Dogmeat (Fallout 3)

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

Background
His name is a homage to the Dogmeat from the first Fallout and, according to the developers, he's the descendant of the Vault Dweller's original canine companion that died in a horrible accident involving a force field.

Quests

 * Dogmeat will return to Vault 101 when the player is captured and taken to Raven Rock, when entering the pod at Vault 112 for the Tranquility Lane simulation, entering the Operation: Anchorage simulation pod, leaving for The Pitt, going to Point Lookout on the Duchess Gambit, when abducted by aliens in Mothership Zeta or turning on the purifier in Take It Back!. Sometimes it takes several days for Dogmeat to return to Vault 101.

Other interactions

 * Recruiting Dogmeat: Dogmeat is found in the Scrapyard south of Minefield fighting several raiders. He will join your party regardless of your karma. If the player reaches the Scrapyard and does not enter it, or somehow manages to pass by and trigger the event without speaking to Dogmeat, it is still possible to encounter him later in a random encounter. If Dogmeat is recruited after downloading the add-on Broken Steel, Dogmeat levels with the player and will have a massive amount of health.
 * Shooting Dogmeat in the initial encounter without talking to him will make it impossible for the player to recruit him. He will appear outside Vault 101, but cannot be engaged in dialogue.
 * Retrieving items: Dogmeat can be used to fetch supplies, such as ammunition, chems, food or weapons, and he is able to bypass locked containers to get them. He can even enter Vault 101 if asked to search for something.
 * Combat: If enemies are nearby, Dogmeat will growl. Since he's coded to be a higher priority target than the player's character, Dogmeat will draw attackers' attention away from the player character. Dogmeat has a faster running speed than most humans and can run them down if they're fleeing.
 * Dogmeat and other followers: If Dogmeat is in your party, you can still have another follower.
 * In Dogmeat's dialogue, there are "Scold" and "Praise" options. These however, do nothing at all and appear to be there purely for flavor.
 * If the user opts for the Puppies! perk then after his death, Dogmeat's Puppy spawns at the location of his death and/or in front of Vault 101. Exploitation of this perk is probably the easiest way to get multiple followers.
 * It is worth noting that if paralized (though use of the paralizing palm perk), the player can then activate Dogmeat and store items whose weight total exceeds 9000lbs. Asking him to fetch you an item at any time after he recovers will return all stored items. (Tested on 360 Only...)

Bugs

 * If Dogmeat is following you, he will be stuck in the doorway leading out of your room after you sleep in My Megaton House. This is easily fixed by simply telling him to go find something, like ammo or food. When he starts to run, simply catch up and tell him to stop looking.
 * There is a bug where, when exiting conversation, Dogmeat will cock his head and be silent, but subtitle text will appear saying: "Come back if you need something."
 * In Little Lamplight, if Dogmeat is following you, and you go into the testing chamber to explore, Dogmeat may appear dead while exiting. Example: When you realize Dogmeat is not following you, then you go back to check on him Dogmeat will appear dead. Then, while leaving a room, or house, Dogmeats dead body will spawn outside next to where you entered. This bug does not mention to you that Dogmeat has been killed-so Dogmeats body will take up a companion slot.
 * When exiting the Dunwich Building, Dogmeat sometimes will not exit with you. He will still be inside if you go back in, but will not exit with you. Simply telling Dogmeat to meet you at Vault 101, and exiting, will allow you to reunite with him.

Appearances
This Dogmeat only appears 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 player holds something out to the wounded dog. The item is not revealed. Dogmeat was said to be found in a random encounter, which would appear in different places depending on where the player ventures to, but was meant to appear early on to help develop your bond with the dog. This was scrapped in the released game.
 * In the the 1976 post-apocalyptic movie A Boy and His Dog, the main character calls his dog "dog meat" when angry with him.
 * Dogmeat is modeled after the dog in the movie Mad Max 2 (aka The Road Warrior). The main character Max, played by Mel Gibson, had a dog that wandered with him. Dogmeat is the same breed as Max's dog, an Australian cattle dog.
 * There is a viral hoax that Dogmeat can use the Wazer Wifle. See Wazer Wifle hoax.

Gallery
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