This page is about the Fallout and Fallout 2 character. For other characters and items with this name, see Dogmeat.
“I wouldn't trust that beast if I were you. That thing is a killer.”— Phil
Dogmeat is a dog that can be found in Junktown in 2161. He can be found terrorizing Phil, an old man in Junktown, by remaining at the doorway to his house and keeping him out. The Vault Dweller can distract him for the old man and, by doing this, recruit him as a companion.
His previous owner had been killed by thugs hired by Gizmo (most likely the Skulz) about a month before Dogmeat met the Vault Dweller. According to the Fallout Bible, the two met on December 30, 2161.[Bible 2]
In Fallout, Dogmeat's combat AI would reliably compel him to run into forcefields at Mariposa and die. In the Vault Dweller's memoirs, this was revealed to be the character's canonical fate.
Dogmeat returns as a companion in Fallout 2. He can be found in the Café of Broken Dreams, an easter egg special encounter in which the player finds a diner in the desert, where wastelanders congregate from across time and space. Dogmeat will travel with the Chosen One if they interact with him while wearing their ancestral Vault 13 jumpsuit.
He can be recruited by giving him an iguana-on-a-stick or wearing a leather jacket (his previous owner wore one according to Phil) to distract Dogmeat from Phil's house in Junktown.
He is incredibly effective in combat, as he can do three medium to high damage attacks per turn, and has the same number of HP as an adult male NPC. However, one should think carefully before getting him to follow them. He will become a follower, but will not behave like other non-player characters in Fallout, he cannot be given directions or asked to leave/wait. In order to disband Dogmeat, he has to die. This can be a difficult task for low-level characters because it is impossible to talk to Dogmeat and give him orders like with normal companions in the first Fallout.
If Katja and Dogmeat are both following the Vault Dweller, Katja will say "I hate dogs" repeatedly.
Dogmeat can be found in the special encounterCafé of Broken Dreams. He can be recruited by the Chosen One, by simply showing their Vault 13 jumpsuit (in other words, undress) and speaking to the dog. Dogmeat will remember the Vault Dweller from Fallout and join the PC. When not in the player character's party, Dogmeat fights for the NCR. If he is dismissed and the player character's NCR reputation is low enough, he might charge at them.
Dogmeat was made even more powerful than his past version. It is not uncommon to see Dogmeat move obscene distances and attack five to six times during his turn. He was also given normal scripting commands like the other non-player characters in the game, and this means the player character can command Dogmeat the same as they would command, for example, Sulik.
Attacking Dogmeat at the Café in Fallout 2 may spawn Mel, a man with a strange accent, who claims to be Dogmeat's owner. Mel will defend Dogmeat in combat.
Mel fits the description given of Dogmeat's previous owner in Fallout.
Dogmeat can be obtained as a follower in both games regardless of the player character's general Karma, though he will attack the Chosen One if they have a low enough NCR rep. This can happen upon dismissing Dogmeat from the party as well.
Unlike humanoid companions, Dogmeat cannot wear armor, equip weapons, or use items. He has a Damage Resistance & Damage Threshold equivalent to leather armor. He can be administered stimpaks by the player character.
Dogmeat is named for the titular dog in the 1975 movie A Boy and His Dog, based on the novel by the famed sci-fi author Harlan Ellison. Its plot concerns an apparently psychic dog conversing with the human Vic as they both scour the wasteland for food and women. The dog's name was "Blood," but Vic also called him "Dogmeat."
In practice, Dogmeat strongly evokes Mad Max 2 (aka The Road Warrior) as well as A Boy and His Dog. Both movies famously featured a lone wanderer and his dog companion in a post-apocalyptic world.
Phil describes Dogmeat's former owner in the original Fallout as fitting the description of Max in Road Warrior: "Oh, the guy was tall, dark-haired with a little graying around the edges. He was dressed all in black leather, like that's a good idea in the desert, and carried a shotgun."
Scott Bennie was the designer who arrived at the name "Dogmeat." The name was initially applied to Jacob's dog in the Hub, previously named Dogshit. Later, the name was applied to the companion dog by either Tim Cain or Jason Anderson.[Bible 3]