A good vest is a critical piece of equipment for any gun dog. On a base level, a hunting dog vest is primarily useful for protecting your dog from the elements. No matter what kind of country you hunt or species you’re after, the best dog vest will keep your dog safe and comfortable so that your pup can focus on the task at hand: hunting.
There are primarily two types of hunting dog vests: ones geared for upland hunting and ones that are made for waterfowl. Upland vests are typically light enough so that your dog can stay cool running long distances, while offering enough abrasion protection to keep it from getting cut up in vegetation or by barbed wire. These vests are typically in blaze orange or high-visibility colors. In contrast, waterfowl vests are intended to keep your dog warm while hunting cold water. These vests are typically made with neoprene, much like a wetsuit, to allow your dog to maintain a safe body temp. These vests are offered in camo patterns to keep your dog concealed from wary ducks and geese.
Whether you are looking for an upland vest, waterfowl vest, or both, we’ve got you covered. These are the best hunting dog vests on the market for all kinds of bird hunting scenarios.
Best Overall: CUGA Vest
Pros
Lightweight
Easily adjustable
Tear-resistant
Sleek design
Cons
Pricey
Not Blaze Orange
Cuga makes one heck of a vest for hunting dogs. Cuga Vests are made of 1000 Denier Cordura, which is known to be one of the most tear-resistant fabrics out there, meaning your dog won’t get cut up by underbrush and have added protection against barbed wire. At the same time, Cordura is a particularly lightweight fabric, so your dog won’t overheat on early-season hunts.
Cuga’s vests are simple but sleek in design. They provide chest and full-body protection for your dog and are secured with a simple Velcro strap on the top—which, unlike some brands’ straps, won’t get hung up on branches or other obstacles.
Cuga vests are also particularly versatile. While these are ideal for upland hunters and typically come with a high-vis design, the brand does offer a camo waterfowl version, which would be best for dry field hunters. Additionally, the brand offers important size variations, including a narrow option, which means you will likely be able to find an option for any breed of gun dog. In a world in which most vests are geared to fit labs and labs only, this adaptability is crucial for hunters with different breeds.
Best Budget: BASSDASH Dog Safety Vest
Pros
· Dirt Cheap
· Blaze Orange
· Adjustable Straps
Cons
· Thin Fabric
· Low Quality Materials
· Straps Easily Catch on Branches
BASSDASH makes the most affordable hunting dog vest on the market — and for most upland hunters and their dogs, it will get the job done. This blaze-orange vest will keep your dog field visible in the field and protect against minor cuts, as well as burdocks. It’s also lightweight and cool enough for your dog to run miles in.
Of course, you get what you pay for. The polyester fabric that these vests are made with are thinner than most hunting dog vests, and I doubt it would do much to protect your pup in the case of sharp branches or barbed wire. Additionally, the vest’s straps and latches are made with poor quality plastic and also get caught in branches when working thick cover. These vests aren’t made for waterfowl dogs.
Best Blaze Orange: Filson Dog Chest Protector
Pros
· Simple and Effective
· High Visibility
· Tough Fabric
· Prevents Overheating
Cons
· Bulky Straps
· Pricey
Filson’s Dog Chest Protector is not technically a “vest,” but it does what any good upland hunting dog vest should do: it protects your hunting buddy’s vital areas from abrasions from barbed wire and brush, and it keeps them visible in the field.
Filson is known for its use of high-quality fabric. This is demonstrated by the brand’s chest protector, which is made with a blend of acrylic cloth with a layer of antique tin cloth, making the chest protectors one of the more heavy-duty options on the market when it comes to abrasion-resistance. Additionally, because the protectors have open backs, it keeps your dog from overheating. The blaze orange is crisp and highly visible.
In terms of drawbacks, the chest protectors carry a high price tag. But my biggest qualm with them was the bulkiness of the back straps. The chest protectors are fine when your dog is hunting knee-high grass and straightforward cover, but the straps get easily hung up in nastier brush — which most bird dogs inevitably hunt.
Best for Duck Hunting: Rig ‘Em Right Bloodline Elite
Pros
· Burly Construction
· High-Quality Handle
· Extra Brush Protection
Cons
· Stiff
The Rig ‘Em Right Bloodline Elite Dog Vest has everything you could ask for when you’re considering a waterfowl vest. Primarily, this thing will keep your dog insulated in frigid water. The upper part of the vest has 3mm of neoprene, a layer of foam to aid floatation, and a heavy-duty canvas surface for protection. The bottom of half of the vest has 5mm of neoprene. You’d be hard pressed to find a waterfowl vest with better insulation than this one.
Overall, the Rig ‘Em Right Bloodline strikes me as particularly durable. The strapping mechanism uses both a zipper and Velcro, keeping you’re the vest well-secured on your vest.
Additionally, the top handle is made with paracord and feels strong in the hand, meaning you never have to worry it will break while you’re scooping your dog out of the water.
The only drawback here is the stiffness, which is largely caused by the three-layer construction of the top-half of the vest. My dog didn’t seem to mind this any—and most hunting dogs won’t—especially when I was sending him on simple water retrieves. The stiffness doesn’t make this ideal for a lot of running on dry land, at least until the vest is broken in.
Best Flotation: Paws Aboard Life Jacket
Pros
· Does the Job
· Snug Fit
· Great Value
· Breathable
Cons
· Not Made for Hunting Scenarios
The Paws Aboard Life Jacket is a phenomenal flotation assistant. This vest is not made for real hunting scenarios, in which a floating life vest is not typically used; instead, waterfowl dogs swim. But it’s still important for hunters to have the proper safety equipment for their pups in other scenarios, say when they’re motoring across big open water or going on a rafting trip. That’s where this product comes in.
The Paws Aboard Life Jacket is a no-frills flotation device. It’s super buoyant, and my dog easily paddles with his head well above the surface of the water when he wears it. These come in bright colors to prevent your dog from getting lost, and the mesh bottom keeps the dog cool during hot weather. While I won’t ever take one of these to the duck blind, I often stash it in my drift boat for summer floats on the river.
Best Neoprene: Browning Neoprene 5mm Vest
Pros
· Good Insulation
· Flexible Fabric
· Value
Cons
· Awkward Velcro Strap
· Flimsy Handle
The Browning Neoprene vest is a solid choice for a value-minded waterfowl hunter. This product is simple: it’s entirely made of 5mm neoprene, which provides a high level of insulation. The seams are secured with heavy-duty nylon stitching. The top half is covered in a camo pattern to keep ducks from flaring. And you get all of this at a reasonable price point.
My biggest frustration with this vest is its top. The Velcro strap for the most part makes it easy to affix to the vest to the dog, but one piece of it is supposed to be secured beneath the strap, which makes putting it on the dog an awkward task. The strap, for that matter, could benefit from a heavier construction.
How We Tested Hunting Dog Vests
I spent the last month assessing the best hunting dog vests of 2024 with the help of my bird dog: a 5-year-old wirehair pointing griffon named Gunney, who wore each vest in the field. As a versatile breed, Gunney hunts both upland and waterfowl, allowing us to get insight on how both types of vests functioned.
Our waterfowl vest testing was done during training sessions as the duck hunting season has yet to open in our home state of Montana. Gunney wore the vests through NAVHDA duck search and steady to blind sequences. For these vests, I assessed Gunney’s comfort level while waiting and swimming with them. I also looked at the durability of each one—would it be able to last for several hunting seasons? Was the fabric thick enough to prevent abrasions when Gunney was searching in thick cattails? Finally, I tested each one’s additional components: Was the strap sturdy enough to safely lift Gunney out of the water and into a duck boat or raised dog blind? Did the camo design help conceal the dog?
As for upland hunting vests, Gunney put them to the test in training sessions and also on early-season hunts both on Montana’s prairies for sharptails and huns and in the mountains for spruce and ruffed grouse. For these vests, it was paramount to see if Gunney was able to stay cool on early season hunts — and also to make sure the fabric helped keep him free of burrs and abrasions. Also of importance was seeing how the vests could be adapted to properly fit him—and prevent heat rash after miles of running. Finally, were the vests visible enough to keep him safe? Here's what we found.
FAQs
Q: How do you measure a dog for a hunting vest?
Each brand that makes hunting dog vests does sizing a little bit differently, so you should always consult that company’s recommendations before pulling the trigger on a purchase. That said, you will need to use a soft measuring tape on your dog, typically to measure the size of its chest just behind the front legs. Some companies also will ask you to measure the distance between the dog’s front legs to make sure the vest won’t cause a heat rash on the undersides of their front legs.
Q: Do dogs need a hunting vest?
Whether or not your dog needs to wear a hunting vest is subjective and largely depends on the conditions of each hunt. For instance, while a duck dog probably doesn’t need to wear one in warm conditions, a waterfowl vest is paramount for keeping them cold in fridgid temps. Similarly, an upland hunting dog might be fine without a vest while working knee-high grass but benefit from one for rougher cover.
Q: How do I get my dog to wear a vest?
It’s not rocket science: put the dog in the vest and do some fun training or hiking with it so it associates the vest with good things. The dog will gain comfort with the vest the more it wears it. Make sure to familiarize your dog to the vest before you actually go hunting so it’s one less variable to worry about when you’re in the field trying to kill birds.
Final Thoughts
Vests are important tools for hunting dogs, especially during nasty weather and in rugged country. Today, many brands make vests geared toward either upland or waterfowl hunting, and each type of vest plays key functions for each kind of pursuit. These are the best vests for the dogs of wingshooters of all stripes.
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