Music – Whether you’re hitting the road or kicking back in the cab, it’s time to take a load off with Big Rig Banter, powered by AllTruckJobs.com, your source for finding the trucking jobs drivers really want. Get ready to shift into gear and let the conversations roll.
Troy: Alright, hello and welcome to the 35th episode of Big Rig Banter. I’m your co-host, Troy Diffenderfer.
Lenay: And I’m your favorite co-host, Lenay Ruhl.
Troy: And the date is August 7th, and Lenay I’m excited for this episode. I think I’m a little partial when it comes to this topic but I think it’s gonna be a lot of fun.
Lenay: Yeah, so today we’re gonna talk about trucking with pets and most specifically bringing your bog on the road with you.
Troy: Yeah, and I love this idea. I think if I became a trucker I would have to bring, you know, my Bowie boy on the road with me. You’ve heard me talk about him a few times and Lenay has met him and knows just how much of a wonderful dog he is.
Lenay: Yeah, does Bowie like to ride in the car?
Troy: He is not a fan but we did find out if I play him loud rap music there’s something about the, I think it’s the bass or the beat that like calms him down. So I have to have the windows up and I have to have rap music or hip hop playing and then he finally decides to calm down, which is really funny.
Lenay: So he’s a gangster car rider apparently.
Troy: He is, he’s my homeboy.
Lenay: That’s great.
Troy: But before we jump into that let’s just go through a few other things I’d like to mention. Last episode we talked about the wonderful Troy Thunder making his return as he did this past weekend. But Lenay, what’d you think of it?
Lenay: Yeah, if you guys were on AllTruckJobs Facebook or Twitter page, you probably saw Troy Thunder dancing with the Dancing Trucker and they taught you some exercise moves so if you haven’t seen that yet be sure to go check it out. I tried some of them but I didn’t lose any weight over the weekend, so.
Troy: Yeah, again a big shot out to John Drury. John, he’s worked with us in the past, he’s a really awesome dude. He’s this big guy that definitely looks like he could bench press me but all I’d want to do is give him a hug. He’s one of the friendliest guys out there and if you haven’t make sure to go check him out. Check our video out and we’d love to hear your feedback.
Lenay: Yeah, so along with Troy Thunder and those dance moves, we also wanted to mention that we are launching our newsletter this week, so if you wanna get news directly to your email about Big Rig Banter make sure you go to BigRigBanter.com and sign up to receive our newsletter that’ll come out basically every time we have an episode.
Troy: Yeah, and we’ll make sure to be on social media plugging that a lot, again if you want to interact with us use the #BigRigBanter. But, let’s jump into the episode. Lenay, you spoke to a trucker who’s bringing a furry friend on the road. She had a lot to say and I think it was one of my favorite interviews that you’ve done.
Lenay: Yeah, so I actually got to chat with Marsha Carter who is actually a friend of my mom’s so I’ve known her for a very long time and she is an owner-operator who brings two of her dogs with her on the road everywhere she does. So check out this interview with Marsha for some tips on bringing your dog on the road with you. Hi, I’m here today with Marsha Carter, she’s a truck driver and she’s out there on the road in North Dakota. Marsha, how are you today?
Marsha: I’m doing great today, how are you?
Lenay: I’m pretty good. So, how long have you been a truck driver?
Marsha: I have been a truck driver on and off for 27 years this year. Every time I try to leave it, I come back.
Lenay: That’s awesome, and are you a company driver or are you owner-operating?
Marsha: I’m an owner-operator.
Lenay: Oh well that’s awesome. So then you have a little more flexibility with your schedule.
Marsha: Yeah, yeah.
Lenay: Alright, and I understand that you have two passengers with you today. And what are their names?
Marsha: I have Piper, which is an Australian — excuse me — an Australian cattle dog red mini and then I have Dakota which is a blue Australian cattle dog, but she’s a full size but just a baby ten weeks old.
Lenay: Alright, and how do they like being on the road?
Marsha: These two, it’s their truck I just pay the bills on it. They’ll run over you to get to the truck. When I tell them are you ready to go trucking when we’re going to leave the house they will run over you to get to the truck.
Lenay: And how long have they been riding with you? I guess the one you said you just got, but what about the other one?
Marsha: Yeah, Piper has been riding with me since she was 7 weeks old and she is a year and a half old.
Lenay: Wow. And what are like some of the benefits to having the dogs with you on the road?
Marsha: They definitely make sure that I get out and get my exercise. They’re also my early morning detection system if somebody’s out there messing around with the truck.
Lenay: Yeah I bet. Do they scare people off or are they pretty friendly?
Marsha: Oh they’re friendly. These guys would lick you to death before they would do anything, but the thing is they’re still gonna bark and let me know that somebody’s near the truck so that way hey you know – because sometimes you have people like they get curious they come over they wanna look I pull oversized loads so sometimes they wanna come look and see what it is that I’m hauling.
Lenay: Right yeah that makes sense. At least they alert you if someone’s coming up to the truck and you don’t realize it.
Marsha: Yeah.
Lenay: So, what about – are there any inconveniences to bringing them on the road with you?
Marsha: Sometimes yeah because you know you got people that throw food on the ground not liking and of course they’ll go and bring it and the next thing you know you got a sick dog on your hands.
Lenay: Oh yeah I didn’t think of that.
Marsha: Yeah, yeah. There’s people that’ll do that. And of course, when they do have health issues trying to find a vet that you can fit a big truck into.
Lenay: True.
Marsha: Yeah so that’s when Uber comes in handy.
Lenay: Oh yeah.
Marsha: Because I want my kids healthy and happy and safe ya know, so that’s – they’re my fur kids. You know, part of my extension of my family I guess. But yeah, I mean of course depending on what kind of breed you have some of them shed more than others so of course, you’re gonna have to deal with hair and stuff like that in such a small confined space. And of course, these two are bed hogs.
Lenay: Yeah I imagine there’s not a lot of room in the truck. How long are you on the road at a time?
Marsha: Usually two, three weeks at a time. Then I come home, just take a week down doing routine maintenance and stuff like that, keep up with all my equipment.
Lenay: Alright and do they get antsy when you take them back home?
Marsha: As soon as they kind of start saying hey wait I recognize that smell, then they start getting excited because they know they’re gonna get a lot of yard time then.
Lenay: Yeah I bet. So you do have to stop pretty often with the dogs then as well?
Marsha: I stop about every, between every two to three hours to get out, run them, it’s good for them it’s good for me you know because one of the disadvantages for truck drivers out here is a lot of them get – they’re prone to pulmonary embolisms, because they don’t get out and walk. They don’t get out and get their exercise. These two make me do that.
Lenay: Yeah, so not only do they keep you company when you’re alone on the road but they also get you out there and get you moving too. So that’s good.
Marsha: Yeah.
Lenay: What tips would you give to someone whose debating bringing their pet on the road? I mean I know like, you’ve been trucking for 27 years you said so you kinda know-
Marsha: Yeah.
Lenay: you know what to expect out there and the pros and cons of having your pet, but I’m sure there are a lot of things when you first brought your dog on the road that you didn’t think about.
Marsha: The first thing that you wanna do is consider does your dog ride well in a car? If they don’t ride well in a car, it’s a pretty good idea that they’re not gonna do well in a truck.
Lenay: Right.
Marsha: Ya know, when I went to get Dakota here I actually had tried a foster for a few little bit of a Austrialian shepherd. Perfect fit, her and Piper got along great and everything but every time we would put her in the vehicle that dog would have panic attacks.
Lenay: Right.
Marsha: I mean and I wanted so much to adopt her but you know but when I spoke with the breeder that had originally you know bred this puppy and whatnot, she wasn’t a puppy anymore of course she was an adult, but whoever originally had her didn’t socialize her so she was scared to death of a vehicle. So, you know, that would be the main thing is make sure that your pet is going to be comfortable with that because you know you’re going to be gone, most people are gone for a couple of weeks at a time at least.
Lenay: Right.
Marsha: Ya know, another thing to consider is are you gonna be in areas where you can spend time and get out and walk the dog? You know if you’re living if you’re running up in like New Jersey, New York City, and stuff like that where you’re not gonna have like places to stop and be able to exercise them properly it’s probably not a good idea either.
Lenay: Yeah no that’s true, I mean at least where you’re at you’ve got a lot of wide-open space for them.
Marsha: Yeah. Another thing to consider is always, always keep a copy of your medical records for your pets with you. Because you never know when something’s gonna happen.
Lenay: Right.
Marsha: Yeah and plus that way you also have proof of all your vaccinations and whatnot, in the event that god forbid your dog does bite somebody for some reason. You know and of course always another thing pack extra leashes because you just never know if your leash is gonna break.
Lenay: Do you ever-
Marsha: I had that happen, I had that happen to another driver that his puppy got away from him because she chewed a hole through the leash and then he couldn’t catch her. And fortunately I ya know have a way with animals so I caught her and I gave him my spare leash and he was like well what do you want for that and I said nothing I said you know just make sure you get another one next time you’re home.
Lenay: Right.
Marsha: That way you’ll have a spare with you all the time.
Lenay: Yeah, do you find that you meet more truck drivers who also have pets since you have the dogs with you?
Marsha: Yeah actually I do and you know some of them let theirs out off-leash without making sure the coast is clear you know I will admit I put my dogs off-leash because that way they can get out there and rip and tear and get their energy out but I make sure when I get out that I look around if there’s nobody else out there because some people’s dogs don’t get along well with others.
Lenay: Right, yeah.
Marsha: I try to make sure I keep mine socialized so that way they like everybody.
Lenay: Yeah but you just don’t know. Do you like get them out at truck stops or do you try to find a less trafficked area?
Marsha: It depends, ya know right now I’m actually in a little bitty fuel stop right now that actually has room for maybe two trucks.
Lenay: Okay.
Marsha: You know rest areas are another good spot but of course here’s another thing. Make sure you bring stuff to clean up after your pets. Some people, ya know, they don’t stop to think about that ya know of course I’m very very fussy about how I care for my dogs so of course I clean up after them because just in case for some reason if they had worms or something I don’t want to transmit it to another person’s dog just because they walked across it.
Lenay: Exactly.
Marsha: Ya know, now my dogs do get dewormed and heart guard and all that stuff on a regular basis just because of the fact we’re in so many different areas.
Lenay: Right yeah no that’s smart. Do you think they’ll bark on demand or are they running too free right now?
Marsha: Oh well, let’s see here.
Lenay: Maybe they wanna say hi.
Marsha: Piper, can you speak? Can you speak? How about this, cows? Do you see cows? There we go. That’s Piper. Dakota doesn’t quite speak too well on command yet because she’s still just a baby but-
Lenay: Right.
Marsha: But they you know that’s you know Piper when you tell her do you see cows that’s what she’s bred to do, so she likes to chase cows.
Lenay: Aw. That’s funny.
Marsha: Now she’s looking around everywhere like where are they mom?
Lenay: Where are they? Yeah. Oh that’s really funny. Is there anything else you’d like to add just on the whole topic of pets on the road?
Marsha: Just you know be, use your brain if you’re gonna have them out here with you. You know, don’t automatically assume that everybody’s dog is gonna get along with somebody else. Ya know, like I said carry an extra leash but definitely they will definitely help keep the road rage down because they’re there to give you love. Dogs give you unconditional love.
Troy: Alright and once again a big thanks to Marsha, Lenay I liked how you had her furry friend saying hi to us at the very end there, that was pretty awesome. But do you have anything else to add?
Lenay: Yeah I just wanna remind everyone that Big Rig Banter is powered by AllTruckJobs and AllTruckJobs is a job board website, you can go on there find trucking jobs all over the country as well as blogs and all kinds of great information that Troy and I provide for you.
Troy: And don’t forget truckers, make sure to leave a review we always love your feedback, whether it’s on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or where ever you’re listening to Big Rig Banter. And again, we’ve said it before but make sure to use the #BigRigBanter when you’re talking to us on social media, we love to chat with our listeners. But that’s all I got, once again I’m your co-host-
Lenay: Wait, wait, wait. I also wanted to remind everyone that there are pictures of Marsha and her dogs on social media so be sure to go check them out.
Troy: Oh how could I forget the pictures of the beautiful dogs? Sorry about that folks.
Lenay: Yeah.
Troy: But now we can wrap things up. I’m your co-host Troy Diffenderfer.
Lenay: And I’m your favorite co-host Lenay Ruhl.
Troy: And this has been Big Rig Banter.
Music – Thanks for tuning into another edition of Big Rig Banter. For your next job check out AllTruckJobs.com, the premier online source for finding the best driver jobs in the country. Browse hundreds of positions by freight or driver type to get back on the road with confidence. Click subscribe to keep the conversations coming until next time on Big Rig Banter
