Ukraine Pride: COLLAR Company Overcomes Hurdles, Focuses on Serving Pets

Listen to this article

Dogs from every corner of the globe have been one of the top customers for COLLAR Company, the Ukraine-based pet product manufacturer that was launched in December 1995. Yuriy Sinitsa, the company’s founder and CEO, describes how his company has been able to serve dog parents and their canine companions in his country as well as across the world. 

How has the COLLAR Company been able to function despite Ukraine’s military conflict with Russia? 

Despite the war in Ukraine, the COLLAR Company has worked in full capacity, releasing new collections of pet accessories and taking part in the such pet trade fair exhibitions as Interzoo, Zoomark and SuperZoo.

After months of severe disruption in 2022 due to the intense fighting in the Chernihiv region, we managed to send our first order within Ukraine on March 29. Furthermore, on April 19, 2022, our team sent a container to Japan respecting previous agreements. In June 2022, we restored almost all business and manufacturing processes. This has become possible due to the implemented inner processes, such as lean manufacturing and Kaizen, a Japanese business term for gradual changes improvements.

Being a socially responsible business, even during wartime, we created patriotic collections of pet accessories. A portion of these proceeds are donated to support demining efforts in Ukraine and to Animal Rescue Fund UA Animals. Our popular HERRRO collection was designed through a collaboration with Patron, the famous Ukrainian bomb-sniffing dog.

Over the past two years, our partnerships helped to donate pet food, WAUDOG pet accessories and SuperCat litter to animal shelters Happy Paw, Sirius and Zoopatrul UA in the Kyiv region as well as to Step to Pets in the Chernihiv region. 

COLLAR Company built the Chernihiv-Arena sports complex and developed youth sports in the native city. Though the stadium was shelled during intense fighting in Chernihiv, we worked on reconstruction of it and still conduct football classes for Chernihiv citizens. 

What are your company’s most innovative dog products? 

Our most innovative products are the dog fitness tool PULLER, our bright and eye-catching WAUDOG accessories and AiryVest, which is the world’s lightest dog coat. Depending on its size, an AiryVest weighs between 1.5 to 7 ounces. The coat is warm, reversible, functional and stylish. It is designed for active dogs – perfect for running, jumping and outdoor adventures. AiryVest is a multi-seasonal coat that is excellent for cold springs, chilly autumns and mild winters. It is easy to wash and is compact for easy storage and transportation. AiryVets comes in a wide range of sizes for any breed, from the smallest XS to the largest L. 

Why should U.S. pet retailers want to carry WAUDOG products? 

The COLLAR Company releases innovative high-quality products with unique characteristics that carry out tasks that haven’t been carried out by any other manufacturers before. As an example, EVOLUTOR, the strongest collar and leash in the world, has a direct lifetime warranty. Bright WAUDOG pet accessories have a global lifetime warranty for plastic and metal hardware. ID tags with QR passports are added to all WAUDOG products.  

Being socially responsible, the COLLAR Company conducts its social projects, supports the team and revives the Ukrainian economy. And working in business is one of the main contributions to the common victory. 

What can you tell us about the PULLER fitness tool and the World Dog Puller Championship? 

PULLER, an innovative dog fitness tool, is one of the main best-selling products. The unique concept of PULLER’s two rings lies in creating a new level of interaction between a pet parent and a dog. A fitness tool helps a dog owner control his dog’s attention and switch it from one ring to another at a time. The main Puller exercises are running, jumping and pulling. This is the way pet owners and dogs train. 

More than 100 participants will take part in the Dog Puller Championship 2023 will take place in Poland, near Wroclaw, on September 30 and October 1. The main disciplines are Running and Jumping. Furthermore, the team members can compete in additional and entertaining disciplines such as Round, Field, Mix, Pullgility I and Pullgility II.

Varvara Petrenko, president of the International Dog Puller Federation, and Serge Shkott, founder of the innovative dog fitness tool PULLER, will be present at the event. The Dog Puller World Championship is sponsored by the COLLAR Company. Official Dog Puller Federations are represented in such countries as Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Slovenia, Canada and the United States.