It's a Team's Life
Tips, Tricks, and Tools for your Trucker Pets
It’s safe to say when our trucker pets are the topic, our fellow truckers will in fact, have a lot to say! Per our last article, “Keeping your Trucker Dogs, Safe, Happy, and Healthy” we had a few passionate responses that we’d like to share along with some additional tools to highlight for our four-legged truckers!
Dawn wrote in and brought up Mushers! We were ecstatic, as we’ve been using Mushers on the truck for years and have no less than 3 tubs on hand all strategically located for use at any time. When the countless different style booties didn’t hold up in the rain and snow, or our dogs simply refusing to move when we put them on, and we needed a real solution to protecting their pads from the outdoor element; Mushers really was the secret. Mushers Secret is an old and trusted formula from Canada, a wax that forms a protective layer between their paws and the surface by coating their pads to allow them to safely walk on hot pavement and ice. It’s great for general upkeep for their feet after baths and even safe for human use. Keep in mind, their paws will still need to be wiped after walking through icy or snow bound areas, since the blue rock salt we see so often is highly irritating to your dog’s paws pads. Check out this paw cleaner we’ve literally fallen in love with for a quick clean up after walks to help with this!
Then Jen chimed in on our Facebook page and mentioned the Waggle Pet Monitor, a smart thermostat which comes in a Wi-Fi model or the 4G connected model, that her and her husband use for peace of mind when they step out of the truck. The 4G model connects to Verizon towers when you’re out of your Wi-Fi zone, and will alert you to any temperature variance you set in the truck. Then Melanie responded with another similar recommendation, her Govee Thermostat! We felt a good smack yourself in the head moment when we remembered that we’ve had the same Govee thermostat for almost 9 years, moving with us from truck to truck since our big rigging days, of which has never failed. We never thought to check back if they had a connected version! It goes without saying, we ordered the upgraded model immediately. After testing it and letting the truck warm up, our phones went off simultaneously with alerts that the cab had gone over 80 degrees. We felt a ridiculous amount of relief come over us, as we finally have something reliable for our interior truck temperatures.
Since getting rolling Wi-Fi, we also started to use our wireless Ring stick up cameras to keep an eye on everything. We went for the wireless version since it’s proven highly reliable at home, with batteries that easily pop out for charging, and gives us the flexibility to move them around when and where we need the coverage. Being able to watch on both the truck and our pets when we we're out of sight and check in regularly, allows us to truly step out in peace.
Cleanliness is always a priority for us as well. The cab has been an easy task to keep up with due to this handy air gun we now install in all of our trucks. However, to keep the sleeper from accumulating a ridiculous amount of dog hair, we’ve started to use the Scotch-Brite lint rollers for regular daily fur pick up, off of both our sheets and any soft surfaces in the sleeper. Our sheets stay as fresh as ever between washes now, and we no longer land in a cloud of dog and cat hair when laying down for the night.
Dawn also recommended her favorite pet insurance, Trupanion, stating she had nothing but good things to say about the company. Trupanion allows you to build your own plan based on the amount of coverage you need. They advertise being a no-gimmick insurance, with an extensive breakdown of coverage and thorough answers to real life scenarios. If you cannot afford pet insurance, we also highly recommend CareCredit – which can come in the clutch for both you and your pets; able to be used for any health-related services from doctors to hospital visits, dentists, pharmacies, and the added bonus of all the comparable vet visits included!
Amazon Pet Day kicked off at midnight, and runs through midnight tomorrow, May 8th, so if you need to restock on your favorite pet items, or want to try any of our recommendations, now is the best time to take advantage of it! Happy shopping!
Don't forget to share some of your favorite pet items with us, we love the recommendations!
Run Hard, Dream Big
- M.I.T.