Two men were beaten unconscious by locals in the southern province of Dong Nai on Friday for trying to steal six dogs, local media reported.
When police showed up, the two men were lying unconscious near a burnt-out motorbike, a homemade stun gun and six dead dogs.
The two men, aged 26 and 35, were taken to Dong Nai Hospital, with one suffering from a fractured skull.
Cases of dog thieves being beaten are not uncommon in Vietnam.
Around five million dogs are killed in Vietnam every year, making it the world’s second-biggest consumer of dog meat after China.
Vietnam does not have regulations to stop the practice. Dog thieves and the people they do business with are rarely punished.
Current laws only treat theft as a criminal offense if the object’s value exceeds VND2 million ($87). Due to rising pressure from both inside and outside the country, legislators are considering a provision that would criminalize pet theft.