The dog companions in the game are clearly Irish Wolfhounds, or Skyrim Wolfhounds because apparently TES is on another planet....but anyway, The Irish wolfhound is technically the tallest dog breed you can get. They were used as war dogs in the Roman Empire, and their breeding dates back to 391 AD. These dogs were EXTREMELY valuable given their beauty and power, wars were even fought OVER them.
The reason these dogs were in so high demand is because they were Wolfhounds. That does not imply that they looked like wolves. These dogs were bred to hunt and kill wolves single handedly. They were too good at what they did, and drove the European wolf to extinction by the 19th century, which caused a huge decrease in their own population, as prey and need for them waned. The breed, however, was saved due to some efforts on the Irish government to preserve their history, and the dogs can be found today.

I honestly don't think they could've picked a cooler dog breed to include in the game.

http://bestnew-pet.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/0613.jpg

http://www.mlwgames.com/img/news_600/skyrim_dog.jpg


Yeah, looks pretty close to me. Almost exact, heh.

They look amazing! I can't wait to get one!

(Ummm, the Scottish Deerhound looks similar too.)

I absolutely love Irish wolfhounds. I want one later on in real life. He will be called Alfie.

Cool dog. I always wanted one in rl.

It's confirmed you can own dogs in Skyrim?

:sadvaultboy: *sheds a tear for the extinction of wolves in Skyrim* :touched:

A breed of dogs that is able to kill wild wolves and EASILY? Wow, interesting.

I'd have preferred http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibetan_Mastiffs but yeah, a good choice of a tough dog that fits the environment and theme.

They look almost exactly the same, impressive.

-Mr. Maric

Wolves aren't that big a deal, when taken alone. A number of domesticated dogs (for shepherding, guarding, and so on), are bigger and more powerful than wolves.

The wolves thing is that they usually are in packs, and like most predators they target preferably the weak/youth when possible.

I don't especially think a dog is "cool", because it has been more or less "engineered" by man (through breeding), or because it drove wolves close to extinction in western europe. This poor dog was made as a tool by man, nothing more.

Still, they kinda fit the game background and setting, I agree on that.

Bad thing about Irish Wolfhaunds and Danish Dogs (those big ones, bigger than calfs lol)
They only get like 5-7 years old in RL, while anoying Jack Russel's Terriers get like 17.

But that's like second nature to us humans, we use others to our advantage, yes even other humans :/

Oh Boohoo, you're breaking my heart. Apparently you have a very loose interpretation of "engineered by man". More like the natural course of animal domestication. Especially considering Wolfhounds are among the oldest dog breeds in the world. To say the dog was used as a "tool by man" is pretty much saying any domesticated animal is a tool. I guess you won't be riding any horses in Skyrim. These dogs were highly sought after animals that battles erupted over. Not only for their physical capabilities, but also because they make extremely loyal companion animals that protect their families with ferocity. They are simply really good at being dogs.
And they're cool in the same sense that you slaying a dragon is cool. They took the top predator in Europe and decimated it due to their sheer badassitude. Its a dog-eat-dog world out there. Pardon the pun. =P

And in anycase, wolves can still be found in abundance today. And Wolfhounds have kind of lost their purpose, given they killed all the wolves where they came from, so they're really just used as really intimidating family animals used to protect families and flocks of livestock in the US(from wolves, mind you). I don't see a reason to get your panties in a bunch

I like the dogs but in game they don't look very good. The graphics on them looks like its Morrowind.