Most dogs in Skyrim are domesticated companions that belong to Nords living nearby, and loading screens praise their loyalty. A dog takes its cue from its master: if the owner is friendly, so is the dog, unless you attack it first; if the owner is a bandit, expect teeth. Hitting someone’s dog is a crime, though the bounty can be as low as 5 gold. Killing one gives Dog Meat – but most players would rather recruit them.
Variants
- Dog – the ordinary level 2 dog with 21 Health.
- Aggressive dog – a hostile version that runs with bandits.
- Stray Dog – a follower dog met in random encounters. It levels with you from 10 to about 25 and grows from 100 to 250 Health, the same as Meeko.
- Dawnguard breed – Dawnguard adds a second, different-looking breed, seen as the Fort Dawnguard dogs and hostile dogs at places like Ruunvald Excavation and Forebears’ Holdout.
Where to find them
- Near their owners’ homes in settlements throughout Skyrim.
- Bandit camps, where they fight alongside their owners.
- Just after escaping Helgen – head up the trail to the left from the cave exit to find a stray.
- Outside Markarth, where Banning sells a dog.
Dogs as followers
To recruit a stray, help it in a fight – against wolves, or even a dragon – and then speak to it. Animal Allegiance also works. An animal follower can travel alongside a regular follower, so you can bring a housecarl and a dog together. You can tell a dog to wait or send it home; if left waiting for three days, it goes back on its own. In walled cities a stray waits at the stables with your horse.
With Hearthfire, an adopted child may ask to keep a dog you bring home. Say yes and the dog will stay at your house when dismissed.
Named dogs
Barbas, Bran, CuSith, Garmr, Meeko, Sceolang, Stump, Vigilance, Ysgramor, Tiber and Torom. Bran, CuSith, Garmr and Sceolang come from Dawnguard; Bran and Sceolang live at Fort Dawnguard.
