Dogs In Truck
 

Hi, I am getting ready to get back into driving OTR after a 15yr absence and I was thinking about taking my dog with me. I was just wondering if any of you drivers take your dog with you and how does the DOT respond when they see you have a dog with you. I remember when I was on the road back in the day I would see drivers who had dogs with them. Also do many companys allow you to take a dog with you. Thank you and have a great day.

There is no problem bringing a dog with with as far as DOT is concerned. The only issue might be with the company you are employed by. Most eliminated having pets on board last year after fuel prices skyrocketed and most drivers with pets were idling their trucks 24/7 mostly for their pets comfort. As with any company each as their own rules and standards, if a company does allow a pet, most charge a pet deposit, which most of the time is non-refundable. it covers the inside clean-up of the truck and any damage inside that might have occured while the pet was there.

Part of the reason i want to go O/O, and get a truck from a 3rd party, so i can do what i want with the truck (to a certian extent). Not having my Jack Russell with me, is driving me nuts. She is like my little girl. She isnt super crazy, as long as she gets plenty of excercise...but then again, what driver couldnt use more exercise. =)

I dont spend much time in company terminals anyway, and when i do stop, it is just for fuel, and get out. Much the same way i handle truck stops. in and out. Thinkin' of sneaking her on the truck anyways. Several drivers in company trucks have pets. Some i think are 'grandfathered' in from a previous company being bought out my them.....but figure its worth a shot.

I had my Chihuahua/rat terrier on the truck with me. I had to pay a 350$ pet deposit but I got 175 back when I turned the truck in already cleaned. (had it professionally done for 50) The only problem I have had is that some of the shippers were sketchy about an animal being in the truck. I dont know what was with that.

Yep, won't drive when bad weather is in the forecast, but has no problem putting his job on the line when some can't even find a driving job in this market all because he misses his little doggie?.....Classic

I love dogs as much as the next guy but the thought of sharing such a confined space for weeks at a time with a canine just doesn't sit right with me. Instead of a flea ridden animal you should just get one of these instead.http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...x-Pet_rock.jpg

I do have my dog with me, but I can tell you that one of the issues, besides the idling, that companies have with animals in trucks is keeping it clean. There have been some guys that don't take the animal out and don't clean up the mess the dog leaves behind. Also, pet hair can, and does, get into the heater cores and clog them up. You start to complain about air not coming out the vents, and they show you two handsful of hair from the heaters. That is also an issue with them.

Dogs should have at least a 1 hour walk per day, how are you going to do this driving truck OTR and working all those sweatshop hours plus meals, showers, breaks, etc? Look around at all the morbidly obese drivers, edema of the legs, high sugar...sitting on your ***** all day is terrible for your health and well-being. If you want to confine yourself to an 8X10 rolling cage, that's one thing...don't do it to the dog.

I don't think a truck is a place for an animal, either. It isn't fair to the animal and certainly not to whomever owns the truck. If you are thinking about taking a dog or any animal with you without permission you could be risking your career. There are liability issues and some shippers do not allow dogs on the premises.

I've seen plenty of dogs in the Swift trucks .

First off, dont put words in my mouth. I said i would not drive when SEVERE BLIZZARD was in the forecast, or when severe winds were coming. why would anyone risk driving a truck when drifts are blowing across the interstate are 1-2ft high, and plows are having a hard time keeping the road open. now THAT is 'classic'.

as far as other drivers not finding work........not my problem. Why should i be concerned with problems other drivers are having not finding work? should i now donate half my paycheck to every food bank i run across?

nice try getting me all worked up. try again.

This is my dog....how can you say no when she asks you to ride with you in the truck. ;-)

Is that kinda like the argument that going to McDonalds makes you fat...so you are going to sue them?? yet you continue to eat McDonalds 5x a week?? What i find funny, is how drivers always find the closest parking to the building when at a truck stop. They will complain about having problems with their fuel card, and having to walk to and from their truck to the fuel desk one extra time. I agree....health of drivers is an issue. Pets need a good walk once a day.....MAYBE.... having a reason to get out and walk the dog might help with that lower leg circulation?

My dog is 4 years old this March. She does have the occasional accident at my folks house, but that is only when she is left for 3-5 hours alone. But if someone is there to take her out every hour or two, she never messes in the house. I have her trained to scratch at the door to go out, or when i say "outside?", she'll go running to the door if she needs to go out.

the hair in the heater? i can understand that. But if you have a dog that really really sheds bad. Mine dont.

I really want to find YMCAs, and get a bike to strap on the back of my truck, so i can run to the Y to work out or do something. The arguement of 'working sweatshop hours, driving 11 hours a day..." blah blah blah...dont fly either. You are required 10 hours of 'rest'. you going to tell me you pull over, and konk right out and sleep for 10 hours? What about end of the day paperwork? Highly doubt that anybody sleeps more than 8 hours....and if you do....you still have 2 hours.....THAT is when you walk your dog.

I'd rather spend 24 hours in the cab of a truck with my dog than ten minutes with most people I meet. He may not be able to get me miles but I bet he smells better than most co-drivers. Not to mention, he won't bore me to death with stories about things I have absolutely no interest in.

Well you actually said when snows is forecasted to "dump 4-6 inches" in an area you would not accept a load to that location...You and I have a vastly differet idea of what consttutes a blizzard .

'high sugar' ?

I am assuming its something to do with calories sort of building up from lack of exercise

and poor diet..

To date.......easily the best CAD post of 2009! :clap::bow::bow:

I second that

That is exactly what I was thinking, there is plenty of time in the day for the dog to get exercise and might even give the driver a reason to get out of the truck and get some much needed exercise. Some of these guys act like when you are driving there is no time to do anything else. I have been monitoring this site for awhile now and I have never seen such a bunch of cry babies in my life. If you don't like the trucking industry then my advise to you is to get out of it, also if you did get out of it then stay out and don't post you negative thoughts here.

be careful tradesman, first off you agreed with me. Frowned upon my most posters here, just for the simple fact they dont like me (better get some nitol...to help me get my "Zzz"s, cause i wont sleep because someone dont like me) AND you are calling some liars because they think you drive 10 hours, and you are just so exhausted to do anything, much less walk a dog, and will knonk right out and fall asleep for 10 straight hours.

My question is, when do those drivers find the time to catch their log books up from the previous day?? ;-)

Partials of two sentences from Cold&Frosty that I can agree with. The rest of the words, are his typical "anti-driver" bs. :p

Animals don't belong in the truck. I know plenty enjoy their company..but it is unfair to the pet, and unhealthy for the driver.

unused calories get stored as fat ,so don't over eat ,and get exercise ...also it is much harder to get fat from eating a clean diet as opposed to one consisting mostly of refined sugars, saturated fats,and hardly any protein ...even if both diets have equal calorie content...Oh and Subway is not that healthy.

Stan, there you go on-and-on again about this so-called Cold&Frosty character that seems to be a continuous source of irritation with you.

I've exhaustively searched the archives and find no Cold&Frosty anywhere.:smokin:

Are you OK Stan? You aren't over at DuPont sniffing that Teflon again are ya?:lol:

The more drivers I meet, the more I appreciate my dog.

Gunfighter

:angryblue::angryblue:
*sigh*........If he would aim his rants at the Carriers he say's he despises, :roll::roll: instead of the drivers of the trucks, I wouldn't have a problem with the man.......*sigh* :(:(

While he continues to rant against the driver and not the Carrier...I will continue to point out that he is an.........:moon:.

You should note that I have, on several occasions, agreed with post's that were not attacking OTR drivers and contained good, decent, common sense suggestions.

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

Well, those that don"t like dogs in trucks are going to love this.

I take mine when I have students in the truck. He lays on the sleeper.

He is in the classroom when we train in there also.

Of course, when you are the Pres, you can do what you want.

How could you not love something that looks like this.

adorable picture, but can your dog do this? ;)

I know this will get me an ear full........ but here it goes.

Can you really blame the carriers for doing what they are doing?? I mean after all the drivers let them get away with it.

Thats all i got to say. Go ahead a bash the young local punk.:smokin::moon:

yeah...jump on the Cardinals bandwagon. ;-)

Well i really dont like the steelers so out of the 2 teams im betting on the cardinals.:D

agreed. the truck stop i am parked at, was kinda funny, the drivers lounge is only about 15 by 15, and there were atleast 30-40 drivers packed in there watching this 22in plasma. not much into football anyways, but was good to see arizona make it to the big game.

Kevin that's the best photo of Golfhobo that I have ever seen. Even I must admit that he looks cute in that photo.............:moon:
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/l...2/golfhobo.jpg

My dog grew up in a truck with me. He stays home on the two weeks I take a trainee. God I miss my dog during those two weeks......some drivers are such slobs it's pathetic, I mean pathetic. I was mistakenly stopped by the highway patrol the other day and even the trooper talked more to the dog than to me. I got a warning, not great but not a ticket.

I get him out at rest areas and run him daily, I still get 12K miles a month and am amongst the top producers in the company. Only once have I had a problem at a receiver, a refinery north of Seattle, the guard made me tie him to a fence by the shack while I delivered. That was enough to make me tie him in the sleeper while I clear guard shacks.....

He pees in the grass and never throws his pee in a bottle onto any customer's property, I pick up after every one of his dumps........much cleaner than the drivers I follow, in using truck stop bathrooms. He even cleans his paws regularly, more than I can say for the slobs who pee on the toilet seat and don't wash their hands.....Dogs are clean, truck drivers are piles of ****. Just an observation, not to incriminate those of you who are human.

The rest of you can go write some more brilliant musings on the wall of the stall........get it?????

I'm with you all the way BluHeeler! I was wondering? If a pooch was to lower itself to trucker standards. Would the musings look something like this?:lol:
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/l.../pawprints.gif

Much better!:D:)

dont give my dog a bad name by compairing her with Golfbooboo. ;-)

That's not ME, Bel!! That's my diminutive (and apparently female) twin! :lol2:

But, you gotta admit..... she's got a good "eye" on the yin yang!! ;)

Not to offend the dog lovers but i would hate having a dog with me in a truck.I grew up around dogs all the time but they were never allowed in the house with us,mostly staying outside on the family property and watching it over.Thats what a dog is supposed to do,right?When i started with swift and got their first truck it was full of dog hair.After many weeks of cleaning i was able to get it clean somewhat from that dog hair.Hate it!!!!I like dogs,dont get me wrong, but living with them so close i really don't think is a good idea for health reasons....Just my 2 cents.

I agree with BlueHeeler. My Blue Heeler grew up in the truck with me. She's my closest, best friend. She protects me, I protect her and we go EVERYWHERE together.

I'll take my dog over most any person I've ever met. I have never had a dog lie to me, steal from me or try to break my heart.

Piss on people. They suck.

PETA just called. They ask that you refrain from taking showers with your dog. They are concerned about the dog being emontionaly scared or you being bit by your best friend when she mistakes a certain thing for a Beggin Strip.

D'oh!

HaHa! You never met my lab, Philos! He would piss on the floor (or worse) and look me straight in the face and tell me he didn't DO IT! :lol2: