’re sitting waiting for your next load. They help us get out of the truck and get fresh air in times where we likely wouldn’t bother stepping out of the sleeper, or let alone get out of bed. Then the bonus of added security when you’re laying down, and your dog alerts you to a noise outside that is too close and/or unfamiliar, is just priceless. We also can't forget to mention that adorable wiggle butt dance that commences as soon as they see you walking back to the truck.
Setting them up in a rig can be challenging at first, however. Most of us dog owners don’t mind sharing our beds or using a large portion of our storage for their food and floor space for their bowls, but that doesn’t even begin to cover the lengthy list that includes their health, cleanliness, or toys. So we’d like to highlight some of our favorite products and accessories for keeping our pups buttoned up out here over the road.
If you have rowdy dogs who love their toys as much as ours do, it’s essential to keep the dog toys in one place, where you can easily dump them, and move them around when and where you need. Especially for balls that can get lose and jump into the cab, causing a safety issue. To keep you from pulling your hair out after they have a zoomie session and leave their toys with scattered toy guts everywhere, we found these to be the most useful all around. These cotton bins are safe for them to reach in and out of and are flexible enough to get shoved into small areas when you need it out of the way.
We used to use this plastic squeeze bottle, though we have since moved onto this larger KONG stainless-steel version for full time use. Both have proven reliable over the years because they don’t have any mechanical features to fail and the unused water can easily be replaced back into the bottle. They also feature great portability for long walks, dog parks, and hiking or camping trips.
We use both manual and electric tools – manual clippers to cut back the length of their nails and then we finish off with the electric nail grinder to smooth out any sharp edges that can scratch our doors and dash, or damage the leather seats. We found this set from YABIFE that came with both the manual and electric version for a very reasonable price, and keep them both stored in the door for regular easy access.
The Vittles Vault storage bin has been our go-to solution since 2016 – so much so, that we have a set we keep at home in our garage, and another set for our truck. We utilize the 40lb version so we can easily buy food in bulk, minimizing down time and maximizing price savings. This bin features a silicone seal that really assures the food container is airtight, allowing us to keep it stored in the toolbox and safe from the constant changing elements outside.
There’s nothing worse than when you have to let the dogs out in the rain and mud while you’re on a run, leading to the time-consuming paw clean up. They come back trotting all over the cab or into the sleeper on your clean rugs, or even worse, jump in your sheets! We use this ridiculously handy silicone cleaning tool to get the bulk of the dirt and grime out of their toes, and then finish with this rinse-less cleaner and soft brush combo that we can easily dry off or let air day.
Our favorite, and our dogs favorite toys have come to be Chuck It brand everything. This Chuck It Frisbee is durable to heavy chewing, easy to throw, easy to clean, and so easy to store we have one in each door on the truck. You can say the same thing for the indestructible Chuck It ball, that comes in all sizes!
Cuddling up with your furbaby, and all of a sudden have a pit in your stomach because you didn’t notice your dog ate a nugget of poo on your walk? We found not only one, but two answers! Since incorporating Vetradent and Proden Plaqueoff into their bowls, both our girls have had scent free breath. Not to mention, both are backed by data and VOHC approved. We combine both the water additive that helps with bad breath and the powder sprinkled on their food to help remove the plaque along their gum-line and it has proved incredibly effective all while giving the added benefit of fresher breath. The combination of these two has turned out to be the secret sauce!
GPS Tracker + Activity Monitoring
We have been rescuing dogs since we were both kids, so we only deal with rescues, and since you don’t know what you’re going to get with a new rescue, or how long it will be till they respond to training, we incorporated a 4G GPS tracker on our youngest rescue a few years back. The Whistle 4G tracker uses AT&T service towers, and allows you to see their location on a satellite map. It’s incredibly affordable for all of the services offered, and we found the service even more useful to monitor their activity time and make sure they were hitting their daily exercise goals. As a small back up and in between charging their Whistles, we threw Tile Trackers onto their collars for good measure.
We found out about the Seresto collar when we first started trucking and had a lengthy discussion with our vet on how to keep them healthy while traveling throughout the states. We have had a total of 7 animals in the last 9 years using this collar and have never had to worry about fleas or ticks. We have been dedicated consumers of theirs since day one and have recommended this flea and tick collar to everyone we know.
Let us know how these products work for you and share some of your favorite products with us!
You can catch more of our girls in the truck on our TikTok!
Run Hard - Dream Big,