Does Dogmeat Count as a Companion in Fallout 4?

Fallout 4 depicts a decrepit world where pockets of humanity, amongst others, are in a constant power struggle to survive and dominate each other. Since you are the Sole Survivor from the Vault, a fish out of the water, you need to make friends and alliances to survive. What better choice for a friend can there be than a man’s best friend i.e. Dogmeat? So is Dogmeat a proper companion in Fallout 4 or a mangy mutt you are stuck with?

Yes, Dogmeat does count as a companion in Fallout 4. He also has some very unique traits that make him stand out from the rest of the companions in this game.

Dogmeat

Dogmeat is a dog living in the Commonwealth in 2287 and a possible Companion to the Sole Survivor. Companions or followers are the allies of player characters who accompany and aid them during their adventures. To get Dogmeat as a companion, you need to do one of the following:

You can find and recruit him at the Red Rocket truck stop southeast of Sanctuary Hills on your own, the Sole Survivor will refer to him as “Dog” until you speak to Mama Murphy about his true name during the quest When Freedom Calls.

If you haven’t run into him on your travels and Dogmeat isn’t already the Sole Survivor’s companion, he will be called by Nick Valentine with a whistle during the quest Getting a Clue where he also reveals his name.

Dogmeat’s Traits

Some basic traits of Dogmeat as a companion are:

This character is essential. Essential characters cannot be killed.
This character is a permanent companion. He can accompany you on any mission barring some special circumstances.
This character is involved in quests. There are certain quests where Dogmeat is required to accompany you.
Dogmeat has the highest stealth compared to other companions.

Dogmeat’s Unique Interactions

Like with every companion character, the Sole Survivor can command Dogmeat to do certain tasks, some of which are unique to this character like commanding him to go to a certain location of the Sole Survivor’s choosing or fetching a specific item for the player character. Some unique interactions with Dogmeat are listed below:

Dogmeat can be equipped with a variety of cosmetic items you find throughout the game. There are 4 different types and slots for such items: “Eyes,” “Headband,” “Neck” and “Torso.” However, none of the items (including any “armor”) provide any actual protection for Dogmeat, yet they take up inventory weight.

Astoundingly Awesome Tales issue "Have Dog, Will Travel!"

By reading the Astoundingly Awesome Tales issue “Have Dog, Will Travel!”, the Sole Survivor can boost Dogmeat with a perk that reduces damage by 10%.
Dogmeat loves the Sole Survivor unconditionally and thus is neither negatively nor positively influenced by their actions. As of the base game, he is the only companion, aside from temporary followers during quests, who is considered to be truly neutral.
Dogmeat can be healed during battle if a Stimpak is used on him when he is down.

Dogmeat can be commanded to Fetch, detecting the surrounding for the choice of items, enemies, or containers. Upon finding something, Dogmeat will either stand in front of the item (if on the floor), bite the enemy (triggers enemy detection) or pull out the items from the container.

When traveling with Dogmeat, he might occasionally detect enemies and containers on his own without being asked to do so by the Sole Survivor, which prompts the player character with messages such as “Dogmeat found something” when he finds a container or “Dogmeat found an enemy,” when he detects enemy presence nearby.
- Upon detecting containers or enemies, no matter if told to or otherwise, Dogmeat will react accordingly:
  - He growls if an enemy is detected and keeps doing so while he tracks them.
  - When he finds a container, he gives the player character a warning bark, runs towards it, and then happily stomps his front paws while pointing his head to whatever he has found.

When not in combat, Dogmeat will occasionally pull out a teddy bear and will chew on it and throw it into the air, playing with it. The teddy bear will not be “consumed” and remain in his inventory for storage. This happens regardless of whether Dogmeat has a teddy bear in his inventory or not.
While Dogmeat is technically a companion, the benefits of Lone Wanderer still apply if the Sole Survivor adventures with Dogmeat.

When engaged in combat against humanoid enemies, Dogmeat can trigger a variety of melee moves during the fight:
- Limb bite move, which he uses to hold an enemy in place by biting their limbs, which works with humans, synths, super mutants, and feral ghouls.
- Neck bite finishing move, which can eventually trigger when he engages a human enemy with health low enough to be instantly killed by his attacks, on which he jumps and knocks them down to finally kill them with a deadly neck bite.

Looking at all the things you can do with Dogmeat it is safe to say that he is one of the most essential companions to have by you when traveling the desolate world of Fallout 4. He is unique and stays loyal to you regardless of your actions. What more can a man ask for than a faithful partner like Dogmeat?