Dog questions

[Rabble]

Do you have to babysit him (feed him and so on?) how useful is he?

[Pilda]

Yes, you can pet them to improve your houndmaster skill and raise their obedience. You can also feed them. They are wonderful. They can look for treasures, hunt animals, bite enemies, and so on.

[Marethyu]

what is the difference between the "heel" and "free" commands? Does Heel just bring Mutt to you and Free let him go wild?

[Pilda]

A dog with free command can attack attackers of yours. Dogs with heel command won't defend you.

[Rabble]

can the dog die?

[nome22]

Originally posted by Rabble:

can the dog die?

when near death it will runaway for a bit then come back

[Randych]

Dog saves a lot of nerves since it's able to hunt things you won't really even see with your eyes, and also hold back enemies since 1v(1+(n>0)) combat is lame.

[Lieste]

You have to "use" the dog in various ways in order to increase bond with it. This opens various perks which give new commands and skills (and improve the ability to follow them, for longer with increasing bond).

Later skills to search out hidden items and containers are useful, as are "sic!" to attack enemies, and the one which improves his ability to chase down fleeing enemies.

Basic hunting, 'fetching' and warning skills are less distinctly useful, but can make the area of hunting or avoiding enemy ambushes slightly easier... but without the combat skills for him, the warning is less useful. He might not be terribly 'effective' in combat, but he does run interference and act as a minor distraction for a few seconds at least (and can bring down enemies and be very useful at most) - so he is worth having along.

Use "stay" to park him before trying to gather herbs, loot enemies etc, otherwise he will get under your feet. He will come to you with a whistle afterwards easily enough (like your horse does) even if a long way away, so 'forgetting' to call him isn't a big deal. If you want you can also send him "back to the mill", but he won't come when called if you do, and you need to collect him in person from Teresa to have him back.

Feeding him isn't necessary, but it is one way to improve his current loyalty (reduced by 'working' him, or by his being wounded), along with praise and the passing of time. It also improves the bond strength/houndmaster skill.