Jonny Salmon
16 March 2021
From 59 - Ear Pro | Goggles: £59 | www.rexspecs.com
Animals and aircraft aren’t usually the best pairing but, with adequate time to acclimatise and normalise the sights, sounds and smells involved with our hobby, it is possible to bring some level of normality and, therefore, safety to things.
Just as humans dress for whatever situation they’re due to encounter, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t do the same for our dogs. Having spent many a long, hot day standing on an endless expanse of concrete apron surrounded by fighter jets, I can attest to just how important it is to have the correct kit. Leave your sunglasses in the office and you’re in for a painful time once the headache kicks in.
So how do you protect your faithful pooch’s hearing and eyesight around aircraft? Enter RexSpecs, a company based, 6,237ft above sea level, in Jackson, Wyoming. With blue skies and snow for a great part of the year, the company owners were frustrated when their own dogs were diagnosed with vision issues relating to sun exposure – so they set about creating a solution.
The company’s range of ear protection and goggles come in sizes to suit all dogs, from the smallest Pomeranians to Great Danes. While developed around the outdoor adventure market, its kit is widely used by the military and law enforcement, which is usually my marker for ‘quality’.
Beginning with the goggles, they look and feel just like something you might wear yourself when skiing. The quality of materials used is surprisingly good. They are light, flexible with lots of ventilation. The entire lens sits about 5mm proud of the frame with a foam and fabric mesh providing the lightweight structure and all-round airflow. Despite the complex look of the harness system, a dog can be fitted with these goggles in a couple of seconds, once they’re used to them and know they aren’t a threat!
The lens options include clear, smoked and mirrored, (the latter seem to be purely aesthetic) and all are absorb UV-A, B and C rays, up to a wavelength of 400 nanometers.
Moving onto the Ear Pro ear defenders, which are quite an unconventional design, it is apparent that what we know works for humans, (e.g. two ‘cans’ that fit over our ears), isn’t necessarily going to work for a dog.
The wrap-around fabric style provides excellent overall fit and there are two much slimmer, foam padded sections within each side that provide the noise protection, improved by pressing the dogs ears close to the head. They can attach to the goggles, so both products become one connected unit, or use them separately. RexSpecs claim that the Ear Pro will ‘reduce perceived noise by up to 50%’.
The tricky part with these marvellous products is that most dogs will really need some persuading to actually wear all the kit… The goggles seem to be the easiest to work with as the lenses pop out and the weight, foam padding and elasticated straps don’t appear to bother my pooch, young Isla, too much.
What really helps in introducing the dog to ‘new things’, such as this kit, is treats. Don’t even attempt to put them on the dog at the first go, let them sniff and explore, put some treats in and around the product and gradually build the confidence of the dog.
Hopefully our pooches will have some understanding of why we’re making them do this.
I am all for safety, but I draw the line at high-viz vests – for me or the dog…
