Comments By Dan M.

The idea of taking the dog along with you is both good and bad. They will make great companions, won't talk back and never ask for much. On the other hand they require exercise and frequent "potty Breaks" that you will need to address. The extra cost of food, the obvious odor associated with just being in the cab and the extra care needed because of being mobile. I know that no matter the size of the dog they are an excellent guard feature as no one wants to bother you if you have a noisy dog barking if they are near your truck. You also gain the advantage of being allowed to idle the truck if you so desire because humane laws require that the pet must be kept comfortable even if the same law enforcement doesn't give a rat's behind about the driver. Go for it if you want and your company allows it but remember it will require some extra effort on your part.

Some have suggested the benefit IS to force you out of the truck. I heard you can request the passenger seat be taken out to accommodate the dog if you ask. I will need the room for him if I take him. And as far as someone trying to break into the truck ?? God help them

Just make sure your grumpy ball of fur and fangs is well disciplined. You truly want all bark and no bite.

Best example I can give is a Husky I used to own. When she was being protective or I told her to show me her "mean face" she would curl her lips back, bare her fangs, growl and work her mouth with her tongue. You would swear she was spawned from the depths of hell and about to rip you to pieces. Funny thing is, to show people they had nothing to fear, I would stick my hand in her mouth. She would literally spit my hand out and then give the most disgusted look ever. It was hilarious.

Brutus is a protector and people can't come up to him and pet him. He loves going in the car and I think he would love it in a truck as well. I can deal with the extra work. I am close to signing on with Werner for a number of reasons...including their unrestricted breed and size dog policy.

EMBRACE THE SUCK.

You must watch red Viking trucker on YouTube. He just did a video on this.

To be honest? I always thought it was another term for the Marine Corps.

I've been using it for years. I'm a retired Marine BTW.

I thought it was about being a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles for 59 years...? Huh...

Thanks, didn't know that was an alias term for serving in the USMC. And yes, I read your posts about being a Marine. We all thank you for that.

LOVE the Eagles (57 years). You always give the best advice...you must really be a good guy G-Town. Honest.

And I do like the RED VIKING !

Well, I've been lurking for almost a month now, reading all the posts and soaking up all the information I can and figured it was time to introduce myself and to thank everyone for all of the information...it has certainly changed my preconceptions of what being a trucker is like. I got my call from Prime today and will be starting orientation towards the end of August. I'm a little nervous about the 30000 TnT miles as i'm a bit of a loner, but also really excited. Anyways, I'm Rocky (yep, real name) and thanks again for this site and all of the information and resources it contains.

I'm fairly new here too Rocky. About to road test next week...keeping my fingers crossed.

So I get at least one application like this every day.

This is exactly what was on the app they sent to me, and then they got mad when we wouldn't "just give me a chance!".

I wanted to say "Looks like a lot of places gave you a lot of chances, driver" But I didn't.

PS - I know my numbers are backwards, but I didn't feel like re-typing them all, sorry!

(All names and identifying features have been removed - but trust me when I say he went from decent companies to OK companies to companies I had never heard of to "3rd chance" companies...)

Wow...can't imagine filling out all the paperwork for all of them !

Robert you lost me. Im really not tech savy at all. I cant even program my tv.

Not to get too techie but if you have a decent smart phone (android version) and root the phone, you can use it as a wifi hot spot and tether other items to it. The nice thing about rooting the phone is that you will never have to worry about burning data or paying extra to your service provider because they won't be able to see the data usage.

Haha Gator...I'm sure I'm worse than you.

Almost all companies who offer a dog policy, will have restrictions on the size, and breed of dog that you can have with you.

I've had my dog with me for a while now and I love it. My biggest piece of advice, is please please please always have your dog on a leash. A few days ago I was walking my dog, and another dog came running around a trailer and came right to us. Luckily, neither my dog nor his were vicious, but it could have been a real problem. The other driver apologized and said he didn't know I was back there with my dog. But that's the whole point. You never know who might be around the corner.

AMEN !! I have a pitbull that is very friendly, but protective. It seems everywhere I go there is always 1 ******* who thinks it's fine to let their dog off leash. I've started carrying mace. All it would take is one bite, and then my dog gets put down just because she's a pit.

My shepherd is not friendly and very protective. I always walk on leash but am just thinking of how much effort when you're concentrating while working a big rig. I love my Brutus but I want to excel at what I'm doing.

I just failed my backing test yesterday. I'm scheduled for next Thursday. I hope I do better because my school is going to give me an entire hour to practice the day before. 😂

Hey Rob I heard people testing in Winslow say that the test site is horrible...uneven and beat up. You'll get it next time. Like Rainy said...don't stress.

Hi dan. I have been trucking with my dog for about 2 years and it’s great. She forces me to get out of the truck for walks so we both get some much needed excersize. I usually look at google earth to if I plan to stay at a shipper/reciever to see if there is any grass to walk her on to go potty and if there’s a guard shack to check I will ask if I’m ok to get her out to potty and I have had no issues. She has got spoiled due to a lot of guards keep dog treats on there shack so now she thinks any time I talk to a guard it’s treat time. Keep a towel to clean your furry friend on the rainy days and I bought her a dog rain coat on Amazon. Keep in mind if your company has idle policies you may have to keep the air running for the dog when your away from your truck showering doing laundry things of the nature. Hope this helps.

Very much helps. Although Brutus isn't a very friendly dog, he is mine. Aside from making it nearly impossible to consider team (which I wasn't anyway) I think I would be happy to have a little company going all over creation. And I guess he could be my built-in security system.

I would love some advice and ideas from you guys about taking along the dog OTR. I see Brett's big Shepherd pics...my Brutus is one as well. How hard or easy is it ? Being able to keep him (he's not very friendly to strangers and nobody will take him) would be a positive thing for me but want to hear from those who know. Dan