A new B.C.-made product gives small dogs a better chance to fend for themselves against any attacks.

Veterinary professionals Alison Columbus and Janice Voth from North Vancouver have created , a light-weight, water-resistant, spiked harness for small dogs.

The gear B次元官网网址� which will be available for purchase in early January B次元官网网址� comes with removable plastic spikes, adjustable straps and reflective strips. It is also washable and has a mesh ventilation system.

Columbus said she and Voth decided to create PredatorBwear after they noticed many smaller dogs being attacked in parks and wanted to create something that would give them some added protection.

B次元官网网址淲e have seen many dogs that have been attacked by other bigger dogs so we thought we could come up with something that would protect them a little bit,B次元官网网址� Columbus said.

While the inspiration was to protect smaller dogs from bigger dogs, the harness is designed to prevent attacks from wild animals such as cougars, coyotes and birds.

B次元官网网址淲e researched where coyotes and birds of prey and other dogs actually attack a smaller dog. They go for the neck, they go for the back and they try to carry the dog away to a secondary location,B次元官网网址� Columbus said. B次元官网网址淲e tried to make something that would prevent that from happening.B次元官网网址�

Development of the PredatorBwear took about a year. Voth said one area of concern during the development phase was ensuring that the harness wouldnB次元官网网址檛 restrict the dogB次元官网网址檚 breathing or cause overheating.

B次元官网网址淚t has got mesh between the spikes as well so it is totally breathable,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淭hat is one thing that we were focusing on because we know that other harnesses and jackets can get hot in the summer and the dogs can overheat.B次元官网网址�

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Columbus and Voth also opted to limit product testing so as not to cause any harm.

B次元官网网址淲e cannot humanely test it because we wouldnB次元官网网址檛 want to hurt the smaller dogs,B次元官网网址� Columbus said. B次元官网网址淚t would be very stressful to have a big dog come at them, but we have done a lot of research as to where these predators attack the dogs and weB次元官网网址檝e placed the spikes in those spots, so the thinking behind it is that the coyotes, if they go to grab the dog, they are going to get a mouth of spikes instead of the dog and they will drop the dog.B次元官网网址�

At the end of the day, Columbus said the harness wonB次元官网网址檛 prevent an attack, particularly from large animals such as a bear, but it will give smaller dogs a chance to escape from bird, coyote and cougar attacks.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not going to prevent an attack because they are wild animals, so who knows what will happen, but it will keep them safer from an attack if it were to happen,B次元官网网址� she said.

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