Dogs are considered man's best friend. While cat-people out there would tell you otherwise, the Fallout series of games beg to differ. In their years publishing the franchise, Bethesda has always included a dog which may have changed, but always kept the same name: Dogmeat. Whether you're talking about Dogmeat from Fallout 1 and 2, or the homage character in Fallout 3 and Fallout 4, the dog is a fan favorite.

While this canine companion can seem like a forgettable character to some, his history and inspiration are actually quite informative of the genre as a whole. His inclusion in the Fallout games has changed over the years, as has his role in the series.

While his most recent iteration in Fallout 4 is understandably his most popular, he's been helping out the player character since Fallout 1. It's time to look back on those long years with Dogmeat and finally figure out why and how he stole our hearts. Here are 25 things only real Fallout fans will know about Dogmeat.

25 The Creators Say He's The Best Companion

Via Fallout 4 Wiki

Hey, you might disagree with this next fact, but it was confirmed! I guess fans all need a little break from wasteland horror.

In an interview, Fallout 2 and Fallout: New Vegas designer Chris Avellone mentioned that Dogmeat is unquestionably their most popular companion. He mentions a few reasons for that fact, namely that it's because Dogmeat doesn't talk so players can project a personality onto him, that he's effective in combat and (I'm not kidding here) that people like dogs.

Who knew the "aww" factor would play such a big role in determining fan favorites.

24 Dogmeat In Fallout 1 Was OP (In Fallout 4 He's Just A Pup)

Via Gamecrate

The Dogmeat from Fallout 4 comes off as a friendly pup. He's cute but can be vicious. But the Fallout 1 and 2 Dogmeat was a real savage. One can only speculate on his power level.

Players who managed to recruit him in Fallout 1 quickly learned that he had enough action points to commit 3 or 4 high damage attacks in a turn. While this would usually mean that the character is frail, Dogmeat had as much health as a full-grown human! Not only was he fast, but he also had quite a bite apparently. This made him a very resilient companion if the player character chose to recruit him, and made it twice as hard to be rid of him if you changed your mind. Why you would ever get tired of him is another matter entirely.

23 Dogmeat Has A Cyborg Counterpart In Fallout New Vegas

Via Ludeon Studios

What's better than a dog companion? How about a robot dog? While Dogmeat didn’t make it as a companion in Fallout: New Vegas, Obsidian did provide fans with a nice little nod to the canine companion.

The King is an Elvis impersonator who runs a gang in Freeside in New Vegas. This guy has a nice pet at his side all the time named Rex. Rex is no normal dog too. He’s modified with cybernetics, which even forms the basis for a quest in New Vegas. Getting cozy to the Kings means helping their leader and his dog out, which is a great way to remind players how lonely it is to travel without one. Obsidian didn't include Dogmeat in their game, but they made sure we missed him. Thanks, Obsidian, we love you too.

22 The Real Dogmeat Is Named River

Via Gamingbolt.com

It is logical to assume Dogmeat in Fallout 4 would be modeled after a real dog. After all, it's so realistic! Also, so cute!

But did you know that the model dog for Dogmeat is a female German Shepard named River? She is the dog of Michelle Burgess, the wife of Senior Designer at Bethesda Joel Burgess. While this did wonders to make Dogmeat a realistic inclusion into the Fallout 4 universe, it also made her parents very proud. Ms. Burgess would tweet upon the game's release that her dog was now the star of the game, an accurate statement.

21 Dogmeat Can Gear You Up In Fallout 4

Via Gamerant.com

Have you ever started a new Fallout 4 game and wondered: "how can I get super strong, super quickly?" As it turns out, Dogmeat provides an answer to that problem.

The vault in which you begin in Fallout 4 features a locked glass case. In it lies the "Cryolator" a powerful weapon which can freeze enemies. Now usually you'd have to wait until level 18 to open the master level lock. But your dog can do it. As we've established, Dogmeat is a master Burglar, and this ability is referenced in Fallout 4. Once the player has recruited Dogmeat they can return to Vault 111 and order him to smash the glass which protects the Cryolator. Players initially thought that this was a bug, but it's rather a reference to his Fallout 3 prowess. That's one resourceful dog if you ask me.

20 You Can Give Him Dope Bellyrubs (All Day Every Day)

Via Deviantart (Steven Carson)

There's nothing much to say to your dog in the Fallout universe. But then again, that's not why you have him as a companion.

In Fallout 3, it was possible to scold or praise your pup. In Fallout 4, you can play with him and rub his belly. It doesn't add anything to the game in terms of story, but it does work to develop the bond between the player and his canine companion. Indeed, it could be argued to bring more to the overall lore than other scripted events. It's about what the player does with those interactions that matter. This is especially true because of how grim the universe in Fallout is. Just like the relationships which inspired him in Mad Max, Dogmeat is there to add a human element to an "inhumane" environment.

19 He Can Survive Nuclear Blasts

Via falloutwikia.com

I know it sounds silly, but his canine instincts apparently keep him alive through a nuclear blast.

By now, most people know about the storyline of Megaton in Fallout 3. The player character is given the choice to either detonate or disarm the nuclear weapon at the cities heart. Now you're thinking, what kind of person leaves their dog companion in Megaton if they know they're going to detonate the bomb? Turns out, some people are curious (or cruel) enough to try it out. If the player does decide to detonate the warhead and leave Dogmeat in the city, he appears safe and sound outside the city gates. It's a hilarious inclusion which demonstrates that Bethesda has learned how much players grieved the pup post-Fallout 1.

18 Dogmeat Isn't Afraid Of Anything

Via games4u.com

We've established that Dogmeat has evolved from a loyal but mortal ally (Fallout 1) into a bullet-sponge (Fallout 4). This has made Dogmeat and it's various iterations a real warrior. Nothing in the wasteland scares it now.

A great experiment by Games Radars' Leon Hurley tested out this fact. Playing through Fallout 4, Hurley sent Dogmeat back to Sanctuary all the way from the Minutemen's castle. He chose to follow the dog all the way home and see what kind of challenges (if any) Dogmeat would encounter. What he saw establishes Dogmeat as the best Fallout 4 companions, as well as the fiercest wasteland menace. Dogmeat walked all the way home and fought a ton of things. It just strolled through ghouls and raiders and would fight them off when attacked. Because Hurley couldn't stand to watch his loyal companion hurt, he also cheated a bit and helped out. Once again, this proves that Dogmeat does its own thing, and doesn't need our supervision.

It really is, the best doggo.

17 Dogmeat Didn't Always Like Orders

Via Imgur.com

Who says wasteland, says feral dogs. It's well known that the mutts out in the atomic waste shouldn't be the best trained. Dogmeat is no different.

While the ability to command him was added in Fallout 3 and Fallout 4, it wasn't always a possibility. In Fallout 1, he cannot be given instructions and can only be disbanded from when he falls in battle. Once you recruit this loyal dog, that's the only way to get rid of him! This turned out to be quite a challenge for low-level players because Dogmeat doesn't go down easily! Maybe the only reason everyone loves Dogmeat is that he won't let us love anyone else? That's a question for another day.

16 His Breed Doesn't Matter

Via Fallout 4 Wiki

Continuity is a big deal in RPGs. Fallout's universe, in particular, is one of the most fleshed out. So while it may seem like a small detail, Dogmeat's breed is actually a big deal.

While his early breeds were difficult or unimportant to his characterization, change in hardware made it possible for Bethesda to demonstrate a specific breed for Dogmeat in Fallout 3. Indeed, our canine companion in Fallout 3 and 4 is similar in name only, belonging to two separate dog races. The Dogmeat of FO3 is an Australian cattle dog, and the FO4 one is a German Sheperd.  Since the fourth entry in the series happens 10 years after the third one, they could in theory otherwise be related

15 The Doggo Wasn't Always Dogmeat

Via Gamezone.com

The original selection of the name Dogmeat is an interesting story. It should come as no surprise that it was selected from another post-apocalyptic work!

The name Dogmeat actually comes from the 1981 feature film Mad Max 2, featuring Mel Gibson.  The reference is based on the main character's canine companion which he calls Dog...feces. That didn't make the cut, as it's not really glorious even for Fallout standards. The team ultimately decided to scrap the dirty version of the name and to run with Dogmeat! Ever since then, it's stuck, and every named iteration of the Dog in Bethesda games has been called Dogmeat.

14 His Inclusion Could Have Influenced The Fallout Universe

Via Deviantart (Otrixx)

Why wouldn't it right? Dogmeat is, after all, the star of the show. But his inclusion did have an impact on the tone of the Fallout series.

In a discussion around A Boy and His Dog, the 1975 film which contributed to giving Dogmeat his name (along with Mad Max 2). The Fallout producer, lead programmer and designer Tim Cain had the movie running in his office continually. They let the dynamic between the boy and his dog influence the way they thought of the companion and the fact that it should be included. The Fallout universe also shares much of the dystopic feel associated with the 1975 film, so it's not illogical to assume that the focus on that c lonely comradery impacted the way the Fallout universe came to be.

13 Dogmeat Wasn't Designed To Live

Via Justin Sweet

That's not a joke, your favorite canine companion was meant to perish. Shocker, right? I mean, not really, given the universe.

In a 2009 interviewFallout designer Chris Taylor mentioned that many of the NPCs the players loved would come to a tragic end. That was heavily influenced by the tone of Fallout 1 which was particularly grim. Taylor mentioned in an interview just how shocked he was "when I heard all the work people went through with the force fields" to keep Dogmeat alive.

That just proves you can't get between a community and their favorite doggo. We should be proud of the lengths we went to keep him around.

12 (Seriously) People Like To Role-Play Their Dogmeat

Via Stmed.net

Do party members in RPG's always need to be human? Dogmeat proves that they don't!

In the book Level Up!: The Guide to Great Video Game Design by Scott Rogers, Dogmeat is utilized as the perfect example of a non-human companion. Without speaking, Dogmeat actually becomes the moral compass for the player and his character. It becomes easy to project onto him any reaction to the acts one commits in the wasteland. While some companions will choose to leave depending on your Karma, Dogmeat is loyal to the fault.

That bond which is developed through exploration is a worthwhile addition to video game design, and Rogers was right to point it out.

11 He Loves Leather Jackets

Via Kotaku.com

It's tough to find someone who'd argue against leather jackets. They're cool. You know it, and Dogmeat also apparently does too.

How do we know this you ask? Well, it turns out that the Dogmeat in Fallout 1 had very specific means to be recruited. You could either offer him some food or be wearing a leather jacket. This is a callback to the influence of Mad Max's protagonist who wears a stylish leather jacket. Interestingly, the same is not true about Dogmeat's cameo in Fallout 2. In the second entry, the player character can catch his attention by stripping to a vault 13 jumpsuit. Dogmeat is apparently quite concerned with fashion!

10 Dogmeat Was Almost A Movie Star

Deviantart (CryO5)

His shot at stardom was so close, yet so far! Wouldn't you have loved to see a cute Dogmeat on the big screen?

Let's start with the heartbreaking realization that there was a canceled Fallout film. Now that we've gotten it out of the way, consider that Dogmeat could have featured in it. Speaking about the project, Corey May detailed plans he had made with Chris Avellone about bringing the first entry in the series to the big screen. This was unfortunately around the time when Mad Max 4 was in the works, and that caused some problems for them. While their plans didn't end up panning out, the point was to bring the dynamic duo of Dogmeat and his master to new heights. Real shame.

9 Dogmeat Met His End In December 2161

Via Gamespot.com

It's canon, and it's been included in books. So who can argue with it? According to the official Fallout lore, the first iteration of Dogmeat doesn't survive the force field barrier included in the military base mission. That means that his first iteration actually passes on the 30th of December 2161. Press F. While players could have gone out of their way to make sure Dogmeat survived the military base, the Fallout 2 Manual and Fallout Bible confirm that it was all in vain. We can curse the team for making that canon, but at least our favourite companion lives on in homage!

8 Dogmeat's Tragic Cameo

Via YouTube (GHaven)

While Dogmeat wasn't officially in Fallout 2, he does make a cameo appearance. It's tragic, to say the least.

At the appropriately named "Café of Broken Dreams", the player character can meet a non-canonical version of Dogmeat. Just to drive home the point that he's no longer with us. If they are wearing the vault 13 jumpsuit, the player can approach him. If (for some reason that can't be justified) they choose to attack their companion of the past,  he'll be avenged by a character called Mel. This is the culmination of Bethesda's reference to Mel Gibson, who played Mad Max in the film which gave the dog his name. This just confirms the studio's attention to detail in these games and their commitment to their inside stories.

7 Dogmeat Has Cameos In A Lot Of RPGs (Including Bard's Tale!)

via giantbomb.com

Dogmeat is such a fan favorite that he's made appearances in other games. It may be homages, or it may be that Dogmeat can shift between planes! That second option seems less likely.

Unsurprisingly, both games which feature Dogmeat are developed by Fallout 1 production and design staff. Troika Games' 2001 Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura (created by Tim Cain) and 2004's The Bard's Tale produced by inXile Entertainment (headed by Brian Fargo) both feature a Dog meant as a homage to Dogmeat. He's not named Dogmeat, but it's been confirmed as a cameo of our favorite pup. If you've never played both of these (great) games, take the time to look out for the dog and give him a good boop on the nose.

6 He Lives Eternally In Fallout 3

Via Nexus mods

Now you know that Dogmeat meets a tragic end in Fallout 1 lore. But did you know he acquires an eternal form in Fallout 3?

That last statement might be misdirection, your companion in Fallout 3 can still bite the bullet. While it's possible for your canine companion to fall in battle, few players are actually so serious that they wouldn't reload their save. But if you did, and just accepted his not being by your side, you'd be rewarded in the Fallout 3 expansion set Broken Steel. With the added perk bonus "Puppies!" awarded at level 22, Fallout 3 allowed Dogmeat to be replaced with a new one whenever he fell in battle. Just how the mechanics of it work should be left to the greater minds of our generation, but you've got more puppies to go around. That means Dogmeat in Fallout 3 is technically invincible past level 22. Great news!