While playing Skyrim, you’ve probably seen plenty of dogs domesticated by Nords. But did you know that you can have a dog as a companion, too? This guide will teach you how to get a dog as a follower in Skyrim.
There are four dogs you can have as followers in Skyrim: Meeko, Vigilance, Stray Dog, and Barbas. The latter is somewhat of an exploit, so we’ll cover the first three before him. Also, do keep in mind that you can only get dogs if you play the Dawnguard DLC and own a house.
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Skyrim: How to Get Dog Meeko as a Follower
You can find Meeko in and around Meeko’s Shack in Hjaalmarch. Upon entering the shack, you’ll see that a nord, most likely Meeko’s former owner, is dead in his bed. You may also not see Meeko in the shack, in which case just skip time for an hour and he should appear.
To get Meeko as a follower, simply talk to him. That’s it. He will now follow you and level up alongside you to a total of 250HP. He will return to Meeko’s Shack after 3 hours of waiting or being told to go home.
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Skyrim: How to Get Vigilance as a Follower
Vigilance is located at the Markarth Stables. He’s owned by a man named Banning, who’ll let you buy the dog for 500 Gold. Vigilance was bred for the Jarl and is a battle dog, so his health and stamina stats are considerably higher than Meeko’s (500 max HP compared to Meeko’s 250; 265 max stamina compared to Meeko’s 140).
Upon paying Banning 500 Gold for Vigilance, he’ll become your follower. If you tell him to go home or have him sit and wait for a long time, he’ll return to Banning, and you’ll have to pay for him again.
Skyrim: How to Get Stray Dog as a Follower
You can only find Stray Dog as a random encounter while exploring the world of Skyrim. It may be fighting off wolves or other animals, showing up while you fight, or simply roaming.
To get a Stray Dog as a follower, simply interact with it. It’ll stay with you until it dies, or you ask it to leave.
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Skyrim: How to Get Barbas as a Follower
Barbas is a talking dog you can find outside Falkreath. You’ll see him when visiting the city for the first time. The city’s guards or Lod will tell you to help Barbas find his master. This will start a short quest.
You’ll have to follow Barbas to Haemar’s Shame, and choose to recover the Rueful Axe upon talking to the dog’s master, who’s actually a Daedric prince named Clavicus Vile. Now, to keep Barbas as a follower, simply do not progress the quest further. When you get Barbas as a follower, he’s invincible as he’s an essential NPC for a quest, which makes him infinitely more effective in combat than the previous 3 dogs.
Skyrim
- Released
- November 11, 2011
