You ever seen those guys who drive around from town to town with tiny pickup trucks overloaded with plastic buckets? Often what you are seeing is second half of the dog business. The first week they fan out from a couple famous towns along the Mekong asking about stray dogs. For anyone that points them towards a stray they come back the next week with a nice free plastic bucket. I guess you could call it a tradition.
Most of the business seems to be dominated by ethnic Vietnamese. There are quite a few Vietnamese in Thailand who immigrated for business or more likely to avoid the wars. The dogs are destined for Vietnam so there is the connection.
The small traders turn over the dogs they've been able to round up at gathering points along the Mekong, where the dogs are crated, loaded on boats, shipped across the river, and reloaded on trucks for the short drive into Vietnam.
Coming up on one of these trucks on a motorcycle is a memorable experience. All those dogs crammed in together are scared and they stink to high heaven. Dog fear and dog feces.
The traditional way to prepare dog is too horrific for me to describe. I've been told it's not done that way anymore and I believe because I want to.
If you go to Vietnam please don't eat dog. Lots of people like to eat it so that they can say that they did. They don't grow them on farms no matter what you are told.Huff Post Dog Story.