Yes, you can have Dogmeat but you don't have to have Dogmeat. The perk is sold as a benefit to travelling alone. It makes zero sense to me that I need a higher charisma to be alone than I do to 1) get better prices from traders (Cap Collector) or 2) have a higher chance of persuading girl/boy characters.

Some of the best perks in the game are the ones that don't necessarily have anything to do with their associated attribute - Party Boy, Lone Wanderer, Nerd Rage, etc. And where would they have put those perks otherwise? Lone Wanderer is too good to put at just 1 Charisma.

That's not a great reason for the CH requirement to be higher than perks that actually involve persuading other NPCs, though. I think Lone Wanderer would have made a better mag perk so that the benefits start out lower and they improve with each mag you find.

Disclaimer: I'm simply nitpicking about the logic behind the perks, I don't really care, it doesn't ruin the game for me or anything.