Never had a dog, don't know where to get one, don't want one, shouldn't want one.

7. They're very valuable, but when you get to the higher levels I find that they often die fighting bandit chiefs and the like. I've never had any problems thoug - they stay out of my way when I'm swinging a sword, and the same when I'm firing arrows or lightning bolts.

Mine did. I was disappointed. Like you, I had not had good experiences with dogs following me around, but liked the idea of owning and caring for a stray dog I picked up on my journeys and wanted to see him when ever I went home. He did not wait very long before he split, ungrateful little curl.

1. Loud, useless in combat, and always getting in the way.

I once had Barbas with me in a Nordic ruin, and he was constantly getting in the way and setting off traps. I finally snapped, whipped open the console and disabled him. Since then I avoid Barbas and kill stray dogs when I come across them.

This got my interest. So I spawned Vigil and Meko, one at a time. They both pushed me and the barking is the same. Without checking the CK, I would guess that they all have the same AI and the same audio file.

Dogs = 2.
Horses = 1.
Followers = 3 - 6.

The only dog I ever had was Barbas and I found him, cool and annoying at the same time. He was cool because he talked. He was annoying because he pushed me off a cliff.

Although I just found a stray dog near Helgen, not sure if this dog is Meeko or part of a mod. But it's following me around and I can talk to it.

-1

They're annoying, ugly and weak.

3 - Only slightly useful. My biggest problems are similar to the above, pushy, not well scripted for AI interaction, getting in the way.. but in addition to that.... you can't jump over them if they're blocking the hall. (I can jump past my follower, vault altars in a single bound, leap chasms, but I can't clear a three foot dog?) Secondly, all the fuzzy things look like they came out of the same mold. Beth has different skins and models for horses, but didn't take the time to make the dogs look even remotely different. I kept Meeko for quite sometime until he got caught up in a shout. Avoid the pups like the plague now, though I will toss a slab of venison to them when I run across them.

2

That's only because I don't have to clean up poop or feed the damned things.

If we're talking about Barbas? He svcks so bad that he needs a ludicrous and completely arbitrary negative number like -7,895,213,084,345. All because he pushes me around. Which usually means I'm falling off a cliff I didn't even know was there.

Unless he's IDed as "Meeko" when you engage him, it's not Meeko. If it says "Stray Dog" it's just a random stray dog. Meeko isn't a stray, he actually has a home but once found will follow you if you ask.

There are random unnamed stray dogs in the game who will sometimes decide to follow you. I killed some wolves once and then realized that they had been fighting with a stray dog, the dog then followed me for a while. I've also saved a stray from wolves only to have it attack me so I don't really know what determines how they respond to you.

Dogs would be better if you could just leave them in your house as guard dogs or something. Also I never like if they die, it upsets me more than a regular follower getting killed.

I like using them as companions. The only problem I have with them is they bark too much.

I find them handy if you have a high sneak, they act as a good decoy to lure in your victims for some stealth murdering.

We have four dogs at home. I find the Skyrim dogs refreshingly quiet.

I think they would be alot more useful If they gave you the same combat options as the dogs on FO3 and FONV, Stand close or far, attack the weakest/strongest/whoevers attacking me, But mostly I just use them as a distraction and make them stay outside when I feel like sneaking through a cave, SO I give them a 5, have their useful qualities, but could be better

God no.

i'd rather have dogs as they are than a near indestructible one.

i wish the dogs would stay put indefinitely in your house though. I don't know why you can't have them as permanent house pets.

Dunno, I've never used one.

That's my issue with Dogs. If they were unkillable, which is not that immersive, then I would be more willing to use them.

0

Total pains in the ass, far more trouble than their meager worth could ever make up for.

Might be fun to have a range of "familiars" for different styles of play. Something stealthy. Something magical. Something fierce.

But they probably need to be levelled.

Useless? Not sure ...

But i *do* know they are annoying as hell. The constant yapping and barking makes me want to stab them in the neck after about 5 minutes of play ...

I don't know if they are useful or not, but they are great for roleplay. Normally I tell my dog to wait for me outside of dungeons, but even when I take them in, I'll have them wait far away for a boss fight. If worse comes to worst, I can run past the dog and he will distract anyone chasing me!

Trouble is, I reload far more saves when I have a dog - I can't stand to see them die!!

Get 'em Vigi!!

To begin I should explain that I'm an alt-aholic and am constantly creating low level characters to re-live the slingshot and rusty pocket knife levels in a game so I actually enjoy dogs. Up til Level 5 or so I'd rate them 6-7 but they don't scale very well and by level 10 they drop down to a 0. Even the spirit wolf from the Familiar spell is pitifully weak. A shame they didn't have upgrades to that spell. Spirit cats and bears would be a lot more enjoyable for me, role playing wise, than daedra or zombies.

As followers, with the off-putting AI and as non-essentials, I prefer not to use them, if for no other reason than I regretted Vigilance dying on me (in less than 5 minutes. Way to aggro all the spiders ). What I'd really like is to be able to own one, who stays at my house and eats all my food like my housecarls. <3