Now man's best friend can take a bullet in the chest and live to bark about it too, thanks to a new bullet-proof vest for dogs.

Manufactured by the German firm Mehler, the three-kilo protective garment is on display this week at a high tech security trade show outside Paris.

The vest, available in six sizes, is already being used by dogs in the Swiss army. Company spokesperson Thomas Kulhnlein tells Agence France Presse at Milipol, billed as "the worldwide exhibition of internal state security".

Kuhnlein explains it can also double as a harness for lowering and lifting canines from a helicopter.