Driving with LOOSE dog in pick-up TRUCK!

[shandoggy1]

I remember a couple of years back hearing that over 600 dogs died one year due to riding un-teathered in the back of pick-up trucks. How can people be so stupid? Just the other day in my neighborhood I saw a guy driving with his lab loose in the back of his F250 and it really got me PO! It is supposed to be illegal to do this in Massachusetts but yet I still see it. I have called the MSPCA a couple of times on people driving with there dogs loose banging around back & fourth in there truck and they asked for the license plate # I wonder what ever became of those people .If they were at least warned of the danger. What is your opinion of this?

[Pugdawg1]

I think it is foolish. I've seen dogs fall out of the back of trucks before. I can't stand it, but it is very common around here, especially the ranchers with their cattle dogs when they come to town. I roll my eyes at people that think they look all sorts of tough when they have a rottweiler or doberman in the bed of their truck with a big ole chain around it's neck. Ridiculous. And dangerous for the dog. Also dangerous to people/animals AROUND that truck if the dog takes a leap and goes after them.

[Cassiepeia]

Ack! I hate this too. It's illegal down here and there is actually a special chain that you can buy that fits in to the back so the dog can ride safely (although personally I don't think it's every truely safe).

Yet I see dogs in the back of utes all the time (we call "pick up trucks", 'Utes' down here....short for 'utility truck'), a large number of them untethered. I've wondered if they've every been pulled over by police for it? I doubt it, but we can hope I guess.

I remember I once saw a small white fluffy dog (I think, if my foggy memory serves, it was a maltese or something similar) on the back of a semi trailer!!! That freaked me out. I think it was tethered, but can't remember for sure.

Cass.

[Carrie]

I hate that too so much. It is not fair, not only to the dog, but to other people who have to drive behind and be sickened and worried. I saw a dog on a flat bed truck driving down the highway at about 60 mph. I can't believe the stupid and unimaginative morons out there.

[D.Schäferhund]

hmpf, well my dog owns the backseat of my pickup....
Well it is not the best place to be for my dog, because i do not have a seatbelt harness, but well i would never have my dog in the bed of my truck, there are enough ways to put boxes there if you can't or don't want to put them in the truck....

[Alexis]

It makes my blood boil to see that. I am pretty sure that it is illegal in Vermont. Fortunatly, I have only seen it happen a couple of time..... stupid people!!!!

[YK Shepherd]

I use to drive a pick up truck but the dogs always always rode up front with me. Even if they are tethered in, I would worry about a stone flying up or a bug hitting the dog. It could cause serious damage, lose and eye or something. I remember stopping for gas one night with the dog crate in the box and the dog car sick on the front seat. The gas attendant thought I was nuts for not throwing that dog in the back of the truck. Just not a safe idea as far as I am concerned.


BTW I do not think they should be loose in cars either. Seat belts are a great invention. Everyone wears one here or is in a crate inside the car.

[calgal]

It's a very common sight here and it makes me so angry. Don't they know the dogs could fall out if they are rear ended or hit something. DANG!!

[TinyAlbinoDancer]

Ditto to all of the above. I rant about it whenever I see it. One time my friend (who I'm sure has done it before to have formed this opinion in defense) goes, "oh they know to stay in the truck. They're not going to jump out". Tell that to someone else I know who's dog jumped out the *window* on the freeway! *shakes head* People... No such thing as common sense, is there?

[APBTs2005]

my dogs are loose in the pick-up when we go places (well not on the high way or other long trips) but when we leave the dog park Savoy is in the back with me..the bed as they call it. I have NEVER had one of my dogs fall out, and i dont see anything wrong with it. Ivan wont even jump out when there is a cat running by.

[Owned by Lucy]

Originally Posted by APBTs2005

my dogs are loose in the pick-up when we go places (well not on the high way or other long trips) but when we leave the dog park Savoy is in the back with me..the bed as they call it. I have NEVER had one of my dogs fall out, and i dont see anything wrong with it. Ivan wont even jump out when there is a cat running by.

I am so glad that nothing has happened to you are you dog while riding in the bed of the truck. There are just so many things that can happen that many of us are not willing to risk it with our animals and it worries us to see other people take those risks with a living being. What if the driver has to slam on the breaks? What if there is a large bump that can't be avoided? The dog may not jump out but they could fall out, be thrown from the truck, be thrown around the bed of the truck and get injuried or get away if there happened to be an accident. Some of things can happen with dogs loose in the cabin of the truck or car also, which is why most of us advocate having the dog in a crate or restrained by some other mechanism (seat belt, harness, booster seats for small dogs) while riding in the car.

[shandoggy1]

Originally Posted by APBTs2005

my dogs are loose in the pick-up when we go places (well not on the high way or other long trips) but when we leave the dog park Savoy is in the back with me..the bed as they call it. I have NEVER had one of my dogs fall out, and i dont see anything wrong with it. Ivan wont even jump out when there is a cat running by.

APBT, I can't even stomache the fact that you let your dog ride in the back of your pick-up truck your CRAZY! Over 600 dogs died a couple years back due to not so bright owners who let there dogs ride loose. The concern is not only will they jump out, but fall out when swirving sudden or being hit by another car as Owned by Lucy pointed out. Would it hurt you to try a harness restraint in the back for the dog and tie her in some how? Much to risky playing with your four legged friends life!

[tessa_s212]

This actually doesn't bother me much, so long as it is short trips and you aren't traveling great speeds. If I were ever to do it, you'd bet I'd actually train the dog to stay in the bed. I wouldn't just hope they'd stay. Unless I knew they were reliable, I wouldn't do it. But, if they were reliable, agian, I don't see a problem with short, low speed rides.

I guesst the best example would be if you were on a farm.

I DO mind when the owners are idiots speeding down a highway, of course.

[CTDog]

Originally Posted by tessa_s212

This actually doesn't bother me much, so long as it is short trips and you aren't traveling great speeds. If I were ever to do it, you'd bet I'd actually train the dog to stay in the bed. I wouldn't just hope they'd stay. Unless I knew they were reliable, I wouldn't do it. But, if they were reliable, agian, I don't see a problem with short, low speed rides.

13 years ago a I had a corgi I would swear up and down to you he would never leave the yard. One day he smelled a dead skunk on the road that he just couldn't resist and was hit and killed. Why take a chance? Save yourself the heartbreak that I went through.

[Ritz459]

I don't like seeing dogs in the back of trucks at all. The only time I'd go for it would be if you are just going to drive down a back road at a slow pace.
What really gets me is people that have their dogs in the back of trucks and their dogs are aggressive.
We have pigs behind our house aways, and the people that own them have a Lab mix that rides in the back of their pickup truck when they come to feed them.
I have no problem with that since they live fairly close, but that dog HATES our dogs, and if we are out walking, it will bark and bark and lunge and bark and growl and lunge and bark some more. (And Blackie does the exact same thing because he hates that dog.)
Now, two guys take care of the pigs. One will stop if he sees us walking the dogs, get out, get the dog out, and put the dog in the cab. The other will just leave the dog in the bed of the truck, even if the gate is down and that dog is about ready to jump out and eat us!

And then when I was at Dog Obedience, these people pulled up with their to Rotties. Their Rotties were in the back of the truck and they were both dog aggressive, so they were barking and lunging at all of the dogs going into the building. They looked like they were going to jump out and eat the dogs.

I also have a problem with dogs riding in the back going to a road at a quick speed because of all of the things that could happen. The dog could get something in his eye, the dog could get spooked and jump out, and the dog could fly out because a car cuts you off and you have to slam on your brakes, and a thousand other things.

And then if you just leave your dog in the bed of the truck as you go into the store or something, do you know how HOT those beds get? Super hot. And then there are also the idiots who might come around and try to do something to your dog.
There is no reason why a dog should be in the back of a truck since it is so dangerous for them. And then, I also don't like to see a dog sticking his head out the window going to the highway either.