Since the new pup looks nothing like dogmeat I think I am going to name him something different..I googled "brave German Shepards" and found two I'm debating.."Noah" who took a bullet in the neck for the children in his family after a road rage clown missed his target. R.I.P. he died after he jumped out of the parked vehicle to chase the shooter.

The other is "Champ" who took 5! bullets to thwart a home invasion robbery...afterwards the "family" didn't want to pay his medical bill so he was up for euthanization but thanks to some Good Samaritans he is fine and living happily in a new home.

I'm leaning towards Noah since the brave fella is no longer with us.

Assuming ya can name it, Im debating of calking it after my girlfriend, she is a big animal lover and it be a way to have her co-op with me, despite the game being single player.

I've secretly always wanted to have a dog named "Cerberus" ( Greek mythology, not after the ME faction, though I suppose the Gutsy in Underworld was named after Hades guard dog too).

Pal

Italian Stallion

Gonna have to go with Dogmeat. That or Mutt.

If i have to name a dog myself, it's always "Rex"

And no, i don't have a real dog.

Sweeper, because I'll be sending it ahead of me to clear land mines.

Right, good idea.
"Meat Shield". "Meaty" for short

I haven't decided yet. Either Hoover or Eureka. I name my dogs after vacuum cleaners.

Rock, maybe. Not after stones and gravel, but rock n' roll.

Hmm, maybe I'll just name the dog Elvis.

If the game doesn't let us rename the dog in-game, there's always the setfullactorname command, or whatever it is. Hopefully console mods will be able to incorporate text input, too.

I was also considering "Rhett" A friend of mines childhood dog...my friend was getting beat up in his front yard by the neighborhood bully and he called out Rhetts name for help and Rhett bashed his way through the front glass door to chase off the bully 馃憤.

Sir/Madame Amsterdam of Wisconsin.

I will name it "[censored] Off". Well, actually, that's not naming it at all, it's just what I'll likely be telling it to do upon encountering it.

I'll be kicking its face off at the earliest opportunity

Absolutely nothing until the mod for killable companions comes out.

I'm not sure if immortal companions is Bethesda's biggest mistake or voiced protagonist. Maybe they're equally bad

I think I'll name him Shoveldog, come to think of it =)

Are you sure they're immortal when not following you? I thought/hoped they might become disposable when dismissed.

I like you.

You do realised they are only imortal while they tag along with you, when they stand around as NPCs ya can kill them.

I read it that way too at first but I think he means he won't take them on as companions until they can die, not that he necessarily wants to kill them in the game. Which I totally understand and empathize with.

I am aware of that, but I believe your pack mule should be able to suffer the same consequences as my character. It is totally immersion breaking for me for them just to go unconscious for a bit then get up as if nothing has happened.

Also one of the most satisfying Fallout gaming experiences was keeping Dogmeat alive all the way through Fallout 1. Took many many reloads, but was so worth it

This is another issue for me, you're supposed to have some sort of emotional attachment to your companions/dog/romance options in the game, right. If they're just these invincible beings while they tag along with you, you just don't get that emotional weight of a character you actually care about being killed. You don't get to experience the fear of them in harm and potentially being taken from you either. Or, like you say, the joy of actually keeping them alive and getting them and yourself out of a hairy situation.

It's why making ANY other characters in the game invincible is also a terrible, even if "necessary", decision.

You can call him whatever you like.

Your PC, however, will eventually be informed his 'real' name is Dogmeat, and thus use that.

They are equally...GOOD!

He will be named Dogmeat because that is the dog's name. I don't remember where I saw it but one of the devs in a interview stated you learn later in the game that the dog IS Dogmeat and that is when his name is changed.

Stop.