Can You Have Two Dogs in Skyrim? An Expert Gamer‘s Guide to Acquiring a Pack of Hounds

As a passionate Skyrim player with over 800 hours clocked, companions have always played a vital role in my gameplay style and dogs are by far my favorite. Their eagerness in battle, loyalty as followers, and warmth waiting at home are unparalleled making them the best furry friends to adventure across Tamriel with.

But with Skyrim‘s base pet limit of two, is it possible to build a whole pack? The answer is yes! Through careful adoption choices, canny quest rewards, and smart use of DLC additions you too can have multiple dogs following at your heels.

In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll cover everything you need to know about expanding the pet limit and acquiring a personal posse of puppers worth of the Dragonborn. Let‘s dive in!

What‘s Skyrim‘s Pet Limit?

According to the experts at IGN, Skyrim allows "one humanoid follower and one animal follower at a time". This base rule restricts players to just a single animal companion like dogs, unless they avoid recruiting human followers.

But don‘t let that dishearten you! This limit can be increased through various means:

• Adopting children – Each adopted kid can bring one pet to your home
• Completing certain quests – Quest rewards sometimes include follower dogs
• Installing DLCs – New animal follower types are added

So while most players may only adventure with one companion dog, with the right prep you can have two, three or even more furry followers!

How Many Dogs Are There in Skyrim?

Across the base game, DLC additions and Creation Club content there are over 15 distinct dog varieties – quite the pack for any adventurer! Here‘s a quick breakdown:

Base Game Dogs

• Mudcrabs – Common stray dogs found near cities and towns
• Vigilance – War dog for sale in Markarth for 500 gold
• Barbas – Clavicus Vile‘s loyal companion from "A Daedra‘s Best Friend" quest

Hearthfire DLC

• Dog pet – One of two pets your adopted children can bring home

Dawnguard DLC

• Armored Dawnguard war dogs – Up to two reusable huskies from the Dawnguard faction
• Death hounds – Undead dogs that serve vampire masters

Dragonborn DLC

• Rieklings – Goblin-like followers that ride miniature war dogs

Creation Club Content

• Bone wolf – Undead skeletal wolf from "Bone Wolf" mod
• Rufus – Collie dog added in the "Pets of Skyrim" mod

So as you can see there‘s quite the diversity when it comes to recruiting dogs as followers! Now let‘s cover how to actually acquire them in your game.

How to Get Multiple Dogs in Skyrim

Want to build you own little pack? Here‘s an overview of methods to get multiple dogs:

Adopt Dogs via Children

Adoption through Skyrim‘s Hearthfire DLC is a simple route to add an additional dog to your homestead.

• Adopt two children from Riften, Windhelm etc.
• Each child can bring a dog pet to live at your home

This approach easily nets you two pet dogs for the price of raising a couple of kids!

Complete Dog-Rewarding Quests

Certain quests provide special follower dogs as rewards when finished:

• "A Daedra‘s Best Friend" – Keep Barbas after returning the Rueful Axe
• Dragonborn DLC – Bone wolf reward for finishing "Lost Relic" quest

So keep an eye out for quests that offer dogs companions as completion rewards!

Recruit Dawnguard War Dogs

Joining Dawnguard in the eponymous DLC lets you purchase up to two armored huskies from the faction. Simply speak to Gunmar in Fort Dawnguard and pick your newest recruits!

Encounter & Recruit Stray Dogs

While wandering Skyrim‘s wilds, random encounters with stray dogs can occur near roads, farms and villages. Help them out in a fight and they may offer to join up!

With the right blend of adoption, quest rewards and random encounters you can assemble a sizeable canine posse. Now let‘s compare your best dog options…

Dog Follower Comparison

Want to determine the best dogs to recruit for your pack? Here‘s a quick overview table comparing stats for top dog varieties:

As you can see Barbas stands head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to durability! His essential and invulnerable status make him very hard to kill, so he‘s a reliable companion for all your adventures.

For raw damage output the explosive-wielding Dawnguard huskies and vicious Death Hounds lead the pack. And they both offer armored varieties to bolster their defense in battle.

Tips for Managing Multiple Dogs

Through my hundreds of hours journeying across Skyrim with canine companions, I‘ve picked up some useful tips for managing packs if you pursue the multiple pet route:

• Dogs can‘t carry gear or loot, so bring a humanoid follower as "pack mule"
• Armored huskies need repaired between adventures to maintain their defense
• Stray dogs lack commands and may charge enemies suicidaly
• Dismiss dogs before using vampiric drain or other follower damaging abilities

And remember the pet limit still exists, so if you want both homestead dogs and adventuring K9s you‘ll have to leave someone behind while out questing! Rotate companions to share the fun.

So if you adopt smart strategies you can definitely have two, three or even five dogs following you across the wintry world of Skyrim – your own personal wolfpack!

Hope this guide gave you some great tips to expand Skyrim‘s pet limit and assemble your pack. Feel free to share your own doggo experiences below – happy adventuring!