 | For appearances of this creature in other games, see dog. |
|---|
Dog | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Dogs are animals commonly found in the Capital Wasteland, just like in most of the pre- and post-War world.
Background[]
The domestic dog (Latin: Canis lupus familiaris) is a canid that is known as man's best friend. The dog was the first domesticated animal and has been widely kept as a working, hunting, and pet companion. Though most breeds of dogs remain largely un-mutated by radiation exposure, some modified or mutant varieties do exist.[1] The Master created centaurs by mixing dog, human and brahmin in the FEV vats.[2] Dogs were also subject cyberization, which resulted in cyberdogs.
Biology[]
Dogs have been selectively bred for millennia for various behaviors, sensory capabilities, and physical attributes. Modern dog breeds show more variation in size, appearance, and behavior than any other domestic animal. Nevertheless, their morphology is based on that of their wild wolf ancestors. Dogs are predators and scavengers, and like many other predatory mammals, the dog has powerful muscles, fused wrist bones, a cardiovascular system that supports both sprinting and endurance, and teeth for catching and tearing. Dogs are highly variable in height and weight. Like most mammals, dogs are dichromats and have color vision equivalent to red–green color blindness in humans (deuteranopia). The dog's visual system has evolved to aid proficient hunting. While a dog's visual acuity is poor, their visual discrimination for moving objects is very high. The frequency range of dog hearing is approximately 40 Hz to 60,000 Hz. the dog brain is dominated by an olfactory cortex.
Despite their descent from wolves and classification as Carnivora, dogs are variously described in scholarly and other writings as carnivores or omnivores. Dogs can adapt to a wide-ranging diet, and are not dependent on meat-specific protein nor a very high level of protein in order to fulfill their basic dietary requirements. Dogs will healthily digest a variety of foods, including vegetables and grains, and can consume a large proportion of these in their diet. Compared to their wolf ancestors, dogs have adaptations in genes involved in starch digestion that contribute to an increased ability to thrive on a starch-rich diet.
The typical lifespan of dogs varies widely among breeds, but for most the median longevity, the age at which half the dogs in a population have died and half are still alive, ranges from 10 to 13 years.
In domestic dogs, sexual maturity begins to happen around age six to twelve months for both males and females, although this can be delayed until up to two years old for some large breeds. Dogs bear their litters roughly 58 to 68 days after fertilization, with an average of 63 days, although the length of gestation can vary. An average litter consists of about six puppies, though this number may vary widely based on the breed of dog.
Characteristics[]
Dogs are usually encountered in packs of four to six. To low level characters, this could mean trouble since they can easily overwhelm the player and surround them. To higher level characters, they are little more than a nuisance. They can be difficult to put down as a result of their erratic and quick running patterns. Dogs are always hostile, unless the player possesses the Animal Friend perk.
Variants[]
Raider guard dog[]
Raider guard dogs do, what else, fight alongside their masters, the raiders. Since they're trained as guard dogs, they are very attentive and can spot you easier than most other creatures. The dog will then run at you, alerting the raiders of your presence. They are still affected by the Animal Friend perk.
| Name (Base ID) | Statistics | Behavior | Abilities | Items | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raider guard dog 0001cf87 |
|
|
|
Scavenger's dog[]
These dogs are found around scavenger's encampments, and will be friendly to you, as long as you don't do anything to their master, or them. Note that the nomadic scavengers don't usually keep their dog companions nearby, and if a scavenger is killed by something other than the player, the dog will pursue their masters' murderer, until the killer or the dog itself is dead. These dogs have moderately less health and attack damage than vicious dogs.
There is a karma loss for killing the scavenger's dog, as well as the scavenger themselves and/or the scavenger's brahmin if they have one. Furthermore, scavenger dogs will attack if the player continues to pursue the scavenger even after a warning is given.
While the scavenger's dogs share a model with Dogmeat, with the same breed and the same type of heterochromia, scavenger's dogs are significantly weaker than Dogmeat.
| Name (Base ID) | Statistics | Behavior | Abilities | Items | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scavenger's dog 000c938b |
|
|
|
Talon Company guard dog[]
Identical to vicious dogs, these animals will often accompany Talon Company mercenaries. Much like the raider guard dogs, they spot you faster than the mercs do and will alert the mercs to your presence. Furthermore, they are affected by the Animal Friend perk, much like their raider brethren.
| Name (Base ID) | Statistics | Behavior | Abilities | Items | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Talon Company guard dog 0008f0cf |
|
|
|
Vicious dog[]
Ruthless survivors of the wastes, these irradiated dogs will always be hostile, unless you have acquired the Animal Friend perk. They often hunt in packs of 2-5, in open areas. Beware these dogs as they can sometimes spawn in semi-random areas. Vicious dogs seldom use flanking tactics. Once they spot you, they run single file and then encircle you, barring you from escaping.
| Name (Base ID) | Statistics | Behavior | Abilities | Items | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vicious dog 0001cfa3 |
|
|
|
Guard dog (Operation: Anchorage)[]
Used as guards by the Chinese soldiers in the Anchorage Reclamation simulation, they are unaffected by Animal Friend unlike raider, Talon company and vicious dogs. Guard dogs are worth only 1XP. They are identical to Dogmeat in appearance, even having the same eye color, one being blue and the other green.
| Name (Base ID) | Statistics | Behavior | Abilities | Items | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guard dog xx00c16b xx00c700 |
|
|
| None |
Appearances[]
These dogs appear only in Fallout 3 and its add-ons.
Gallery[]
Wolf concept art, which eventually became the vicious dog
References
- ↑ Enclave field terminals; Enclave Field Research Terminal, Field Entry: Dog (feral)
- ↑ Fallout Bible 1
Fallout Bible 0: "3. Are the radscorpions a product of the FEV virus? When you talk to the doctor, Razlo, in Shady Sands, he tells you that they were once American Emperor Scorpions but that he has no idea how they mutated because radiation alone couldn't have done it. For that matter, what about all of the other creatures of the wasteland? Which ones have been mutated by FEV and which ones haven't? Maybe in the bestiary each creature could have a stat that shows it's level of FEV infection."
"Answer:- The radscorpions are a result of a combination of radiation and the FEV virus, and Razlo in Shady Sands is correct - they were originally Emperor Scorpions that have grown... big.
- FEV-Infected Critters in the wasteland include almost all the ones you've seen in F1 and F2:
Mantises.
Most species of rats.
Gecko lizards.
Brahmin
Scorpions
Ants
Various varieties of plants, including the Venus Flytrap.
Rumor has it some dogs were affected, but no one's seen any, so for now that's just rumor. Of course, the centaurs are a mash of human, dog, and various other parts... but hey, who knows how that mutation came about. Grey was probably messing around in one of his labs. - Creatures not mutated by FEV probably did not survive the aftermath of the Great War, with the possible exception of cockroaches... and perhaps normal ants, though there are FEV-infected versions of these species.
- No one knows where those bird noises in Vault City came from.
- I'll try to include a chart of FEV-infected creatures in future additions as well as other critters that you may not have seen in F1 and F2. Most likely a great majority of insects were affected (they tend to breed much faster, and their mutations tend to become evident pretty quickly as the generations advance), possibly beetles, some spiders, cockroaches, and other creatures."