If you've spent any amount of time wandering the overgrown ruins and foggy valleys of Enshrouded, you've probably spotted skittish stray dogs darting between broken buildings. If you want to get close to them to unlock unique rewards, you'll need to know how to craft dog food bait enshrouded players swear by for getting these nervous canines to approach you. I've tested every possible combination of ingredients for this recipe after 40+ hours of play, and I'm breaking down exactly what you need, where to find materials, and how to use the bait effectively once it's made.
What You Need to Craft Dog Food Bait in Enshrouded
This recipe is surprisingly accessible even for early-game players, which is part of why it's such a useful item to have in your inventory at all times. You won't need any high-tier crafting stations or rare drops from late-game bosses to put it together. Once you have all three ingredients, the process to craft dog food bait enshrouded players use is straightforward, and you can make it at any basic campfire you find or place yourself.
- 2x Raw Meat: Dropped by any small or medium wildlife you hunt, including foxes, boars, and deer that spawn in the starting grassland regions
- 1x Vegetable Stock: Made by combining 3x root vegetables (carrots or turnips work best) at a basic campfire cooking pot
- 1x Crude Fat: Collected as a secondary drop when you skin hunted animals, or found in storage barrels in abandoned farmhouses
You don't need an advanced crafting table to make the bait, either. All you have to do is bring all three ingredients to any working campfire, and the recipe will automatically unlock in your cooking menu. If it doesn't show up, double check that you've picked up at least one of each ingredient first, as Enshrouded only unlocks recipes once you've collected at least one component for them.
Where to Find Every Required Ingredient Fast
Even if you don't have these materials on hand right now, you can gather all of them in less than 10 minutes if you know where to look. I usually farm this entire set right outside the starting base area, so I never run out of bait when I'm exploring new regions. With these farming routes, you'll never run out of materials to craft dog food bait enshrouded strays love.
For raw meat and crude fat, head to the small meadow just west of the first Flame Altar you activate. Wild boar spawn here constantly in groups of 2 or 3, and each kill drops at least 1 raw meat and a 50% chance of dropping crude fat. You don't need any special weapons to take them down, either; a basic stone club will work just fine if you dodge their charge attacks.
Vegetable stock is the only component that requires a tiny bit of prep, but it's still very easy to make. You can find turnips growing wild in the same meadow where you hunt boar, or you can plant them in your base farm once you unlock the farmer NPC. If you're in a rush, you can also find pre-made vegetable stock in kitchen cabinets of abandoned houses in the first village ruin north of the starting altar.
Don't waste time traveling to higher-level zones for these materials. All of them spawn in abundance in the starting area, so you can stock up on 10+ batches of bait in a single short farming run.
How to Use Dog Food Bait Enshrouded Strays Will Actually Respond To
Crafting the bait is only half the battle; you need to use it correctly if you want to get dogs to approach you, instead of running away as soon as you get close. Now that you know how to craft dog food bait enshrouded players trust, you need to learn how to use it correctly. I made a ton of mistakes when I first started using this item, so I've narrowed down the best practices to get consistent results every time.
First, never try to use bait while you have your weapon drawn. Dogs will see you as a threat and run long before you can place the bait down. Switch to your empty hand first, and make sure you're not wearing any heavy armor that makes loud clanking noises as you move, if you can avoid it.
When you spot a dog, stop moving when you're at least 20 feet away from it. Equip the dog food bait from your consumable menu, and place it on the ground directly in front of you, then take 3 steps back and stand completely still. The dog will pause for 10 to 15 seconds to sniff the air, then slowly approach the bait to eat it.
Once the dog starts eating, you can slowly walk up to it and interact with it to claim your reward. Rewards range from rare crafting materials to exclusive dog companion skins you can't get anywhere else. In some rare cases, friendly dogs will even lead you to hidden treasure chests buried just under the ground nearby.
Don't try to rush the interaction. If you move too fast before the dog is done eating, it will get spooked and run away, and you'll waste the bait you just crafted. It's worth waiting the extra few seconds to make sure you get the reward.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Making and Using Dog Food Bait
After testing this recipe dozens of times, I've noticed a few common errors that make this item far less effective than it should be. Most new players run into at least one of these issues their first time trying to use bait, so keep these tips in mind to save yourself time and wasted materials. Even if you know how to craft dog food bait enshrouded players rely on, making these small errors will render it useless.
One of the biggest mistakes I see is players using spoiled meat instead of fresh raw meat in the recipe. Spoiled meat is what you get if you leave raw meat in your inventory for more than 30 in-game minutes, and if you use it to make bait, dogs will refuse to touch it. Always check the freshness of your meat before you craft the bait, and store any extra raw meat in a food storage chest at your base to keep it from spoiling fast.
Another mistake is trying to use bait in the Shroud. Dogs never spawn in the foggy Shroud areas, and any bait you place down there will degrade in 2 minutes flat, so you'll just waste your materials for no reason. Save your bait for open, above-ground areas where dog spawns are common.
You also don't need to make more than 5 batches of bait at a time. The bait only stays fresh for 20 in-game minutes, so any extra you make will go to waste if you don't use it quickly. I usually make 3 batches before I head out on an exploration run, and that's more than enough for any dogs I run into along the way.
If you're having trouble getting dogs to spawn at all, try fast traveling back to the starting Flame Altar and waiting until in-game morning. Dog spawn rates are highest between dawn and midday, so you'll spot far more of them during that window than you will at night.
Getting to interact with the stray dogs scattered across Enshrouded is one of the most charming small details of the game, and the rewards you get from them are well worth the small effort of gathering materials. Once you know how to craft dog food bait enshrouded players can rely on, you'll never miss a chance to befriend one of these furry little companions on your travels. Next time you head out to explore, toss a few batches of bait in your inventory first, you might be surprised by the rare loot you walk away with.