Dogs

What Rockstar has shown

Rockstar's Extended Look includes the moment everyone shared: Jason stops on the street and pets a dog (about 1:45 in, by Game Rant's timestamps). IGN, which watched Rob Nelson play at Rockstar North, adds two more options: you can scold a dog, or study it to add it to an animal list borrowed from Red Dead Redemption 2. GameSpot reports the same three choices from Nelson's interview with YouTuber TGG.

Petting does something. When Jason pets the dog, an "angel" icon and a chime appear, which IGN reads as a small boost to his Criminal Profile, GTA 6's take on Red Dead's honor system.

Breeds and other dog details

Detail	Source
Four breeds spotted: Chihuahua, Doberman, German Shepherd and Rottweiler	IGN's animal list
One Extended Look scene hints Jason and Lucia own a dog, or live with someone who does	Kotaku
If a dog walker drops a bag of dog mess, you can pick it up and throw it at people, TGG says Nelson told him	Kotaku
Dogs can be petted, scolded or studied	IGN, GameSpot

Compared with GTA 5

GTA 5 had one famous dog: Chop, Franklin's Rottweiler, whom Rockstar called his "canine sidekick" and who had his own companion app in 2013 (Rockstar Newswire). GTA 6 has shown no named sidekick dog. Instead, every dog on the street seems to be something you can interact with.

Our take: pet every friendly dog you pass. It costs nothing, and on IGN's reading it nudges your Criminal Profile the right way, which may shape how people react to you later. Scolding looks like it exists for role-play, and we'd skip it until we know whether it counts against you. The question players ask most, whether you can own a dog, is still open. The household dog in the Extended Look is the only hint, and Rockstar has not described a pet store or a dog that follows you like Chop. We'd call a Chop-style companion unlikely at launch, simply because nothing in the previews points to one.

What to watch for at launch

• Whether the Extended Look's household dog belongs to Jason and Lucia.
• Whether scolding a dog hurts your Criminal Profile.
• How many breeds there are beyond the four IGN has spotted.