If you own a truck, do you let your dog ride in the bed? Is the dog leashed? If you don't own a truck, if you did, would you let your dog ride in the bed? Let's hear your opinions on this!

Absolutely not. It's careless and dangerous. Anyone who's not willing to transport their dog INSIDE their vehicle should not own a dog.

It's illegal here to drive with dogs in the back of the truck.

...wait. I'm confused. Bed?

Sorry about the terminology. Bed is another name for the back part of a truck. It's not illegal here as long as the dog is restrained with a leash. Come to think of it, that's how my uncle's golden retriever was killed. She was in the back of the truck when she jumped out to chase a deer .

It's never right to transport a loose dog in the back of a truck or inside the vehicle!

However they can be transported safely in the bed of a truck or inside a vehicle if they're placed in a secured plastic kennel such as the Vari Kennel. There are also seatbelts available for dogs.

Oh my goodness my dogs loved being in the back of the pick up!
The thought never occurred to me to put them in kennels, but they were tied in with two ropes on their collar so they could reach to the side of the bed but no further.
Coupled with that they were taught to stay in until invited out, [a basic safety rule for all my dogs] whether they were inside the vehicle or in the bed of the truck.
Being in the Pacific NW a truck ride is weather permitting

we ride with our dog in the bed of the truck all the time. but i don't think i would ever trust him loose back there. he is always in a kennel when riding in the back of the truck

So many owners make the mistake of thinking that because the dogs head is tied away from the edge of the truck, their dog is safe.

During a sharp turn, quick stop or accident the body of the dog can be thrown over or against the edge. The results can be devastating, resulting in; hanging, dragging, strangulation, broken neck or back etc.

Common sense should always prevail. Would you place a 2 year old child in the back of a truck, and trust them to sit still?

Never!! Even if the dog was tied.

A while back I saw an episode of Emergency Vets I think and this GSD came in with over half his tail broken/cut off.

What happened was that the owners were driving on the highway with him in the bed of their truck, tied up. He jumped or fell(it's not known) over the side of the bed. He was tied though so he was left hanging by the neck or being strangled on the side of the truck which was moving fast.

His tail was long enough to get caught under a tire and well..come off VERY painfully. Once the owners noticed they speeded to the nearest animal hospital which luckily actually was near. They had of course stopped to get the dog and the loose half of his tail safely back into the truck.

The GSD lived..with some pain killers but his tail could never be re-attached. And THAT'S one real good reason NOT to let your dog ride in the bed of your truck. Unless he's been docked..JK!

something terrible could always happen no matter what precautions you take

That's true of course! "something terrible could always happen no matter what precautions you take". Common sense must always prevail.

Would you tie your best friend to the truck bed with a collar around their neck and assume they'd be safe?

I do have common sense and I resent your implying that I don't based on my allowing my dogs to be in the back of the truck. They were as safe as I could possibly make them and they loved it.

They both died of old age so your doom and gloom predictions don't hold water.

Are you 100% safe in your car? For goodness sake don't get in a car if your answer is no.

i agree with both of you but in the end everyone is going to do whatever it is they want to do...safe or not. in my opinion it isn't safe for children, adults or dogs to ride in the bed of a truck. i often see people in the city where i live who are driving at high rates of speed with a dog or 2 in the back of their trucks. it scares me and seems careless. i personally wouldn't be comfortable ever driving with my dog loose in the bed of the truck.

I SAW EMERGENCY VETS ON ANIMAL PLANET NOT SO LONG AGO ABOUT A DOG WHICH WAS IN THE BACK OF A TRUCK ND JUMPED OUT ND GOT HIS TAIL RAN OVER BY ANOVA TRUCK ND ITS TAIL TOTALLY CAME OFF!! ITS WAS AWFUL SO YES IT IS VERRRRY DANGEROUS.

it is illegal to have your dog unrestrained in the back of a truck here but I see people do it all the time too.

In the rural area I lived for so long this one guy would put his dog on top of a truck full of hay during haying season.

I have a truck, but I would never allow my dogs( restrained or not) in the back. It's illegal in my area, but people do it anyway. People always leave their Pit bulls unleashed in the back of their truck in parking lots and expect it to just stay there. It terrifies people that are walking by. The dog could just jump out and attack if it wants.

When I was younger we went for a ride in the back of my dad's company truck with our dog unrestrained. I'm glad she atleast is ok..

Waveviewer, I agreed with you on the first part. Nowhere did I say you didn't have common sense!

Then I asked you a question which you neglected to answer! "Would you tie your best friend to the truck bed with a collar around their neck and assume they'd be safe?

What if you had a crate or kennel attached securely in the bed of your truck. Would you then let your dog ride there? Just got the idea so I'm only looking for others opinions.

I saw something about a year ago that was awful!!! I was driving behind a truck that had 2 labs in the back. Neither were tied. An 18 wheeler was beside me. Something (don't know what) scared one of the labs and he bailed. He jumped over the side and rolled under the wheels of the 18 wheeler. It was sooo terrible. I foster and adopt out dogs and I personally will not adopt to someone that plans to transport the animal, unsecured, in the back of a truck after seeing this. Better safe than sorry.

Another concern is eye injury. I used to be a veterinary assistant (until I had to have back surgery). I remember a shepard mix that came into the clinic. It had been riding in the back of the truck and another vihicle had thrown something up from the road and into the dogs eye. At the speed they were going I caused unrepairable damage to the cornia and the eye had to be removed. Inside the truck, this would not have happened.

Another side is safety of the driver and other vehicles on the road. The dogs walking back and forth will block the rear view for the driver and it distacts other drivers on the road.

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Originally posted by applesmom1:

Then I asked you a question which you neglected to answer! "Would you tie your best friend to the truck bed with a collar around their neck and assume they'd be safe?

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Oh sorry. I didn't answer because it's a dumb question.