Dog states

[FraggDaddy]

So I am noticing some interesting dog states. He will whimper and stay behind with a dog state of "critical position". What does this mean? Any guides on dog commands and what these states mean?

[Dr. Albert Meowsker]

If i'm not mistaken, it means that there's an animal nearby and it's about to be spooked

[Striker]

The dog or the animal?

[niccolas.miller]

Originally posted by Striker:

The dog or the animal?

The animal. Basically the dog just helps you know when you're going to start an animal fleeing.

[briansaxton]

The dogs will also give a low growl when you're near a predator (like a wolf). It's actually a pretty sweet feature.

[VeraNoa]

The dog's "critical status" is shown even if the dog is not tracking a wounded animal? If my dog and I are walking in the forest and an animal nearby is about to spook, will the dog also alert me with that status?

[TommyGuns]

Originally posted by VeraNoa:

The dog's "critical status" is shown even if the dog is not tracking a wounded animal? If my dog and I are walking in the forest and an animal nearby is about to spook, will the dog also alert me with that status?

Yes, the critical status will indeed show up whether or not you are tracking a particular animal. Last night in Layton the dog showed critical status for me and a black bear was about 25 yards away at my one o'clock position. I had no idea the bear was there until the dog alerted me. It didn't growl either as it has done for me once when a lioness get close to my position.

[Bumblewoot]

Originally posted by VeraNoa:

The dog's "critical status" is shown even if the dog is not tracking a wounded animal? If my dog and I are walking in the forest and an animal nearby is about to spook, will the dog also alert me with that status?

From what I've been able to test so far the critical position will only trigger in the dog modes of 'tracking blood', 'tracking prey', and idle. I have been unable to get it to trigger during 'heel' or any of the other commands. Someone in discord said it triggered while the dog was laying down. But I doubt it. I will test it though.

Critical position from my testing appears to have a range of 50 meters of detection from the dog. It may be as high as 60m.

[Vulture]

sorry, kinda offtopic, how do i get the dog to track prey? i only have seen "track blood" so far

[huebnerrl]

Originally posted by Vulture:

sorry, kinda offtopic, how do i get the dog to track prey? i only have seen "track blood" so far

That is because the dog ONLY tracks blood.

[Eanwin]

Yes AND no. If the tracked animal has stopped bleeding, the description for the dog will change to "tracking prey".

[The Eagle]

The dog has saved my butt quite a few times, most of the time I have time to set up a tripod or at least get off a shot or two! Speaking of tripods can they made to set up, as like over a small brush or on some slanted areas?

[James]

And with some perks, the dog can pick up scent of droppings if you cross an animals path. Perfect for players not using any visual clues. The dog also behaves like you - walking, sneaking, etc. Pretty sweet. I am quite impressed with the dog's AI (some glitches are still present, but are easily resolved ingame).