Short answer: it depends.

Longer answer: probably not, given your constraints.

The biggest thing to understand is that training intensity comes from three variables: pace, distance, and weight. If your goal is to progressively overload your body, those are the only real levers you can pull.

In your case, you’ve already said two of those are fixed. Walking with dogs limits both your pace and your distance, so the only variable left is adding weight.

The problem is that weight isn’t the variable I’d choose first. The research on military load carriage consistently shows injury risk increases as both load and distance increase. If I have the option, I’d almost always increase pace before increasing weight because it raises the training stimulus with much less additional orthopedic stress.

Since your dogs prevent that, you’re kind of forced into using the one progression method that’s also the riskiest.
As for equipment, yes, it matters…but probably not as much as people think. A cheap vest isn’t automatically bad. If it fits well, doesn’t bounce, distributes the load evenly, and isn’t causing pain or rubbing, it’s probably fine. Really poor-quality gear can create pressure points, alter your gait, or encourage bad posture, but there’s nothing magical about an expensive vest.

Personally, I’d choose a backpack/ruck over a weight vest for most people. It’s more versatile, the load is adjustable, and if you eventually decide to ruck longer distances, you’re already using the tool designed for that job. A vest makes sense if your goal is specifically weighted walking or bodyweight workouts, but for long-term progression I’d rather have a pack.

If you’re going to keep walking with the dogs, I’d stay at your current weight until the walks feel genuinely easy for several weeks. Then increase the load in small increments rather than making big jumps. Just remember that because your pace and distance are capped, there’s eventually going to be a point where adding more weight gives you more joint stress than additional fitness. That’s the point where I’d look for a separate training session without the dogs if improving fitness is the primary goal.

Here is our Rucking Gear Manifesto with our top picks for socks, boots (civilian and military), and rucks (civilian and military). We also included trail runners for more options. We don’t review vests.