Dog and God Dog is a psychologically disturbed nightkin who helps Father Elijah by capturing " assistants " for him and fitting them with explosive collar s in 2281 . His alternate personality , God ( referred to by the former as simply " the voice " ) , is trying to break Dog free of Elijah ' s grasp . The " Dog " personality is activated by the sound of Father Elijah ' s voice , and the " God " personality is activated by the sound of his own voice ( via holotape or radio ) . When one personality is dominant , the other is said to be in " the cage " or " the basement " . Background . Hand - picked by the Master to serve in his super mutant army , Dog ' s job was to fetch new humans to be turned into super mutants . Dog was crushed by the Master ' s defeat , and he eventually found his way to the Sierra Madre , where Elijah took advantage of his need for a " master " figure in order to enslave him . Elijah utilized his previous purpose , using him as a tool for bringing in potential treasure hunters and later for activating the Sierra Madre Gala Event . Dog is extremely loyal and will follow the commands issued by his master ' s voice to the letter , even when it puts him in danger . He also has a tendency to eat anything , even ghost people , when hungry . This eventually led to him accidentally eating his own explosive collar when it came off after the first Gala Event occurred trapping Elijah and , as his other personality mentions , keeping him a prisoner to his hunger and to Elijah . Like most nightkin , Dog exhibits severe mental trauma from prolonged use , resulting in dissociative identity disorder . He hates the voice , and is willing to do anything to be rid of it , even going to the point of self - harm . Pain hurts him , but also quiets the voice , so he will go to extremes such as scarring his body and putting his arm in a in order to make it stop . The voice – " God " – is very different from Dog . He is quiet , articulate , controlling , and far less pliable than his counterpart . However , he does threaten a very painful death when the Courier mentions having the power to put him back in " the cage " . He claims that he only wishes to help Dog , even confessing a protective brotherly affection for him and believes the best way to do that is to eliminate Elijah - only then can he help Dog overcome his hunger and need for a master . He does not care for the treasure of the Sierra Madre , and frequently comments on the Courier ' s perceived greed . When in combat , he is far less adept than Dog , as he is less accustomed to using the nightkin body and lacks the bloodlust of his other personality . Interactions with the player character . Other interactions . After recruiting Dog and watching him kill and consume one of the ghost people , the Courier can talk to Dog and , after going through a few speech options , receive the Ghost Hunter perk from him . However , if they have the Cannibal perk , it is possible to get the Ghost Hunter perk from him without fighting . Inventory . Much like Lily Bowen , Dog and God are limited in the weapons they can use . These weapons are : Since Dog / God cannot equip any weapons unique to " Dead Money " and outside weapons cannot be brought into the Sierra Madre , Dog / God are effectively restricted to Unarmed fighting , frag grenades and the sledgehammer . Appearances . Dog and God appear only in the " " , " Dead Money " .