Companion Dogs - Adopt, Train and Travel with Dogs in Project Zomboid

Companion Dogs lets you befriend stray dogs and raise a companion that follows you, detects nearby zombies, helps in combat and carries supplies. Feed your dog, earn its trust and develop its skills while surviving together.

The mod supports Build 42.19 and newer, including single-player, dedicated servers and co-op. It remains in alpha, with further development and possible bugs.

Five breeds and growing companions

The base mod includes Caramelo, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, Border Collie and Husky. Additional breeds are available through official and community add-ons.

Dogs have daily needs, loyalty, inherited trait genes and five skills that improve through XP. Breeding and raising puppies are supported.

Dog death is disabled by default, but can be enabled in sandbox settings. Currently, only one dog can follow you at a time.

More than a traveling companion

Your dog can:

• Detect zombies through four escalating warning levels. The loudest alert may attract attention.
• Knock zombies down; breeds other than small dogs can also kill them outright.
• Hunt progressively larger prey, from insects to deer, as its hunting skill improves.
• Carry supplies in saddlebags.
• Help keep livestock calm, herd birds inside and close the coop at night.
• Move to a chosen tile, distract targets, sniff out items and fetch them.
• Ride with you in vehicles.

Dogs left at home wander, rest and explore rather than remaining motionless.

Commands and management

Issue orders through the radial menu, paw menu or right-click interactions. Set hotkeys under Paw menu > Settings and use the management window to oversee your dogs.

The interface supports 14 languages, including English and Russian.

Existing saves and troubleshooting

The mod can be added to existing saves and running servers. Dogs can spawn in previously explored areas.

If a dog looks crumpled or has missing textures, enable Companion Dogs in the main-menu Mods list, then fully restart the game before loading the save. Co-op hosts must also restart their server.

Before uninstalling, follow the removal guide.

Detailed mechanics are covered in the Companion Dogs Wiki.