It's a Team's Life
Raising Texas
Adding a puppy into our truck that was not puppy-proofed took a little planning and expense.
Puppy Requirments:
Food & Water Dishes - no spill
Collar & Leash
Really long lead for playing ball
Puppy Food
Toys
Chew Toys
Glow in dark collar to slip on her when walking at night
Treats
Crate
Poop bags
When old enough Flea & Tick medicine as well Heart Worm
We decided to save the interior of our truck from puppy chewing and to crate train Texas, it was trauma at first. She did not like the crate, to begin with, but in a short period of time it became her space and she would go into the crate to nap. We put Texas in her crate when we left the truck and at night. She grew fast and we used two crate sizes. When she grew out of the second crate that was the end of crates as the next larger size would not fit in the truck. It was a pain having the crate as it was in the way but we never had anything chewed on that did not belong to her. When we were all in the truck I would fold the crate up and put it under our table. It was funny as Texas when she was ready for a nap would go and lay on it. The crate also saved us from accidents in the truck.
We took Texas out a lot at first and made extra stops for her so she could potty. Before going to bed and first thing when getting up we took Texas out for a walk. Before she had her first Parvo shot we were very careful to keep her away from other dogs and as far away as possible from areas where other dog owners had not cleaned up after their dog. Both of us were very concerned that she might get Parvo and we would lose her. This was good and bad as she was not socialized with other dogs till later and she still is not good around other dogs. But she did not get Parvo.
Texas immediately started learning commands to sit, stay, down, hurry up. When she was young we taught her “hurry up”. As a puppy when she would start to peep we would say “hurry up” and then praise her for going potty. This is very helpful when we need her to go fast as we are running short of time. She was a quick learner and we reinforced the learning with lots of praise and treats. We found that she loved to retrieve her ball when we would roll it in the truck. In no time we would take her out on her long lead and throw the ball a short distance and she would bounce after it. She was super clumsy and it was cute to watch her reach down to grab her ball and she would trip in her feet and go rolling. We never used a retractable leash with her for a few reasons, one is that as a large dog if she took off running by the time she hit the end of the leash we would go flying with her, we had a family member use a retractable leash and when their small dog took off running it got to the end of the leash and it broke, the dog ran out into traffic and was immediately killed in front of their eyes. Never EVER use a retractable leash, especially with a big dog.
We provided plenty of chew toys and redirected her if she tried to chew on seats or seat belts. For some reason, she liked seat belts. She also learned her food dish did not include the trash can nor does it include trash on the ground. A very useful command is “leave it” and we taught her that in the truck when we would drop something or if she wanted to chew on part of the truck.
While walking her we taught her the command “Stop” so that if she was off leash and a car was coming she would mind. When she brings back her ball with a hand motion and the command she will stop before she gets back to us, the other is when walking her on a leash I will tell her to stop and keep walking. It all takes time and patience but the commands have a practical meaning to keep her safe.
She has done well on the truck and loves to go. When we are home she knows when we start loading the truck to leave and every time we walk by it she tries to get in. She just turned five on March 18th and she is a big part of our lives.
Bob & Linda Caffee
TeamCaffee
Saint Louis MO
Expediters since January 2005
Expediting isn't just trucking, it's a lifestyle;
Expediting isn't just a lifestyle, it's an adventure;
Expediting isn't just an adventure, it's a job;
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