As I wrote about in last week’s article, everyone in our current campaign has a pet of some sort except me. Mine is an animal companion - a worg named Worg. I do not consider her a pet as she follows me of her own free will and knows that she can leave whenever she wants to. My half orc is currently using her as a mount, and she fights along side us when it suits her. (She is a worg after all).

The pets are fun, as they add color to our game but not much else. Some have been trained to do certain basic things, but they don’t really provide any tangible benefits outside of love, companionship and emotional support. But what if they could? Let’s take a look at man’s best friend, the dog, and see how this pet can provide your character with actual in game benefits.

There are over 300 breeds of dogs. They can be broken down into seven major categories and each group has a skill or natural ability that is common within that group. The groups are as follows: (Credit - National Dog Show)

Terrier Group

All but two of the terriers evolved in the British Isles. The geography of the specific area (water, rocky terrain) helped to determine the exact duties of each breed, but it usually involved hunting vermin and varmints ranging from rats to badgers to otters and more. These are dogs of great determination, courage and self-confidence, with a great willingness to go to ground in search of its quarry. Toy Group

Toy dogs have been around for centuries, and are bred for one purpose: to be companions for their humans. Many have been bred down from and still resemble their larger cousins.Their small size and portability make them ideal for city dwellers and those with limited space. Working Group

While the uses and appearances of the dogs in the Working Group vary, most are powerfully built and intelligent, performing various tasks for their people. These dogs are working farm and draft animals. They guard homes and livestock, serve heroically as police and military dogs, security dogs, guide and service dogs and hunters. Sporting Group

The invention of the gun led to the development of the sporting, or gun dogs, to aid in hunting upland game birds or waterfowl, performing at the direction of the hunter.While a number of these breeds perform more than one task, it is generally the duty of pointers and setters to point and mark game; for spaniels to flush game; and for retrievers to recover dead and wounded game. Hound Group

Originally classified as sporting dogs because of their function as hunters, breeds in the Hound Group are of a great variety of size, shape and coat. Most of these breeds were developed to hunt somewhat independently for their humans, who usually followed on foot or on horseback as the hounds chased down the prey. This group informally consists of scent hounds, dogs that hunt by tracking a scent, and sight hounds, who spot their game and run it down. Non-Sporting Group

The AKC originally registered dogs as either Sporting or Non-Sporting. Eventually, hounds and terriers were split from the Sporting Group, and the Toys and Working dogs were split off from Non-Sporting, with the Herding Group eventually splitting from Working. Today, the Non-Sporting Group is literally every breed that is left, resulting in a wide variety of sizes, shapes, hair, function and history. Herding Group

Herding is a natural instinct in dogs that is seen in the wild. Humans have used that instinct to their advantage on farms and ranches with herding dogs who have the sole purpose of gathering and moving livestock from one place to another.

As you can see, each group has specific characteristics and functions. The breeds within each group can even have specialization within each group, as some dogs truly excel at what they do. With that in mind, I have created this homebrew that details what a certain group of dogs can provide to your character.

For those that don’t want my thought process behind Man’s Best Friend:

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