Essential
🐾 Outbound Dog Companion Guide
Everything about your Border Collie: adoption, all fetch & training commands, happiness system, and backpack upgrades.
8 min readUpdated: May 12, 2026
📋 Table of Contents
🏠 Adoption Requirements
- Location: Paws & Whiskers Lodge — central-east Meadows (🐾 icon appears within 300m)
- Required items: 1× Dog Bowl + 2× Dog Food
- Dog Bowl recipe: 3× Metal Component + 1× Wood → Basic Workbench
- Dog Food: Purchase at Meadows Trading Post
- Important: Dog Bowl must be installed in a van slot before adoption completes
Priority: Adopt the dog as your very first goal — the Fetch command (unlocked at happiness level 2) is the most efficient resource gathering tool in the early game.
🎾 8 Fetch Commands
| Command | Target | Radius | Return Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fetch: Wood | Fallen logs, branches | 80m | ~90 sec |
| Fetch: Stone | Rock piles | 80m | ~90 sec |
| Fetch: Berries | Berry bushes | 100m | ~2 min |
| Fetch: Mushrooms | Ripe mushroom clusters only | 100m | ~2 min |
| Fetch: Herbs | Herb plants | 100m | ~2 min |
| Fetch: Fiber | Tall grass, reeds | 80m | ~90 sec |
| Fetch: Scavenge | Mixed debris piles | 60m | ~3 min |
| Fetch: Scout | No gathering — detects POIs | 150m | ~2 min |
Radius and return time reduced by ~20% when happiness is below 5.
🎓 8 Training Commands
| Command | Unlock Condition | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Sit | Default | Functional |
| Stay | Default | Functional |
| Come | Default | Functional |
| Fetch | Happiness level 2 (feed 5 meals) | Core — unlock ASAP |
| Heel | Happiness level 3 | Functional |
| Shake | Happiness level 4 | Cosmetic |
| Search | Happiness level 5 | Enhanced Scout (200m radius) |
| Roll Over | Happiness level 6 | Cosmetic + unlocks Expedition Pack recipe |
❤️ Happiness Mechanics (1–10)
Increases
- Feeding: +1–2 per meal
- Petting: +0.5 (max 3×/day)
- Completing a fetch: +0.5
- Sleeping nearby: +0.5/night
Decreases
- Unfed 24+ game hours: −1
- Left on Stay overnight: −0.5
- Desert extreme heat (no Cooling Module): −1/game hour
Key threshold: Keep happiness ≥ 7 for full performance. Below 5: fetch radius −20%, return time increases.
🎒 Backpack System (3 Tiers)
| Backpack | Crafted At | Materials | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Dog Backpack | Textile Station | 2× Leather Strip + 2× Cloth Roll | +8 slots |
| Standard Backpack | Advanced Workbench | 2× Leather Strip + 3× Canvas + 1× Iron Component | +14 slots |
| Expedition Pack | Chemistry Lab | 3× Leather Strip + 4× Canvas + 2× Advanced Metal + 1× Insulation Panel | +20 slots |
Expedition Pack recipe unlocks after teaching the dog "Roll Over" (happiness level 6).