How good is the war dog in dragon age?

I use the war dog just so I have one of each in my party (rouge, mage, warrior, dog). Is it worth it to keep the dog or should I put something else in it's place?How good is the war dog in dragon age?
Depends on how you want to go about doing things strategy wise and where you are in the game.



As long as you don't formally dismiss characters, they'll eventually just end up in your camp, and you can include them in your party at times when you venture out later.



As you get farther into the game, you probably won't keep the dog in your party a lot of the time (some people do), but there's no reason to get rid of it entirely.How good is the war dog in dragon age?
The War Dog is considered a warrior. However dog only has certain ability's, with no chance to specialize in anything (Champion, Templar, Berserker, or Reaver). That being said I think it's best to only use dog early game and replace him as soon as you get Alistair, Sten, or the dwarf warrior (I forget his name). You can only equip dog with a so many combinations of armor, he can only wear a collar and war paint. If your going to use a warrior, like dog, you may as well use a warrior that you can specialize with to your play style. Dog isn't nearly versatile as any humaniod warrior.How good is the war dog in dragon age?
The dog is great for stunning enemies early in the game. As the game progresses warriors get similar skills so after a while I replaced the dog with a second warrior.



It's useful to have two warriors: One with a shield and a lot of HP, and another who uses two-handed weapons to deal lots of damage while the other warrior draws enemies' attention.