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For an overview page of this creature as it appears in the Fallout series, see dog.
“The Wasteland is home to a variety of dogs, from vicious wild curs to trained attack hounds.”— Loading screen
Dogs are animals that can be found in Fallout 4, and act as companions towards humans. There are a few different distinct breeds of dogs, Dogmeat for example is a German Shepherd Dog that may be a companion to the Sole Survivor.
Most commonly seen as feral beasts that plague the wastes and kill livestock, they are necessary for many struggling wastelanders. There is also the rare cases of domestic breeds that act as companions towards their human counterparts.
Humans are the only species known to truly tame and domesticate these canines. Although other types of sub/meta-humans show an interest in doing the same, dogs of all types, including feral dogs, are well-known to attack or flee from them on sight.
Characteristics
Biology
Through the 200 years since the Great War, dogs have remained relatively unaltered by radiation. Other than that, there is no reason to believe that the biology of dogs in the Fallout universe differs from dogs in the real world, besides having a rougher appearance than domesticated dogs, unsurprising in the harshness of the Wasteland.
Two mutated counterparts of dogs can be found in the Commonwealth: the ghoulish mongrels and the FEV-exposed hounds.
Gameplay attributes
Dogs, unlike in previous Fallout games, have special animations where they can grapple enemies down to the ground and hold them in place allowing their masters a brief advantage in combat.
Variants
Attack dog
Attack dogs are domesticated dogs, with a degree of training. They are usually seen in raider camps or with Gunners and Minutemen.
Found in the Bradberton Amphitheater, these dogs are owned by The Pack. They will turn hostile if The Pack is attacked. These dogs can either be mongrels or junkyard dogs, and often have dog armor equipped. They can spawn battling in the cage fight arena against other entities such as pack captives, or be wandering around the amphitheater.
Kyle - Abandoned dog at the Neponset Park overpass.
Junkyard dog - Possible purchase via a random encounter with the dogs owner/ breeder, Gene. The junkyard dog is not a companion but rather assigned (like a settler) to any Settlement. When the dog arrives the designated settlement receives 5 Defense rating buff. (Looks vary at random from Rottweiler to mutt) and as a level 1, has 180 Hit Points so most likely actively defends the settlement also. (This is repeatable and will have a new dog to sell on each encounter)
Finding armor on killed attack dogs, normally found accompanying raiders, will allow one to equip it on Dogmeat. However, no resistance is gained by equipping them.
Dogs can be caught for a settlement using dog cages included as part of Wasteland Workshop. Caught dogs will increase a settlement's happiness and defense levels.
Some pack dogs are actually trained mongrels, while others are simply junkyard dogs.
Duke - Possible purchase via Erickson in Horizon Flight 1207, fills the same role as a junkyard dog.
