Lorry dogs - thoughts & advice?

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Boulty

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Hi all, not sure if this should be in here or competing & training but basically those of you who have "lorry dogs" who come to competitions with you, what do you do with them when you're riding if you're on your own? I'm hoping to do some TREC comps with fuzzball this year and it's a bit of a niche sport so comps are a bit few & far between. Not keen to travel him TOO far with his age & lack of experience and whilst it is only January & I'm sorta HOPING a few more events get added to the calendar as my most local club currently has nothing listed when they'd normally run at least one or two events but basically currently there's one comp that it would be realistic for me to aim for and it clashes with when I'm in sole charge of the hooligan.

Pretty sure he'll love the general hanging about / social side of it all & he's relatively ok with horses when on lead & used to come up to the yard with me (wouldn't trust him off as he loves to chase anything that moves fast given half a chance but I don't have to anyway... only reason he doesn't come much to current yard with me is that he obsesses over the motorway nearby) & I've got a plan for how I can set the grooms area up for us both to sleep in on a night but just trying to make sure I've got a good plan that's fair to him & will keep him happy & safe whilst I'm riding. I'm only doing Level 1 (lowest level) so it should be maybe 3 hours that he's alone for on day 1 and and hour or so on day 2 (he does get left for 3-4 hrs a few times a week at home and sleeps on his own at night for about 7 hrs).

My plan would be to set him up in the horse area (would probably remove the partition once I got there just in case he decided to do anything silly with / to it) with windows (that are high enough & small enough that a dog can't fit through & 2 of them are in the completely walled off grooms area anyway) and roof vent open and debating getting a small, battery powered air con unit that I'm hoping I could put on the hay shelf where he wouldn't be able to reach it just to make sure the temperature in there stays comfy for him (if it works well I might see if I could fid a way to use it safely with a horse in there tbf). Would likely put him a crate in there with a bed in but with door tied open as he's not used to being shut in one plus some chews & maybe a snuffle ball & a kong to occupy him (although he doesn't tend to want such things when on his own - think he normally just goes to sleep). Would aim to have taken him on at least an hours walk in the morning to tire him out a bit & make him more likely to want to rest.

Does this sound fair / is there anything else I ought to consider / any better ideas that anyone might have about setup? (I'm hoping that I'll know a few other people going who might have helpers with them that could keep half an eye on him, even if that was just looking through the window a few times to check he's ok but trying to be prepared for the completely unsupported with no help scenario)
 
Re theft, that would be my concern as well. I prefer not to take the dogs with me. If I HAVE to, they stay in the cab when unattended. Not really possible in summer without a/c. In the cab, they go to sleep just like do when we're driving, whereas in the back they get FOMO and are more anxious. Always worth testing all the variables! Def make sure there are friends "around" to keep a bit of an eye!
 
I've taken my dog/s to TREC comps no problems
Just check on the schedule that dogs are allowed , usually it stipulates dogs must be kept on a lead at all times as well
My beagle loved going away for the weekend , but he is very sociable. He slept on the bed with me overnight and was OK while I was out on the POR , I made sure I was parked in shade with plenty of ventilation. The one comp I did that was hotter weather he went out on a checkpoint with a friends husband and their dog
He was on his harness and long line when at our corral
I also took his crate and a cover if he wanted to chill out
There is usually always someone around the corraling field as the map room is usually there as well
Plenty of people take their dogs to TREC comps for the weekend
I've never been concerned about dog theft at a TREC comp , as its a small community a stranger would be quickly spotted I think , plus I'm sure they'd quickly bring my beagle back ??
 
I can lock the horse area although don't know if I'd be more worried about someone not being able to get to him if they needed to than him being nicked. I think he'd probably get more wound up in the cab where he could see everything whereas in horse area he wouldn't be able to see much so I think would be more likely to just chill.
 
I used to have a climb through from cab to living and a door through to the horses. My JRT used to sit in the cab but could go into the living - these areas could be secured but I wouldn't have left her in the horse area as it was not secure. She loved going out in the lorry and walking around events on the lead, but was happy in the cab/living area. It did not get too hot in the living area and she was never there for more than 45 minutes unattended.
 
Just realised that I think I've got 2 keys for the ramp locks... Could maybe investigate leaving one with a trusted person in case of emergency and having one with me so that way I can lock him in but there's a back up in case anything happens (mainly if anything happens to me or I lose the damn key tbh!) I know for a fact if I put him in the cab he wouldn't settle as he'd be able to see too much stuff going on & I don't really want to put him in grooms area as it's a smaller space & also I wouldn't 100% trust him not to start chewing on my sleeping bag / otherwise trashing my bed. (I'd hope to go down on Friday night as that gives best chance for dog & pony to settle plus gives me a better chance of taking him for a decent walk in the morning & tiring him out). Will look at doing a bit of "practice" if I maybe drive him to somewhere we can go for a decent walk that also has a cafe so I can pop him in the box whilst I go in cafe (but would be close enough to monitor that he's ok). I might get a few funny looks mind you! There is actually a local nature reserve where we could probably do this & see what he thinks. He's pretty good about settling down & going to sleep in a kennel if I ever take him to work with me so fingers crossed.
 
Mine are crated, but they’re crate trained so no issue to them. If I just have the Boston he’s safe loose in the living (left locked) but if the others are there then crates it is. Usually in the horse area or in the trailer for space sake, but they travel crates in living. They do probably 30 days if not more at shows a year, it’s just part of their life :)
 
As stated above, lots of people take their dogs to TREC comps. My TREC dog never minded being left, he'd just go to sleep on his bed, either in the back (people section) of the lorry or more recently in my trailer now I don't have a lorry. I find the trailer stays cool even in really warm weather, as long as all there is a good through air flow. You need to be sure he's not going to bark at the activity likely to be going on outside while you are away riding. Read the schedule carefully, dogs are not allowed at some venues, and always need to be on a lead at the ones they are allowed.
 
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