Do you think people who have their dogs riding in the bed of a truck should be arrested?

No – I think some things have to be left up to the judgment of the owners.

I don’t see how it is any worse than people who let their dogs ride in their lap when they drive. The dog could easily distract the driver and cause an accident.

Arrested? No. Ticketed? Maybe, if the person behind the wheel is driving recklessly. It’s honestly situation dependent. And quite frankly, its a judgment call to be made on behalf of the dog owner, not the police. Owners know their pets and their temperaments so hopefully proper discretion would be used.

Being a dog owner myself, I know what my dog is and isn’t capable of. I know what sets her off and I know what may trigger her to act out of character. I personally wouldn’t have my dog (a 120 lb. Rottweiler) ride in the bed of a truck because I know she can be easily jump if tempted.

Yes. It’s dangerous and risky. And probably against the law.

GNo. When I was a kid I rode back there all the time. Also used gasoline to wash hands after working on cars. Those were the days…....

You can’t legislate intelligence.

@Adirondackwannabe Why not? Did anyone ever try? ‘Cause if they didn’t, then how do you know it won’t work?

Arrested – no. Ticketed – yes.

Not arrested but ticketed and given community service cleaning up roadkill.

Many, many states already have laws against this. It’s not only dangerous for the dogs, it’s dangerous for other drivers, when the dogs do fall out and cause accidents.

A lot of tradies do that here. I think they have to have the dog tethered though. I wouldn’t do it myself as I would be worried that the animal would be hurt in an accident.

In our state they would receive a ticket.

Tethered is even worse. They try to jump out and get strangled.

It is not illegal here. Does anyone have any stats on how many animals do get hurt being carried this way? While I wouldn’t do it myself, I haven’t actually seen or heard of a dog being hurt because it was transported in the back of a ute. Not my preference, but what are the facts in terms of how dangerous this is for the animals?

I should make the point that the tether must be short enough to stop the dog either falling out of the ute or being able to jump out of the ute.

@Dutchess_III There are specific truck-bed tethers that do not allow side to side movement, and they cannot jump out.

My dog rides in the front but if there’s a wreck there is more of a risk of injury or death anyway. My old dog rode in the back, wouldn’t have it any other way and she never hopped out. Some dogs won’t ride up front you can’t force them in the door. I see dogs in the back of trucks every day around here many of them farm dogs. They are clever to do that it’s what they are used to. If you start arresting people for that, there may as well be a seatbely law for them too so you can find even more people to arrest. The thing is the jails are overflowing with druggies and other bad people why make a law to catch people doing ordinary things just to make criminals of them? There is always a slippery slope with these things usually the authors of a bill like that are going to be the same lawmakers to present another similar bill because they feel empowered from the last one and it never will stop. I don’t think anyone wants that.

@Mz_Lizzy

“Does anyone have any stats on how many animals do get hurt being carried this way?”

Looks like it happens all the time, judging by how many people ask about it.

how cruel.. If there is law, then yes. sadly law does not match what makes sense.

I was looking for more specific information than just a google search. There is a difference between carrying an unrestrained dog on the back of a ute and restrained animal. According to the RSPCA about 5000 dogs a year are injured in Australia because they are transported unrestrained in the back of a ute. However, the RSPCA sell restraints to tether dogs and suggest to be safely carried on the back of a ute, dogs should be either tethered or preferably in a cage.

http://rspcawa.asn.au/~rspcawa.asn.au/v1/animal_care/documents/SecuringDogsSafelyonUtes2007.pdf

It is against the law in the Northern Territory and Queensland in Australia, I am not sure about the other states. Anyone breaking that law can be and should be arrested. However I see it all the time. It is unsafe for the dog and as has been pointed out for other drivers and pedestrians as dogs have jumped out of the truck bed and attacked other dogs and people on the street. I have seen guys park their trucks in full sun, go into the pub and let the dog on the bed to protect their belongings. Poor dogs burn their feet and sweat in the sun.

As @YARNLADY suggested they can be safely tied in the back if they are cross tied or connected to a tie down in the center and the tether is only long enough to allow them to the edge of the bed or they are in a cage.