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You know, I think you're the first dog I've met that didn't try to eat me.[1]— The Lone Wanderer's relief over finding the friendly dog

Dogmeat is a possible companion of the Lone Wanderer in 2277.

Background[]

A clever and loyal animal, Dogmeat is a skilled scavenger and a fierce fighter, skills that were not lost on his previous owner, who was killed by raiders in the vicinity of the Capital Wasteland scrapyard.[Non-game 1] He has "good teeth and strong claws", according to the Lone Wanderer.[2] He is quite fast and agile and nicely complements the Lone Wanderer by being able to quickly close in and attack enemies.

Interactions with the player character[]

Interactions overview[]

Interactions
Paving the Way
This character is a permanent companion.

Effects of player's actions[]

  • Dogmeat is found in the scrapyard, fighting off several raiders who killed the dog's prior owner. He may also be found fighting super mutants in a random place at The Mall. Regardless of any other companion or Karma level, Dogmeat can be recruited without incident.
    • If the event to encounter him is triggered and the Lone Wanderer does not approach him, he may wander off and be found elsewhere on the map.
  • Shooting Dogmeat in the initial encounter without talking to him will make it impossible to recruit him unless the Puppies! perk was taken.

Other interactions[]

Notes[]

  • If enemies are nearby, Dogmeat will growl.
  • When instructed to find something, Dogmeat is capable of bypassing locked containers and doors, allowing access to items in containers beyond the Lone Wanderer's ability to pick.
  • Dogmeat can sometimes go missing for long periods of time when asked to find something, sometimes even days. He may be found in the area around Vault 101 in this scenario.
  • At level 22 (with the Broken Steel add-on installed), the Puppies! perk can be taken so that when Dogmeat dies, a puppy appears at the main door of Vault 101.
    • The Puppies! perk has a second, unintended use that makes it possible to recruit multiple followers. See Fallout 3 exploits for more details.
  • In Dogmeat's dialogue, there are "Scold" and "Praise" options. These have no effect.
  • If Dogmeat is told to wait in Megaton, and then the town is blown up, Dogmeat will still be alive outside of the Megaton ruins afterward.
  • With Broken Steel installed, Dogmeat (along with other companions), will gain a large amount of health every time the Lone Wanderer levels up. This happens even if the Lone Wanderer hasn't yet collected Dogmeat (otherwise, Dogmeat would be too weak to be of much use if the Lone Wanderer levels up several times before picking him up).
  • If Dogmeat is not present at the scrapyard, he should re-appear after a few hours by waiting.
  • Dogmeat appears in the ending cut-scenes, even if he is never met/interacted with at any point in the game.

Appearances[]

This Dogmeat appears only in Fallout 3.

Behind the scenes[]

  • Before the release of Fallout 3, the process of how to recruit Dogmeat had only been shown as a small clip as the Lone Wanderer holds something out to the wounded dog, although the item is never revealed. Dogmeat was initially to be found in a random encounter, appearing early on to help develop the Lone Wanderer's bond with the dog.
  • His right eye is brown, while his left eye is blue, which is known as complete heterochromia.

Bugs[]

  • PCPC Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 In Little Lamplight, if Dogmeat is following you and you go into the testing chamber to explore, Dogmeat may appear dead while exiting. Then while leaving a room or house, Dogmeat's dead body will spawn outside next to where you entered. Dogmeat may or may not take up a character slot after dying this way. Dogmeat will also still be shown blinking. This also can happen to Jericho. [verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 During the Blood Ties quest Dogmeat may disappear from the game after talking with Vance about making a deal with Arefu. Loading a previous save doesn't fix the bug. [verified]
  • Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 The game might crash if you try to talk to Dogmeat while the battle is still ongoing in the Scrapyard. [verified]
  • Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 Through the use of the Paralyzing perk (or any weapon with a knockdown effect), Dogmeat can store items whose weight total exceeds 10,000 lbs. However, asking him to fetch you an item at any time will return all stored items. If you ask Dogmeat to return to Vault 101, you can pickpocket him and store items too. [verified]
  • PCPC Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 Dogmeat's Inventory can be accessed any time after he has been told to "Go wait by Vault 101," simply by a standard pickpocket maneuver. The game will treat Dogmeat the same as any NPC whom is pickpocketed, so the player character can be caught. This will temporarily block from re-attempting accessing his inventory but can be completely avoided by saving and reverting. This may result in a karma loss. [verified]
  • Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Despite being sent back to Vault 101, Dogmeat has shown up inside of the West residence in Arefu. After going outside, Dogmeat does not follow. [verified]
  • PCPC Dogmeat has appeared in Pilgrim's Landing during the quest Thought Control. [verified]
  • PCPC Attacking Dogmeat until he becomes hostile and then putting away your weapons will result in Dogmeat walking back to Vault 101. [verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 After leaving Vault 101 for the first time, Dogmeat can be found outside, sometimes clipping into the ground. If interacted with, no dialogue options will appear and will not be recruitable as a companion, even if the player goes to the scrapyard. [verified]
  • PCPC Xbox 360Xbox 360 If the player character kills an enemy while Dogmeat is attacking them, he will not notice that the enemy is already dead and keep attacking the corpse even past it being mutilated. [verified]
  • Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 Dogmeat can be brought to Point Lookout by having him search for an item just before sleeping on the cot in the Duchess Gambit. He will approach the player in Point Lookout after six days. He can be returned to the Capital Wasteland simply by taking the Duchess back, resulting in him automatically waiting at Vault 101. This may not work until Nadine has control of the Duchess. [verified]
  • PCPC When exiting conversation initiated while he is searching for a nearby hostile, Dogmeat's growling becomes greatly louder for a few seconds before returning to it's normal volume.

Gallery[]

External links[]

References[]

  1. Dogmeat's dialogue
  2. The Lone Wanderer: "Good teeth, strong claws. You're a fighting dog, aren't you?"
    Dogmeat: "<bark> <bark!>"
    (Dogmeat's dialogue)

Non-game

  1. Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition, p. 70: "Dogmeat
    An affectionate and dextrous puppy, Dogmeat's skills as a four-legged scavenger and ferocious fighting companion were not lost on his first master, who was recently killed by Raiders in the vicinity of the Scrapyard. Dogmeat has tracked the Raiders down, loyal to the end."
    (Fallout 3 Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition Wasteland Census)
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