For Dogs in Red Dead Redemption 2, please see Dog (RDR2).

Dogs are animals found in Red Dead Revolver and Red Dead Redemption. They are a domesticated species of animal found across towns and outposts of the American West. Some are owned by law enforcement departments and are used to help track down and fend off ruffians and outlaws at night.

Breeds

They vary in breeds and colors, however the most common breeds found are:

• Labrador Retrievers
  • Found in Armadillo, Blackwater, MacFarlane's Ranch, Beecher's Hope, and Manzanita Post.
• Bernese Mountain Dog
  • Found in MacFarlane's Ranch and rarely found in Armadillo.
• Whippets
  • Found around most of Mexico, Thieves' Landing and in Blackwater.
• Wolfhounds
  • Usually accompanying the "Aggressive Campers" in Tall Trees.
• English Shepherds
  • Found in small settlements around America and Mexico.
• Border Collies
  • Found in many towns and on MacFarlane's Ranch. Border Collies are multi-colored dogs. Commonly blue tricolor, blue merle with tan points, back mantle, or black with white in the game. They also commonly spawn on smaller ranches in the game, like Venter's Place or Critchley's Ranch.
  • Charlie is a Border Collie.
• Siberian Husky
  • Found in Nosalida when fighting rebels.
  • The Blackwater guard dog is a husky.

Notable Dogs

Red Dead Revolver

Red Harlow appeared to have a dog accompanying him during "Bounty Hunter" and "Ugly Streetfight". It was shot to death in the latter mission by members of the Ugly Gang; specifically by Udo Kang when the animal peed on his boots.

Red Dead Redemption

Some dogs play a role in missions or Jobs where the player must work directly with the dog.

• Blackwater has a guard dog who partakes in the Nightwatch missions there as well as multiple street dogs.
• Charlie - MacFarlane Ranch's guard dog. He partakes in the Nightwatch activity, and helps Marston track down rustlers and bandits who commit a crime.
• Rufus - The Marston family dog. He's used in missions to hunt and track.
• The Nightwatch dog for Chuparosa will assist the player by attacking perpetrators, making it sometimes difficult to subdue and hogtie criminals.

Additional dogs are found throughout the map but do not play a role in the game.

• There is a number of dogs present at Rathskeller Fork. On rare occasions the dogs may attack the local chickens.
• Armadillo has a dog with the model of a lab, but brown with a black mask and white muzzle. He will follow you out of town for a while if you whistle.
• Another dog is at Benedict Point, the same breed as the one at Ridgewood Farm, although with a darker color.
• A dog identical to the Chuparosa Nightwatch dog is present at Manzanita Post. If you whistle, it will follow you far out of town (as far as you take it), but if you return to the town after a while, a new one will spawn. If the dog following the player returns to the Post, there will be two identical dogs there.
• A Labrador Retriever is present at MacFarlane's Ranch.
• A single dog is the only inhabitant of Torquemada during Free Roam. In singleplayer, a Whippet takes its place.
• There are often two dogs at Agave Viejo, one similar to the Chuparosa Nightwatch dog, and a brown dog.
• Sometimes a dog playing fetch with their owner can be seen in Blackwater, usually near the bank. This event may also spawn in Manzanita Post, MacFarlane's Ranch or Armadillo.

Notes

• Killing a dog brings a $5 bounty on the player and lowers his/her honor by 50 points (unless the bandana is equipped). However, if the player's honor is high enough, the crime is overlooked.
  • Even accidentally trampling a dog with the player's horse and killing it will bring about a bounty, causing the local law enforcers to shoot at the player while random NPCs may run away as the player gets a wanted level.
• After gaining enough attention from the law, officers will start to bring attack dogs. However, if all law officers are killed in a pursuit, the dogs will no longer be hostile if left alive and will disappear as red dots on the map. All breeds are used by officers. Likewise, bounty hunters will always be accompanied by a dog when chasing down the player. Unlike with the police dogs, killing all of the bounty hunters will not stop their dog from attacking the player.
• Due to being a domestic animal, killing a dog is not required for the Unnatural Selection trophy/achievement.
• Pressing the fire button (with no weapon drawn) when next to a dog will kick it. If the player kicks a dog enough times it will attack and bite Marston's arm. If the player then starts using melee attacks, the dog will yelp, but still attack. If the player keeps this up for about 5-7 "cycles" of punches, the dog will yelp loudly and run away, often running out of the settlement it was originally in.
• If the player whistles while near dogs, they may bark and follow Marston around. If the player whistles at Beecher's Hope after "The Last Enemy That Shall Be Destroyed", Rufus may be heard barking in the distance, but will likely not come, unless he is there already via glitch or random event.
• In Tumbleweed the player may sometimes hear a dog barking but there is no dog. If the player attempts to find the source of the barking, it only leads to the cemetery.
• Dogs can sometimes be seen killing small animals, such as raccoons. This can more easily be seen in places with more wildlife, like Manzanita Post, Critchley's Ranch or behind the general store in Armadillo.
• There is a common occurrence that a dog will enter the saloon at Thieves' Landing, just walk around or even lay on the floor and sleep. No one in the saloon (including the bartender) will seem to mind the dog and it will be ignored.
• Sometimes when riding through the map, players will come across a man sitting at a campsite with a skinny dog. Getting too close will cause the man to start shooting and the dog will attack.
• John Marston shows an aversion to killing dogs. He says things such as, "I really am a sad, sick man," and, "Someone should shoot me," after killing a dog.
  • Similarly, when playing as Jack Marston, after killing a dog he may say, "I guess I just miss Rufus," or "Sorry, boy."
• In multiplayer, when reinforcements are called for in the gang hideout Nosalida, dogs will accompany the enemies.
• In multiplayer, on rare occasions, a hostile dog can kill the player in one bite.
• Sometimes, dogs will chase after stagecoaches or horses riding through towns.
• Skinning a dog can sometimes upset the player's horse, causing it to run away from them. Whistling cancels the effect.
• If the player lures a hostile animal to any settlement with a dog, one of two things might happen; the dog will engage the beast (and, in the case of bears, cougars, or a pack of wolves, probably get itself killed), or the beast could flee and the dog would chase after it, stopping only after it has reached the border of its home settlement.

Gallery

A dog fetching a stick in Armadillo

Perro

Rufus

Dog in Benedict Point

Dog in Blackwater

Dog in Armadillo

Dog in Rathskeller Fork

Dog in Ridgewood Farm

Dog in Torquemada