Talk:Dogmeat (Fallout 3)

Questions.
I have a question about the box in which it says Copmanion, Essential, Doctor ETC. In that box, how do you make it have a tick or check mark. I also made an article on a follower, Charon, but I don't know how to tick the box that says Companion.

Thanks

OzzyFallout 07:10, July 13, 2010 (UTC)


 * You want something like:

((Interactions FO3 |essential      =Until recruited by the player ... |temp companion =no |perm companion =yes ... ))


 * replace the (( by two "{" and the )) by two "}"


 * HughesJohn 08:46, June 27, 2011 (UTC)

merge
Why are Dogmeat and Dogfmeant (Fallout 3) different articles? Should we perhaps merge them? 18:15, July 14, 2010 (UTC)


 * Hmm, maybe they should be merged. I don't know if F3 Dogmeat is supposed to be a different dog since he ended up on the east coast, but I think it's more like just a reference to the original games. Although other creatures that appear in multiple games like centaur and mole rat have one article encompassing the 3 games. I'd be for it. 18:47, July 14, 2010 (UTC)
 * I too personally think they ought to be merged.
 * I too personally think they ought to be merged.
 * I too personally think they ought to be merged.
 * I too personally think they ought to be merged.
 * I too personally think they ought to be merged.

According to cannon the dog is actually a decendant of F1's Dogmeat.

Dogmeat's leveling
In the "recruiting dogmeat" section, it tells about how if he is recruited after broken steel is installed he will be basically indestructable. Why is this not under the "Bugs" section? Is anyone willing to argue that the fact that Dogmeat can be invincible and ungodly powerful isn't a glitch? That should be moved.

Because it is not a glitch. KaisarDragon 14:29, July 26, 2010 (UTC)

Really? you don't think the fact that even though dogmeat originally was supposed to have 500 health, but if you find him after installing broken steel he'll be indestructable isn't a glitch? I mean at level 5 under this condition he can take 3+ giant radscorpions, multiple deathclaws, an entire enclave squad, entire towns, basically anything in the game but certain behemoths (because they keep knocking him down) all by himself with no help from the player. This was very obviously not intended by the developers. He's supposed to level with the player starting at level 20 (which is what happens if you find him before installing broken steel), but instead if you find him after installing broken steel, his health multiplies with each level making him an invincible dog. HOW IS THAT NOT A GLITCH?

IT's simple. If he did not level with the player he would be utterly useless as anything but player home decoration. He would get killed so easily out in the wastes as the player and the enemies level. Thusly, Bethesda programmed him to level as well. They built him so that players won't find him useless and leave him to starve in that junk yard. Perhaps you never noticed how the player is also similarly nearly indestructible? High level + stimpak quick key = you can't be harmed. TestECull

No, sorry you're wrong. Nobody intended for Dogmeat to be invincible. What would be the point of even playing if everywhere you went, your invincible dog just killed off all the enemies for you, (even entire towns, behemoths, groups of multiple overlords). Did you actually fully read the paragraph that I wrote above? "He's supposed to level with the player starting at level 20 (which is what happens if you find him before installing broken steel), but instead if you find him after installing broken steel, his health multiplies with each level making him an invincible dog". When I said that I wasn't guessing, that's been confirmed. Once again, he's supposed to gain health as the player levels, starting at level 20, but instead (when this glitch is active) his health multiplies every level starting at level 1. Don't you get it? it's a glitch.

and sure, yeah the player can save up stimpaks, and therefore essentially have extreme health, but only if the player works to build up endurance and collect a good amount of stimpaks which might not be too hard to find, but if you just constantly use them, you WILL run out. Regardless, the player is not invincible either way. by level 20 or so, (with this glitch) Dogmeat can survive roughly 10-15 (maybe more) direct fatman shots, while the player at the same level usually wouldn't even survive one. & he's a dog for god's sake. It is a glitch.

I'm not a developer or anything, but this definately sounds like a glitch. This was probably a simple programming error, even though it has a huge effect on Dogmeat. I don't see why the developers would want Dogmeat to be invincible, especially considering how this is caused by Broken Steel which also included with the Puppies Perk. If Domeat was meant to be invincible and unable to die, what would be the point of "Puppies", a perk that can only be used when Dogmeat dies.B2tg 02:04, August 9, 2010 (UTC)

As a modder, I know a little bit about NPC and creature level scaling; and I can say with the confidence that comes with that knowledge, that this IS a glitch. They set his scaling to use his base HP with a minimum level of 5 and a base health of 500; this gives him 100 health per level, up to 3000 at level 30. What they probably meant to do is give him a base health of 100 and a minimum level of 5; this would give him 20 HP per level, maxing out at 600 at level 30. A similar thing goes for his damage; he deals 5 damage/hit per level, up to 150/hit at level 30, when it probably should have been 1 damage/hit per level, maxing out at 30 damage/hit at level 30. That's just the impression I get looking at the data in FO3Edit which shows the original and the Broken Steel data side-by-side. Without Broken Steel, he's always level 5 with 500 health, and deals 5 damage/hit. Kris  mailbox  02:20, August 9, 2010 (UTC)

Yes... Thank you! Finally someone else gets it. B2tg 04:12, August 10, 2010 (UTC)

It might not be a bug because not only does dogmeat become invincible at level 30 but so does fawkes he becomes stronger then any thing in the game and there is no possible way of killing him without console command. Same thing with sergent R-L3. Really any follower that is classified as a creature becomes invincible at level 30.

He's invincible. I once had 8 overlords tagging me. For some reason, the muties stop firing on me. I turn around to see a truly incredible sight. One bugger was lying on the pavement, dead. The rest of them were mobbing something that was friendly. I go in to VATS, ready to pulverise all of them with a Fat Man shot. Sweeping the area (holding down the VATS button) I notice a dog-like shape in the circle of Super Mutants. Name: Dogmeat. As most of you know, Broken Steel makes stuff invincible. I save, then proceed to launch a Mini Nuke into the forray of mutated vermin. The overlords go flying, and i hear a yelp. There he is, standing there like I hit him with a teddy. MPLX Fantasurge 09:46, September 3, 2010 (UTC)


 * Lol, not necessarily 'invincible,' but really strong. Who knew man's best friend could be a super mutant's worst enemy! Chuckalakala 12:27, September 5, 2010 (UTC)
 * he is not invincible, he just has thousands of hp, and heals after combat. if you continuously shoot him, he will die eventually (took me 6 shots from the MIRV, and 40 bottlecap mines)
 * Dogmeat can take a shot from the Mysterious Stranger's .44, provided it isn't a headshot. That's pretty ridiculous. Obviously a glitch.John Larson 06:40, September 12, 2010 (UTC)
 * he is not invincible, he just has thousands of hp, and heals after combat. if you continuously shoot him, he will die eventually (took me 6 shots from the MIRV, and 40 bottlecap mines)
 * Dogmeat can take a shot from the Mysterious Stranger's .44, provided it isn't a headshot. That's pretty ridiculous. Obviously a glitch.John Larson 06:40, September 12, 2010 (UTC)
 * Dogmeat can take a shot from the Mysterious Stranger's .44, provided it isn't a headshot. That's pretty ridiculous. Obviously a glitch.John Larson 06:40, September 12, 2010 (UTC)
 * Dogmeat can take a shot from the Mysterious Stranger's .44, provided it isn't a headshot. That's pretty ridiculous. Obviously a glitch.John Larson 06:40, September 12, 2010 (UTC)

The only time he did die was when i was level 4, entering the Deathclaw Sanctuary. They mobbed him, so I pegged a nade into the group. But still the Claws killed him before the frag.--MPLX Fantasurge 01:48, October 10, 2010 (UTC)

For me it is a bug too. And as a side effect it makes the puppies perk useless ( as Dogmeat will never die on it's own) and sometimes buggy when it takes a companion slot. as all creature companions (Fawkes, RL3) share the same bug it is not specific to Dogmeat, but it is too bad. Well perhaps not for some players who enjoy to just sit back and watch their invunerable companion beat the game. But not for me. I usually like some challenge in games.90.19.204.149 08:24, October 25, 2010 (UTC)

What exactly does "levels with the player" mean? Does that mean everytime I get a level up, he gets one while he is with me (ie. I get when I'm lvl 10, he stays alive my next 20 lvl ups -> I'm 30, he's 21) or does that mean player lvl = Dogmeat lvl (ie. I get him with lvl 10 and get a lvl 10 Dogmeat who always has the same lvl I do no matter how often I leave him behind or he dies and gets repuppied) or does that mean while hes roaming around with me he gets exp for his kills (ie. lvls up whenever he has enough exp, independently from me)? Maybe it's just me but I find "levels with the player" is a mighty ambiguous expression. Shiriki 23:00 November 4, 2010 (UTC)

Personally, I don't have anything against this. Before Broken Steel, I didn't want to use Dogmeat because I was afraid he would get killed by enemies, or by friendly fire. Now, I can bring him down town and not have to fear him getting blown to bits by muties. 95.109.102.252 16:33, May 6, 2011 (UTC)

Sorry if I'm late,but I saw those two people's argument,This is a fact: Dogmeat levels with the player simultaneously when you download the "Broken Steel" add-on. He can level up to 30.And be very well,"indestructible" Although,if you have Fawkes,his HP level will increase to 15,000 + All followers level up with the player.And also,if you do have dogmeat,use him as a guard dog for your house,one time,Lucas Simms sits down in a chair on my patio,Dogmeat growls,and Simms got up and walked away.So if you have him,tell him to wait in megaton,your suite,or your whatever you camp or live at.So when you have add-ons,the best thought is to have Fawkes with you,(he'll be quite useful in Anchorage and Point Lookout)So In my opinion,just don't use Dogmeat unless you want to find something.Say you want the Victory Rifle,and you don't have a 100 lock-pick skill like I do,he can actually get it!

Dogmeat to the rescue?
Has anyone ever had an experience where Dogmeat will come to your rescue? I was doing the Waters of Life quest and I made it to the Taft Tunnel when Dogmeat shows up behind me. I told him to wait at the Megaton House and didn't bring him along. I'm playing the GOTY Edition on the 360. Chief z 11:27, July 27, 2010 (UTC)
 * That's a follower bug related to that quest. See The Waters of Life for more info. Kris (talk) 13:07, July 27, 2010 (UTC)
 * Ah, guess I didn't see that one there. Chief z 22:37, July 29, 2010 (UTC)

Happened to me. Then he kept following me until I finished the game. I lost him. Sad, I recruited Fawkes. I had Paladin Cross with me so I had to fire her. Suddenly, I get the feeling to defeat all the Behemoths. I killed two so I start at Jury Street Metro. Closest place? Vault 101. Fast Travel there and "Pant-Pant" Dogmeat initiates me in dialouge. I'm so happy and I got two followers. Plus, I guess there's another bug. It says my dog is Dogmeat, but when I tell him to come, it says "Come, Pup, let's get moving." (I have Puppies! perk.) Dogmeat has taught me to love, by abandoning me, then scaring the crap out of me. The Unknown User 03:32, November 28, 2010 (UTC)
 * That's not really a bug by calling him "pup", your character always says that--Icommandoxx 17:53, March 6, 2011 (UTC)icommandoxx

Dogmeat not at scrapyard
I played every add on and the main quest with no followers. And then one day i found scrapyard. And dogmeat wasnt there. Nor was he by Vault 101. Where might he be?

More than likely you accidently came into close range of Dogmeat at some point during your playthrough without realizing it, having no interaction with him. If that's what happened, it should have caused Dogmeat to begin wandering, which means if he's not at Vault 101, he's out in the wasteland somewhere. because you didn't interact with him yet, he is marked "essential" and will not be able to die. If by chance the game pops up with a little notification in the top left saying "Domeat is unconscious", that means he's close by (near some enemies obviously). If you definately never interacted with him, then he IS still alive, and you will should randomly encounter him somewhere at ''sometime. B2tg 01:56, August 9, 2010 (UTC)''

Did not find him at the Scrapyard. Saw the message "Dogmeat is unconscious," in Chryslus building. Located him, saved him, engaged him, and asked him to return to Vault 101. However, I cannot find him at the Vault 101 Entrance. Where might he be? Wandering?

When I first played, I never went near scrapyard. Then, right after I finished the quest Those!, he ran up to me and joined me then. But, when I made a new file (I had messed up that one), it didn't happen. Weird?

lost dogmeat
I went to the point lookout expansion and it told me that Dogmeat would be waiting for me outside of vault 101, and whenever I returned sure enough he was waiting on me at the vault 101 entrance and I recruited him again, I eventually had to go back to point lookout and just went to the cot and slept on the boat and it told me that he would be waiting at vault 101 again, however whenever I returned he wasn't and I still haven't been able to locate him, any ideas?

That happened to me to i did not want him to be killed by super mutants so I told him to wait at vault 101 then later on I went to vault 101 and he was not their have and ideas?

I have had a similair problem: I return to vault 87 with Fawkes to hack some terminals and pick-lock doors that I couldn't in the "picking up the trail quest" So...I go near the room with high amounts of radiation and I find Dogmeat breathing more heavily than usual,he is waiting...Before this happend I told him to stay at the house in Megaton,(I always do that,because I don't have add-ons and he might die due to low Hit points.) And I talk to him,he then makes a happy grunting noise as usual when I show up. So I tell him to stop waiting,and then I think to myself saying..."How the f**k did he get here?" I take him to lamplight cavern and then he's there,I exit the caverns,then he is not by my side,Fawkes is here,but Dogmeat is gone.I then re-load my save file at Megaton and see that he's at my house.Then I go back to my file,and Dogmeat,again is not there. Then,Blasting loud like a Fat Man up close,I hear Dogmeat howling as if he were killed.I went back to my file and never returned to vault 87 again,because I know Dogmeat would be wiped out of Fallout.Ha ha,so then after this,I asked myself,"Could,"My Megaton House" be linked with "Test labs" from Vault 87?" Hmm....

dogmeat is a bad dog!!
i reciently started a new game because i messed up some savedgames, i went over for dogmeat but when i tell him to stay, go to vault, look for something, he keep following me, any ideas??

Dogmeat in Point Lookout
Okay, since it's at lot easier to actually have a discussion on the talk page than when reverting things, let me lay out my issue with the note about getting Dogmeat to follow you to Point Lookout. Currently it reads: "There is also another glitch to get dogmeat to follow you to Point Lookout. When you wait by the boat that takes you to point lookout, ask Dogmeat (or his puppy) to look for ammo or chems. Then travel to Point Lookout and wait about 2 days. He should then appear in Point Lookout."

The issue I have with this is that, so far, I have found exactly nothing which backs this up. Nothing. I've scoured the web for references to this process being how you get Dogmeat to show up; the only things I found were some comments on related YouTube videos and this entry on the playstation forums, which essentially just restates the above quote. I've tried doing the described process myself with various adjustments and permutations with no success (the closest I got was Dogmeat giving me the Whiskey he found after the fade to black before travel, but he still did not show up in Point Lookout).

Then there's the source of the information itself; it appears it was added on July 18 of this year by an (apparently illiterate) anonymous user. The text was later cleaned up by another anon, but that's it. The information was not discussed, sourced, or even (initially) presented with punctuation, and yet for some reason nobody bothered to verify the information or even discuss it.

Now at this point I realize that I was trimming the whole section, and with it all mention of Dogmeat appearing in Point Lookout at all. I was doing this under the mistaken assumption that text to that effect was already in there, so... oops, my bad. That at least is handily verified with not one but two YouTube videos for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game. Still, I've yet to find anything to show how this glitch is reproducible. Obviously it happens, but there's nothing that shows a consistent way to make it happen.

So, yes, that's why I keep removing that chunk of text. -- Yukichigai 00:48, September 29, 2010 (UTC)
 * Good reasoning, good process. And thanks for explaining on the talk page. Keep up the good work. Cheers.--Gothemasticator 02:14, September 29, 2010 (UTC)


 * I agree, good reasoning. I'll try to force it to happen and, if successful, will post a video on youtube as proof. Wanderer from DK 15:48, October 23, 2010 (UTC)

BUG
Vanilla F3, no DLCs or patches for that matter. Dogmeat dies, relentlessly gunned down by those Mutie bastards. I take the dog meat of his body, ready to honour it. Opening up the Pip-boy I fast travel to Megaton. When I arrived, there was a dog around 2 feet down from me. It was Dogmeat, albeit a bit retarded. His body was angled, and his mouth was moving. I talk to him, and the search menu comes up. WTF? Also, I was doing Reillys Rangers, and I fast traveled to the hospital. A big textureless grey blob goes into the air. And his head was f***ing round! If anyone can confirm. And even when I got all DLCs, he was still bugged. If anyone can confirm... --MPLX Fantasurge 01:46, October 10, 2010 (UTC)

Dogmeat Randomly Died
I was about to start the Waters of Life quest, while i was in the Jefferson Memorial i told dogmeat to go back to vault 101 due to the fact that i didn't know he was invincible, after the quest i traveled back to 101 and he wasn't there after i completed the main quest and got the Puppies! perk i went back to the vault and HIS PUPPY WAS THERE even though it NEVER said the notification "Dogmeat has died" I got his puppy with me now, so it's not a problem for me anymore i just wanted to point this out.--BadAssFawkes 21:15, October 12, 2010 (UTC)

PS3 GOTY Dogmeat is definitely not invincible
Dogmeat is definitely not invincible as I have had him be killed by a mere ghoul roamer in Red Racer Factory. I got him at level 4 and I am now level 13 and for some reason his has a much harder time of dispatching enemies as when I had him with my previous character. I have also never been able to use him as a pack mule since he always catches me attempting to pickpocket him, this with sneak of 100 and the Chinese Stealth suit. One item that should be mentioned is that for stealthy characters he is a severe hindrance since he follows directly behind you, you will always catch a shot meant for him. My current character is an attempt to prolong level-up as much as possible and for this Dogmeat is useful since whatever he kills does not count as experience points. In order to accomplish this I first scope out the targets, tell Dogmeat to wait, go pickpocket the targets, then go back and get dogmeat, then run directly to the enemy to let Dogmeat engage them. It really is pretty funny when heavily armed raiders are reduced to hand combat cause I stole all their ammo!192.18.43.225 01:43, November 4, 2010 (UTC)Alexi

I think you need to recruit him after completing the last mission of the main game, and THEN he will be under the "effects" of the glitch... I also have the PS3 GOTY version and i recruited him after the last mision before Broken Steel... and he's really something! I saw him take down a Mirelurk hunter in seconds! SomeGuy

End Report from "SomeGuy"......

No,actually he can be invincible,IF you install Broken Steel. Without Broken Steel before you recruit him,he will be in fact indestructible,although when you recruit him you'll be given the option to supply him with a stimpack.

Mystery dogmeat
I've never been near the scrapyard in the game I'm playing now. Mostly I've been cleaning out the metropolitan area and am now at Level 18.

Three Dog gave me the location of Hamilton's hideaway and so I decide to check that out. Wandering around in that general area, I find Hallowed Moors cemetery and hear the crying of the captive in the church, so I decide to rescue her. I dispose of two of the three Super Mutants here by sniping them with the dart gun repeatedly until they die of poisoning, but the third one, a Super Mutant Master with a minigun, is a tougher proposition and we get into a bit of a dodge-around in the dead trees in front of the chapel. While I'm dealing with him, using mostly a gatling laser picked up from some raiders earlier, I hear a loud growling from behind me. Of course I spin and blast the dog, which I assume is a vicious wild one about to jump me from the rear. Whoops! it's Dogmeat, of all creatures. and now of course totally pissed off at me for being blasted. On top of that, he's still tagged Essential so he's invulnerable -- and hunting me. Any suggestions? Is there a console command to reset his interactions? Wunengzi 23:39, November 4, 2010 (UTC)


 * Lol, I'd try running up to him and talking to him. Even though he's hostile, the game might be like "whatever", and let you recruit him. Maybe that will make him friendly again? It's worth a shot. There may be a command, like a 'setstage' one, that fixes it, but I don't know any of the PC jargon so I can't help in that regard :( Glomulus 23:42, November 4, 2010 (UTC)


 * Just use the console to "kill" him. He'll fall down, and when he wakes up he'll be friendly again. -- 23:51, November 4, 2010 (UTC)

I went into the scrapyard, and dogmeat automatically started attacking me...so I blasted him with everything I had. Nothing worked...then after reading all this i'm suppose to keep him....can I get him back after unloading on him? I went back to the scrapyard and he's not there...any suggestions?

Broken Steel and Dogmeat
I read about the 'glitch' that makes Dogmeat nearly invincible if you recruit him after downloading Broken Steel. I was wondering, though, if this works for all platforms, for the 360 as well as the PC and/or PS3? Can you even look at Dogmeat's level and HP on the 360? I'm not very knowledgeable about these sorts of things, sorry :) Thanks for any information. --Evindell 21:23, December 19, 2010 (UTC)Evindell

Cleanup
I've made an attempt to clean up this page, but I don't think it's enough to remove the Cleanup box on the top of the article, as the bugs section still seems to be pretty chaotic. Thomasb2k 22:20, January 1, 2011 (UTC)
 * Thank you.--Gothemasticator 22:31, January 1, 2011 (UTC)

Constanly heading back to Vault 101
I don't really use Dogmeat as a follower, I just keep him standing in front of My Megaton House incase I decide I was to use him for anything. However, I constantly get the notice that "Dogmeat is waiting at Vault 101" [or whatever it is] without telling him to go there. I mean I will just be wandering around and I will get the message.

He is always at Vault 101 when I get the message however he just seems to head there on his own.

Does he just tend to head to Vault 101 after a certain amount of time or is this a glitch?

yes dogmeat is set for, after a certain amount of time of waiting, he will return to vault 101, all companions have a point which they will return to if left to long, vault 101 is dogmeats.

Radiation
I was wondering if Dogmeat could take any radiation, and if so can he die from it?
 * No. All NPC's are immune to radiation --Except for Agustus Atumn and James.DragonJTSLeave me a message 00:19, June 25, 2011 (UTC)

Gender
Dogmeat is a male, right? I've always assumed but after that anon changed the page to make he a she, I've actually thought about it. Is there any point where the player character calls Dogmeat a boy? If not, we should replace any word that mentions gender with it. 09:25, July 9, 2011 (UTC)


 * when you tell dogmeat to stay when you next talk to him you can say "come on boy" to get him to follow you (122.104.126.12 05:44, July 17, 2011 (UTC))

Actually,the Lone Wanderer is an idiot in this matter,after Dogmeat is dead his Pup will then follow you,you're player is most likely retarded to say "come on boy!" To a dog with no penis.

Crazy Dogmeat glitch
When I did the Synthetic Man quest I sided with Zimmer and told him where his android was but I left right after and did the main story line somewhere else, after I got out of Raven Rock (and my quest was to return to the Citadel) I went to Rivet City to get Butch. Zimmer, Armitage and Harkness were all outside, Zimmer did his whole speech and Harkness returned to being an android, then I knocked out Zimmer and Armitage a couple times, killed a security guard at the gate and I turn around and suddenly there are three Dogmeat NPCs. They all follow me and everything, and I can talk to each of them just like I can the normal Dogmeat. Best glitch ever? I think so. I even brought you some screenshots. ( http://i53.tinypic.com/2j1o7km.jpg  http://i51.tinypic.com/9giwhx.jpg ) --Leonelli 10:17, July 10, 2011 (UTC)

pick up or lead to?
does dogmeat pick weapons, chems and ammo up and give them to you or does he lead you to them? (Eddie-The-Head2 06:01, July 17, 2011 (UTC))

A Boy and His Dog
→  I got a chance to see A Boy and His Dog and it was really awesome. The feel of a real post-apocalypse but still not taking itself too seriously. And yeah, Don Johnson plays the kid and YES the dog kinda talks.. but it works!! --DrunkenSushi 19:27, October 1, 2011 (UTC)