Can my dog ride in the back of my pickup truck?

The bottom line is (legally) your dog is property, short and simple! In an automobile, the dog is cargo. Legally? Transport the dog any way you want, like any other item in your automobile. How many secure Pepsi cans tossed on the floor of your car, books in the back seat, kids toys left in the back window?

My first wreck I had when I was 18 years old, I hit a tree laying across the road in the middle of a horrific thunderstorm at night. I had "stuff" in the back window, and when I slammed into that tree, all that "stuff" hit me in the back of the head. I learned then to make sure nothing would do that again.

On the other side of the coin, we pet owners don't view our pets as simple "property". To us they are our kids. So there is a balance between what is "safe" and what is just absolute stupidity in the way we transport our "kids."

I say this, only because the law makes it clear, pets are property. But, a good reminder of how vulnerable our pets are when being transported in a vehicle is a good reminder for all of us.

Thanks for posting!

In WY farm and ranch dogs ride in PU beds. Probably dangerous where ever they ride. Just get in the PU and start the engine and the dog jumps in. Ever come out of a Walmart and find a strange dog in your PU bed? It seems to be instinct on their part. If they get lost they will get in the nearest PU bed that looks like their PU. Plus don't ever get too close to those PUs. The PU belongs to the dog.:B

Oaklevel wrote:
Some states it is perfectly legal, some it is not, some localities have laws against it too.

Most of those states where it's legal require the animal to be secured either by tethering or in a crate.

I didn't read every article referenced, but another thing to consider is the level of carbon monoxide and exhaust that naturally accumulates in a pickup bed due to aerodynamics. Studies have shown dangerous levels to the point that it's a health hazard.

Doug, DVM

Some states it is perfectly legal, some it is not, some localities have laws against it too.


Common around here to see dogs riding on the tool box in the truck bed........ :(

I was driving behind a pickup with a dog in the bed and the dog fell out in front of me. Thankfully, the dog was unhurt, as the driver took pains to explain to me as I glared at him.

I see it all the time but don't think I would ever do it... I have heard some stories of the dog seeing something he can't do without "Like a Squirrel chase" and make a flying lead at 50MPH...

I don't think there is any laws against this - never checked...

I always see alot of dogs with their heads hanging out of the passenger side window. Usually the driver has head out on his side doing the same thing...

"Pure heaven" google image

Roy Ken

We were in Danville KY this summer. There was a dog riding on the back of a flatbed pickup.
I don't know how it would survive a sudden turn.
But, the dog seemed okay with it.