So it happened

Great post .. is the sleep getting easier as y'all get more used to the "driving team mode" of doing things? In regards to the dogs, maybe you could chain them out outside to the truck. I really don't know, personally do not want to drive with animals in the cab.

 

I copied your first post and broke it up into sections. Then added punctuations myself

With that said.

Two things.

Animals and trucking plural do not work well. I realize they are family and all that, but you cannot maintain a relatively orderly business like environment with two or more doggies running wild in there.

Second, you discovered that one of you is afraid of something, in this case mountain driving. Mountain work is nothing more than getting over a very big hill and then carefully coming down off it without getting hurt or killed or doing damage. You will get used to it by doing it over and over and over, slowly and safely. You will need to find a way to adapt quickly and dispose of this fear because winter is coming, which will introduce a whole set of problems in mountain work.

As for the rest of it, I'll leave it to others. Personally I don't care if you had pets or not but more than one dog in a big truck is a problem in a number of ways.

 

Well good on you for following your plan.

I found a cat for 2 days in a 120” sleeper cramped my style - you’re a braver pair than I with 2 dogs.

However, good point on the safety feature.

We teamed 9 + years - you’ll sort the issues out.

Plan to be awake in the mountain grades if you can - teach her through them till she’s more comfortable.

You can go down them too slow all you want - you only get one chance at ‘too fast ‘.

Good luck, be safe.

 

Maybywastired while puttiingup post. Lol enjoyed it also.

 

As a dog oriented person, I have some suggestions about the two dogs in the truck. My husband has a 50lb, 1 year old Swiss Entlebucher in the truck full time with him and I have 6 other dogs at home that range from 18 months to 15 years old. The pack is a combination of three Ridgebacks, a Plott Hound (all big dogs), a small mix breed and a Blue Heeler. My dogs work with me on the farm and when I travel, I always have at least two of the dogs with me.

Number one rule is to set up a strict routine for your dogs and don't mess with it. This means that they eat at the same time every single day - each one in his own spot , they gets walks on a schedule and in the same way every day. You set your routines by establishing obedience training first and then teaching the dogs that they can depend on you keeping to the routine no matter what.

For example - when getting out of the truck, the dogs are taught to sit still on the bunk while you get the leashes on. No leaping around with dog excitement until they are safely outside on the leash. That intense guard dog behavior that's tearing things up when both of you are out of the truck can be addressed by obedience training - sit, stay, quiet are the most important commands to teach and reward every time the dogs complete them. Until you can tell the dogs Sit, Stay, Quiet and they do this the entire time you're both outside of the truck, you can't leave them alone in the truck. One of you must stay in the truck while the other pumps fuel, uses the toilet, showers etc. The one in the truck is working on the sit/stay/quiet training - then you swap out.

My husband carries a fold up crate for Beth so he can contain her safely if the truck is in the shop or he spends a night in a motel. It folds flat and fits under his mattress. Also, he used a super desirable bone filled with peanut butter to teach her to be calm when he was out of the truck the first few weeks she was with him. She never got that filled bone unless he was leaving her alone. It worked because she was totally focused on the bone and not the anxiety of being left alone.

Teaching the dogs how and when to behave is critical for their peace of mind and yours. Good luck