Man's best friend forms part of the security team for the Vancouver Winter Games, and he's being outfitted in some serious Canadian-made armour to protect his canine hide from everything from bullets to Molotov cocktails.

Guard dogs at the Vancouver Winter Olympics — police, RCMP and search-and-rescue canines — will all be sporting customized vests, made by Winnipeg's K9 Storm company.

On top of being able to repel bullets, knives and flames, the vests come equipped with harnesses allowing the dogs to be raised and lowered into wherever they need to be.

Jim Slater, who founded K9 Storm 12 years ago, said the vests allow their handlers to lower the dogs from helicopters and even use mountain chair lifts if they're needed on the slopes. They can also root out criminals wherever they take cover, he said.

"Bad guys tend to hide where they think they will not be caught," he said. "Sometimes, that is through a roof hatch or under a roof section or into tunnels, crawl spaces or confined areas. It's tough, when your tool is the dog, to get him into those areas."

Idea formed after jail riot

Slater, a former Winnipeg police officer with the K9 unit, came up with the idea in 1996 following a bloody riot at a provincial jail in Headingley, Man. While all the officers that stormed the facility were well-protected, Slater said his German shepherd, Olaf, was not.

At one point, the team had to get into a crawl space by climbing a 10-foot ladder — a feat that was difficult to achieve carrying a dog.

At the end of the day, Slater said dogs deserve the same protection as the officers they work for.

"Anything can injure a dog so that he's not workable," Slater said. "It could be something as simple as a screwdriver that's been ground down to become a weapon."

At the 2001 Summit of the Americas in Quebec City, Slater said one dog's life was saved by his vest.

"One of the protesters threw a Molotov cocktail and it exploded underneath the dog. The dog was wearing K9 Storm armour and was absolutely protected from the flames," he said. "I think it's vital."