Fallout 3: Dogmeat puppy glitch?
 

So Dogmeat's puppy died. I've been going back to Vault 101, but there's never another one, and I haven't been getting the "Dogmeat is waiting" message. Whenever I try to get someone else to join me though, the game tells me I already have a follower. As far as I know, I can't get rid of Dogmeat/Dogmeat's puppies without actually being able to talk to them, but of course, THEY AREN'T THERE TO TALK TO.

Anyone else have this problem? Is there another way to clear my party?

Followers must be the buggiest piece of shit to ever grace the otherwise great Fallout 3 world.

My only suggestion really is to wait countless 24 hour periods and see if you can unglitch it. That's what I usually did when my followers simply disappeared for DAYS on end, despite being right behind me seconds earlier. Though with death, I have not encountered a problem because I never let my puppies die! I finally finished the game and all three DLCs on the xbox and without a doubt what could have been an A+ game gets an A- due to glitch.

See, I kept Dogmeat alive forever, but I finally got kind of tired of treating him as more-or-less a protection objective.

Edit: Waiting 24 hours over and over again wound up working. Thanks. Now I have another problem though: There's no option that actually removes him from the party.

Dogs are ultra-loyal companions for life. You ain't removing no Dogmeat.

There were a few points in the game where I just shunted Dogmeat to Vault 101 when the fighting got too intense (mainly in Broken Steel where sat-strikes would instantly kill him). But I guess you've got another follower you'd rather have? Hmmm. No idea really, it never occurred to me you could get rid of him. I only know of the option to make him wait at Vault 101.

Sending him to Vault 101 was supposed to be 'removing him from the party'.

You can have dogmeat and a second person in the party- he doesn't count towards your party limit.

If you have the PC version, use this code:
setessential 6a775 1 <- makes unkillable

using that reference ID you should be able to remove him from the party manually with code if things get weird.

Apparently not on both counts.

Might this have something to do with my butchering Fawkes in a fit of rage when I found out how contrived the ending was? I didn't think of it before because I didn't realise Dogmeat doesn't count. Kind of a pity considering how awesome Fawkes is, but that's what he gets for being an asshole.

Also: Using the 360 version, unfortunately.

Fawkes, while currently genderless, actually started as a female!

..How the hell did you butcher Fawkes? I've lobbed mini-nukes at that monster before and he's walked out barely scathed.

I bet it was epic...

Probably the Experimental MIRV. A direct hit from that will kill well basically anything. I one hit a Supermutant Behemoth through a wall with it.

I've went through my entire game figuring Fawkes is just glitched. I've lobbed mini-nukes at him while he was tanking 5+ Enclave soldiers lobbing plasma and hellfire for upwards of a minute with trucks exploding beside him and he's never lost more than one bar of health.

I mean, I'm not complaining here, it's really helped me get through some parts on Very Hard difficulty.

I am confused as to BitVyper's situation though, and I'm on 360 as well. So you want who in your party, and who is currently in your party? From the sounds of it you have Dogmeat puppy and Fawkes, but you want to lose puppy for someone else?