Whats the point of Pets?

[Didz]

I was interested to notice that cats can be assigned to the ownership of a specific settler and tend to sleep with them in their chamber. They can also be assigned the task of hunting down vermin though I've never actually seen the cat in my game doing any hunting yet.

But dogs seem completely useless as far as I can tell. I bought one from a merchant and all it does is wander aimlessly about. You can assign it to a master or give it any instructions. I've got it permanently under training just in case it needs instruction but so far nothing.

Are Dogs meant to do anything?
What about other species of pet like Donkeys will they carry stuff?

[Zeion]

dog can carry stuff too after you finish training it.

[kahlen]

You can also use dogs in battles when they are trained as pets but be aware that you cannot heal them if they would get hurt (probably something that will be added later I hope)

[Didz]

Originally posted by Zeion:

dog can carry stuff too after you finish training it.

Ah! So they can be trained to do something then. I've been training 'Duggie' for several days but he still doesn't do anything except wander aimlessly about.

[galadon3]

You have to set the dog to haul and / or hunt vermin in the mangement screen when he is a pet.

[Didz]

Originally posted by galadon3:

You have to set the dog to haul and / or hunt vermin in the mangement screen when he is a pet.

Yes! The first cat I got at the start of the game is on vermin hunting duty. The dog and the second cat I bought from merchants don;t have that option yet. Presumably because they need more training.

[bortas]

Originally posted by Didz:

Yes! The first cat I got at the start of the game is on vermin hunting duty. The dog and the second cat I bought from merchants don;t have that option yet. Presumably because they need more training.

Correct, they have to be fully tamed before they can be assigned to do stuff.

Luckily, when tame animals reproduce, chances are, their offspring will be born tame, so you don't have to do it again once you have tamed at least one male and one female dog.

Their ability to carry stuff is extremely useful especially in the early game, when you have a lot to do but only a few settlers and the best thing is, that unlike settlers, they don't need anything but food, to keep them loyal. So it's generally a good idea to get dogs as soon as the opportunity arises just for their ability to transport stuff around.

[galadon3]

Actually not fully tamed but fully trained. Animals have three states:
- Wild: basically that, not much you can do with them besides hunting them or taming them
- Tame: Can be put into pens (if their kind allows it), will hang around your settlement and if they produce anything (milk, eggs, wool...) you can "harvest" them and you can just order them to be slaughtered instead of needing to hunt them.
Also they can't pass through normal doors (only barn doors), and you can start training a tame animal.
- Pet: when they are completely trained they become pets, they will stroll though your settlement, doors (unless closed) not stopping them and will just snag some food when they are hungry, also at this stage they can be set to duties like hunt vermin and haul (what they actually can do is dependant on the kind of animal).

[bortas]

Originally posted by galadon3:

Actually not fully tamed but fully trained.

Yes, thanks for the clarification. I mixed that up, because I'm not playing the english version of the game and the literal translation would be more like wild - domesticated - tame.

[Deathwatch27]

Dogs are awesome/ a pain when you've got lots. Great for hauling/raids, terrible for eating all your food/crops

[BENZ_PALADIN]

Originally posted by Deathwatch27:

Dogs are awesome/ a pain when you've got lots. Great for hauling/raids, terrible for eating all your food/crops

Hi,I think I have a good idea to relief a pain.
After watch their behavior carefully,I found that carnivore pet prefer human food/smoked meat.Herbivore pet prefer Barley/Herb/growing crops.
So for carnivore pet, You need to prepare many smoked meat for them and keep them around human food. The nutrients/cost per action(cooking)/lifespan are suit them(Dogs&wolves) the most!!!. For other like pole cat/rat ,You may use milk(But I didn't fed them as pet), I just do pole cat farm for bow training.(milk is also good for domestic wolves farm as well but not good much when they become pet.)
For herbivore pet/domestic.It' depend on their guts, Cattle/Ass pet may need Animal Feed but not for chicken.The cheapest (nutrients/cost per action(cooking)/lifespan) may be already harvested crops/Hay For Pets/Domestic, So just lock up your Barley/Herb in a safe place,And lay the fence around your growing crops.You may feed them with your other massive harvested crops instead( carrot ,Beet)

PS.Smoked meat may be the best for carnivore farm(Domestic) in common sense but still not the real best in uncommon sense. You can use something..... to feed them after each battle instead of just burning them away something pronunciation like "crop" but actually not....... (may be not good for children to know.)
Just training a dog as pet, 1 storage room near wolves/fox/polecat farm.Your pet will always keep your domestic carnivore fed at all time.