Armor for a doggie

This new product was much-awaited by border guards, while soldiers, police, and hunters were also overjoyed to learn of it. The K9 ballistic vest for military dogs, designed by the company Ukrainska Bronia, offers a greater protected area compared to its foreign counterparts, namely 42 square decimeters. It is also lighter at just over a kilogram and cheaper than competing offers. In addition, each vest is made to order. The design of the product is such that it can be quickly put on; if necessary, a dog can be even moved about in it, all thanks to special shoulder straps and handles.

“The idea of creating dog vests was in the minds of our designers almost from the first day of production at this facility,” Ukrainska Bronia’s communications officer Andrii Strilets admitted. “However, due to various circumstances, like the pressing need to produce helmets, armored plates, and concealed vests, we had to postpone the project. It was forgotten for some time, and then border guards serving in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) area suddenly turned to us and said that they really needed such a vest, and urgently at that. We listened to all the requirements and immediately reanimated the old idea. Shortly afterwards, we presented the first prototype dog vest to our lads, they approved it and are still using that product.”

Only the fourth model of the vest fully met the specification. In developing the protective gear, designers were helped by military dog handlers who took part in the ATO. “We studied the models offered by leading manufacturers and found that almost all of them protected only relatively limited areas, with rear staying unprotected most frequently,” Strilets told us. “We decided to fix it and succeeded, but at the cost of manufacturing every vest to individual measurements, personally for each dog. Of course, customized sewing is more trouble, but it is the only way to achieve the maximum level of protection without limiting the movements of the dog.”

In addition to the size of the area of protection, an important factor in creating a dog ballistic vest is the weight of the product, because the animal should be able to freely move in it and stay interested in its tasks. The protection class is of major importance as well. To understand whether the vest would be comfortable for the user, one needs to know the dog’s body type and how it moves. “It is simpler to make a vest for a human, since there are established sizes and parameters which we sew to. In addition, it is much easier to ask a human whether they are comfortable in their armor than to ask a dog,” Strilets smiled.

Dog ballistic vests are common abroad. In developed countries, all service dogs, including those of the police, border guards, and sappers, are always armor-clad. According to Strilets, this practice is not very common in Ukraine, primarily because of underfunding and commanders’ reluctance to spend money on a dog outfit. However, it is often a case being penny wise and pound foolish, since training a dog for years and losing it on the first combat mission would cost much more than purchasing protection gear for it.

The Ukrainian designers’ new product immediately found interest with sappers, border guards, police, and hunters. It is the lattermost that buy ballistic vests most frequently. Strilets explained: “‘True’ hunters, whose dogs can cost as much a good car, find it necessary to protect their four-pawed friends from shot as well as the boar’s tusks, and even the risk of injury posed by tree branches when hunting in the forest.”