There is a vendor in the game whose sole purpose is to sell you a Guard Dog (if you pass the appropriate Charisma/Speech checks.

His name is Gene.

The notes on him say after you purchase one Dog from him, a timer starts ticking down and the next time you see him, he'll have another Dog to purchase.

It appears this process can be repeated indefinitely to acquire many Guard Dogs if you desire.

Does anyone know if he appears consistently anywhere in the game?

I've only seen him once at Abarnathy Farms.

I understand there are a few locations where various random encounters can happen, but I've found Gene twice at Tenpines Bluff after finishing the quest there and building some defences. For my girlfriend's character he turned up at the Med-Tec Research Facility.

Hmm, I've only encountered this gentleman once, right on the road walking between Red Rocket and Sanctuary. I wasn't aware he could sell you multiple dogs, can anyone confirm this?

Sounds like he occurs all over. I encountered him somewhere on the roads in the general vicinity of Covenant and sort of b/w Covenant and Lexington if memory serves.

Ran into Gene last night in the swamps SE of Gunner's Plaza. So yeah, just don't fast travel and you will encounter him eventually.

i still haven't encountered this guy! lol I'm so upset and i never fast travel unless its to a spot in the glowing sea I've played for a total of just shy of 300 hours between both my save files and still haven't seen him once =/

There are certain locations in the game referred to as "travel anomalies" where these random encounters are more commonplace than usual. One I've had luck with is under the bridge southeast of the Drive In settlement. Nearly every time I fast travel there, something spawns there. I've seen everything from groups of raiders, to dueling deathclaws, to random traveling traders, and I've picked up just about every mission there is to pick up that comes form investigating dead "junkies" or dead "travelers" there.

I can't say I've seen Gene specifically there, but I've seen numerous of the other "random" encounters, so it may be worth a try.

One random encounter "hotspot" I've found is in the woods directly across the street the the Red Rocket Truck Stop (the settlement one). I've run into a bunch there, both hostile and friendly, including Gene. Might give that a shot.

I came across him in the MQ, when Dogmeat was following Kellogg's trail, we had made it almost to Ft Hegan when he just popped up.

I've been wondering about the mechanics of buying one of Gene's dogs. 1) Does the dog count as your ONE Companion? Meaning that if you have a current Companion, he/she/it would have to be dismissed and sent to one of your settlements? Or is the dog a "+1" to the current Companion? 2) If the dog is in addition to any current Companion, just how many of Gene's dogs can you have tagging along at the same time? A whole dog pack? 3) Is it possible to buy the dog and immediately send it off to a different settlement? (After all, if the dog has never been there before, how would it know where to go?)

Same as me, I saw him and Tenpines Bluff as well.

For those of you who haven't encountered him (and a few of the other 'random travelers') and who use Fast Travel: it is _really_ worth considering curtailing your Fast Traveling.

Bethesda is wise to include fast travel, its like the "Yeah I have a lighter" guy who sells you crack. But once you're hooked, the real way to savor these games, is slow and low. Walk don't run. Walk, don't fast travel. Walk your way around the Wasteland.

I mean, what is going to happen? You gonna die next week? What you gotta go to work tomorrow? So what? Play the game tomorrow night too. And the next night, and the next, and so on. Why ever play any other game really? This game, like every other game in Bethesda chequered history of promoting game addiction is a " way of life" more than a mere "game." You cannot beat it. You cannot fully comprehend it, nor see it all . . . EVER. Okay? So just abandon that notion that by running or fast traveling you'll get to experience it all, you won't.

Plus, you'll miss out on awesome characters like Gene. And the random Wastelanders who hit on you. And the random traveling salesmen you can recruit to your settlements. And the random Brahmin dealers, drug dealers, prosttutes, seers, raving madmen . . .

Gene is an awesome character and a testament to the love Bethesda oozes into its Fallout. His dialogue is brilliant. I won't spoil it.

Haven't encountered him yet despite a devoted "non-fast travel ethic," well . . . sorry brother/sister. Just keep wandering I guess, and whistling along with Ella. You're luck will change

1. The Dog is not a companion, it is just an extra Guard (+5 Defense to whatever Settlement you choose). What happens when the Settlement is attacked, I do not know at this time, as Sanctuary Hills has never been attacked.

I assume the dog will use the typical canine attacks on the enemies, fighting alongside the human defenders.

3. When you recieve the Dog, the Destination Settlement screen appears and you choose whichever one you want.

You do have the option to build a Doghouse for the Dog and it will use them just like Dogmeat:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=562465803

It was so funny to see her arrive in Sanctuary Hills, she immediately went to Dogmeat's kennel and tried to push him out of it!

Hence, building the second one.

.

Or you can fast travel to locations that spawn random encounters

1) no. The dog goes to whichever settlement you tell it to go to. It stays there and will not accompany you. Building it a doghouse with a little plastic food bowl nearby would be a nice touch.

2) since they don't tag along, the answer is "as many times as you can encounter him, pass the requisite speech checks and cough up the caps"

3) Mama Murphy used the Sight on him when you weren't looking. She has a hidden "speaker of Dog" trait when she's under the influence, so no messed up directions or "I shoulda turned left at Albuquerque" incidents.