Who let the dogs into the wild...

[Sami]

Dog related additions now continue with dog companions for wandering NPCs.

Wandering woodsmen and adventurers you may encounter in the wild can now occasionally have dog companions with them. And just like the dogs owned by player characters these will also protect their masters.

These are future features, not yet functional in current version 3.52.

[PALU]

Nice. What happens when you hire those characters? Do you get the dog's abilities as a bonus, and, if so, to what extent (ordering it around, getting it to carry items, etc.)?

It would be a shame if dog ownership prevented characters from being hired.

[Sami]

Nice. What happens when you hire those characters? Do you get the dog's abilities as a bonus, and, if so, to what extent (ordering it around, getting it to carry items, etc.)?

It would be a shame if dog ownership prevented characters from being hired.

In my tests none of the dog owners met in the wild agreed to be hired. This could be because they don't want get into trouble with their precious pets, or because they don't want to lend their pets to anybody to any extent, or because it's prevented due to resulting spin-off features being far too costly to implement in the midst of other priorities.