Diverse Dogs adds diversity to the dogs of Skyrim. Wolfhounds (vanilla dogs) and huskies now appear in varied colours. Dog encounters will also now feature diverse coats (with some breed changes for bandit and Forsworn dogs.) Two new breeds are added: the Rift Collie and the Reach Shepherd.

Vanilla upgrades

• Stats are buffed, raising all dogs' base template to level 5 to give them a small boost. New stat differentials and classes created specific to each breed.
• Factions are fixed for dogs missing them. USSEP fixes are forwarded. All non-hostile 'citizen' dogs are protected and encounter dogs (faction dogs, bandit encounters, and Spectral Warhounds) are levelled to the player. Dogs will not report crimes.
• The original companion dogs (Vigilant, Meeko, and the Stray Dog) all get some buffs and stat adjustments, including the Light Foot perk so they don't set off traps.  They level with the player with a minimum level of 10 and max 100. (No scripts, quests, or dialogue changed.)
• Meeko and the Stray Dog keep their vanilla wolfhound models but with different coats. Vigilant is now a Reach Shepherd. 
• The Dawnguard companion dogs now boast differing coats and eye colours. The death hound companions Garmr and CuSith have raised stats forwarded from USSEP and will now level with the player to level 100, like the Dawnguard companion huskies Bran and Sceolang.
• All dogs except death hounds are now part of the dog faction so should respond to mods like Feed the Animals.
• Diverse Dogs does not touch Barbas.
  

New dogs

Diverse Dogs also adds new dogs around Skyrim. I've incorporated Haladoon's Dogs (with permission) into the mod, adding diverse versions of all four breeds to towns and Jarl's courts. And I've utilized the farm dog placements of Tasheni's Winterdogs and added one of their new dog models, the Rift Collie. Northern holds will see more huskies, wolfhounds are standard in the south, shepherds in the Reach, and collies will be found in the Rift. Dogs will idle around the Jarls' courts, towns, and farmyards, watching the goings-on or lurking near tables for scraps.

There are also some stray dogs added around Skyrim. They can be recruited as followers using A Dog's Life by darkfox127 (with included patch).

If you just want the vanilla overhaul, Diverse Dogs - Vanilla only touches the base game and Dawnguard dogs, no new dogs added.


Installation

Only Skyrim SE and Dawnguard required.

ESL-flagged ESPs. There's two choices for the main files: Diverse Dogs All-in-One (overhaul + new dogs) and in Optional files,
Diverse Dogs - Vanilla (only overhauls existing dogs in game).

Install with your favourite mod manager. No scripts are added, which in theory would make uninstalling easier, though of course uninstalling a mod mid-game is not recommended.


Compatibility

USSEP changes forwarded.

SkyTEST - Realistic Animals and Predators SE
- since I've updated the stats in 2.0, overwrite Skytest with this mod to get its higher stats for the wolfhound base template (EncDog), if desired. No patch needed.

NARC Remade - No Animals Report Crimes for Skyrim SE
- this mod includes its changes to dogs
- load before Diverse Dogs, so Stump is not overwritten.

Haladoon's Dogs of SSE
- technically not compatible, this mod is built on it. Will see duplicates in cities and Jarls courts if installed. Will not explode your game if run together though. I've renamed most of the dogs and changed most textures and some breeds, so you should just end up with mucho doggos.

 A Dog's Life by darkfox127
- compatible with patch in Optional files. This enables the follower dialogue for the stray dogs.

Texture/model replacers: This mod replaces the original textures for the wolfhound, husky, and death hound. Texture replacers loaded after Diverse Dogs will overwrite those textures, but not the added variants from this mod. This mod is already using Bellyache's diverse vanilla dog textures, the same as used by Dynamic Animal Variants. Be sure to comment out DAV's dogs in their .ini file to avoid conflicts.

Locations: Mods that severely alter the layout of the Jarls' palaces and longhouses may not be compatible. Decor-adding mods are ok. JK's Dragonsreach and Blue Palace are fine.

Patches on download page:
Cities of the North - Morthal, Dawnstar, Winterhold, and Falkreath
Palaces and Castles Enhanced
A Dog's Life
Better Hunters

Recommended mods

Unique Barbas Retexture by FrankFamily

True Meeko SE by Tahira - new models for Meeko (load after Diverse Dogs)
Vigilance Reborn SE by Vaelka - new models for Vigilance (load after Diverse Dogs)

Honored Hounds by Rougeshot - changes the skeleton of wolfhounds to give them better proportions

Smart No More Stupid Dog Comments by soupdragon
OR
Good Dog by tarlazo

Quiet Dog by azzendix - reduces dog idle barking
OR
Conditional Dog Barking (DAR) by CHIMgarden

Realistic Husky Sounds SSE by fadingsignal

Feed the Animals by fadingsignal - feed any dog a treat

Immersive Good Boy - Dog Companion Praise by kenichimightiest - to tell your dog followers they're good puppers

More to Say by abramcf - also has dog praise dialogue and feeding

Pet The Dog OR Immersive Interactions by jayserpa - lets you pet dogs

I'm Glad You're Here - a follower and spouse appreciation mod by WhiteWolf424242 - also lets you pet your dog (follower). They have a patch for Pet the Dog, great combo.

A Dog's Life by darkfox127 - adds lots of interactive capacity to dog followers, grab the patch for Diverse Dogs in the Optional section.


Credits

Haladoon's Dogs of SSE was in my load order for ages and what inspired this expansion. Many thanks to Haladoon for permission to use their assets.

Thanks as well for permission from Wolflord13 to use their death hound textures from Gruesome Death Hound.

I am also very thankful to the modders who have allowed open permissions on their mods:

• The Rift Collie dog model is from Tasheni's Winterdogs (LE) by Tasheni - credits to CDProjectRed, Lord Sakyamuni and Mihail Romanov for the model
• The Reach Shepherd model is courtesy of triptherift's Barbie Doge
• Textures for vanilla dogs by Bellyache/wrig675, using cleaned and upscaled versions by the STEP team at Bellyaches Animal and Creature Pack Revamp
• Textures for huskies (with my alterations to eyes) from Husky 2k Variants - An Automatic Variants Package by PlagueHush - which is based on Aenkill's Husky HD Recolor - Bran and Sceolang replacer
• Thanks also to darkfox127 for the upgraded version of PlagueHush's textures from A Dog's Life, solving the alpha problem on the husky ruff
• Dog Faction changes from NARC - No Animals Report Crimes (LE) by Pharros