Install DayZ-Dog and preserve companion data

By VYKIX

Updated 7 October 2026

Install DayZ-Dog and CF on the server and joining clients, add the supplied economy entries, then let the mod generate its configuration under the active profiles directory. Back up that directory with the world and player data: the mod’s ownership records can live outside the mission’s persistence folder.

Use the original DayZ-Dog, item 2471347750, whose contributors include Hunterz, and its listed dependency CF, item 1559212036. The latest listed change is 18 June 2026. Use the original package; its published permissions prohibit general repacking and reuploading.

Install and generate the configuration

Stop the service and take a consistent backup of the mission, profiles, persistence, packages, keys and startup settings. Keep a separate server copy for the first checks, especially if you already run other AI mods.

Select the exact Workshop items in VXPanel Mods, with CF loaded first. For a manual installation, copy the packages and their public signing keys, then add their folders to the normal -mod= list. Players need the same packages. Follow the mod installation procedure and keep signature verification enabled.

Open the package’s example types.xml. Merge the required item entries into your mission or register a separate complete types file using the economy extension procedure. Preserve existing definitions and check for duplicate classnames. The supplied example is not a replacement for your mission’s entire economy.

Start the test server once, inspect the logs, then stop it. The author places generated configuration in <serverprofiles>/Dayz-Dog. Follow the -profiles path used by that server. The public description doesn’t specify the current JSON filename or complete schema, so inspect the files your installed release generates before editing them.

Choose dog houses or wild dogs

The mod supports acquiring a companion through a placed dog house or taming a wild dog. Admins choose house locations; the package includes example territories for wild dogs. Start with one route to acquiring a dog so you can trace a failure without changing both systems at once.

For a dog house, use the installed package’s actual house classname and your existing object-placement method. Keep the placement in one system to avoid duplicates. Confirm that the house survives a restart, then check the interaction with an ordinary player who doesn’t already own a dog.

The author’s 29 May 2021 change note names SummonItem, with Bone as its default at that time. Check the generated setting before changing the required item. Put that exact item in the player’s hands for the house interaction; don’t assume a custom bone or renamed trader item has the same classname.

For wild dogs, inspect the territory examples shipped with your release and choose files for your terrain. Review their event definitions, animal classes, coordinate areas and registration instructions before merging them with existing wildlife settings. The animal-spawn guide explains how to follow an event through its territories. A dog available through an admin spawn menu doesn’t prove that wild spawning is configured.

Keep the original territory files and compare the edited versions before starting. The current package’s XML, house classes and territory registration still need verification for your chosen release.

Set player and PvE rules

The author documents one companion per player and loss of that companion when its owner dies. Explain that behavior in your server rules before players invest equipment in a dog. Check the current keybinds in game options for following, staying, patrolling and calling the companion.

For PvE servers, the 13 May 2023 notes introduce DisablePlayerAttack. Compare it with the generated configuration and test the behavior with two ordinary players. Check commanded attacks and automatic reactions separately; a server rule alone doesn’t establish that either is blocked.

The 27 November 2022 notes describe PunishDogKillers: 0 disables the feature and 1 enables its kuru penalty. Decide whether that penalty fits your rules before enabling it. Keep a backup when updating older JSON. If new settings are missing, generate defaults on a separate copy and compare them with your custom file before replacing anything.

House storage also needs an access check. The September 2022 changes restrict retrieving a dog from its house to its owner. Those notes don’t establish the permission check for storing a dog. Test both actions as the owner and another player, including after a restart. Older advice to touch a house to establish ownership was superseded by a November 2022 update; verify the current interaction instead of repeating that workaround.

Back up ownership and equipment together

The 14 May 2021 notes introduce StoreDogStatus, AllowOnlyStoredDogs and player records under Dayz-Dog/players/. The 17 May update changes the default for new installations. Those dated notes explain why the profiles folder belongs in your backup, but they don’t establish every field or default in today’s package.

Preserve the whole generated Dayz-Dog directory alongside the matching player and world state. Don’t delete a player’s record as a routine fix for a missing interaction. Collect the relevant logs and check their existing ownership and configuration first; a reset can change which companion belongs to that player.

Equipment storage has changed too. The 12 August 2022 notes replace the earlier built-in dog inventory with vest cargo. Later notes reserve player-side dog attachment slots for the mod’s storage. Keep ordinary items out of those reserved slots.

Use expendable equipment to check the vest, attachments and cargo through logout, reconnect, a normal restart and entering or leaving a vehicle. The 4 January 2024 update addresses lost attachments, and the 17 June 2026 update improves inventory storage. Those fixes make recovery worth checking on your exact release; they aren’t a recorded recovery test for your server.

If only an animation fails, check the release notes before resetting data. The 17 April 2026 entry says the sit-down animation remains broken after DayZ 1.29, while describing fixes for stay and eating animations. Keep that symptom separate from lost ownership or equipment.

Source and verification scope

This guide used AI-assisted research and drafting. On 7 October 2026, we read the original description, required-item listing and all 75 change entries across eight pages. We haven’t inspected the current generated schema, packaged economy and territory files, house classes or binaries. Player access, PvE enforcement, AI compatibility and companion recovery still need testing on the intended game and mod versions.