Straight forward question. Should Picard reunite one day with his dog, and given that Picard in now a synth, what do you think the dog's reaction would be? Picard wouldn't smell the same (unless he does), the dog might reject him, attack him, learn to love and accept him. What do you think?
That's a good question. I think the dog would accept him. Think about it, Data had his cat, Spot, and it knew that he loved and cared for it, even though Data wasn't human.
The dog will react to Picard same as always. This will convince Laris and Zhaban to trust Picard despite the changes. Given the actual dog is really Patrick Stewart's pet and not a professionally trained acting dog, and indeed there were issues during filming the first season because it was not an acting dog, they have no choice but to have it act in a familiar manner with Picard, because that's how it behaves around Patrick Stewart. Unless of course they decide to replace it with a professional acting dog, in which case prepare for a few "which dog is canon?" threads to pop up here.
Yes, Spot was male as recently as the season 7 episode Phantasms, then was suddenly pregnant in Genesis. Which actually had an entire novel devoted to explaining it. Well, short story.
Spot's an easy explanation. Data clearly had several Spots and wasn't creative in renaming him or her.
Smell is undoubtedly a big thing for dogs, but he would also recognise Picard's appearance, his voice, his mannerisms etc. I doubt it would be an issue beyond a few confused sniffs at the outset!
I don't see any particular reason to suspect that Picard will smell any different to the dog. Assuming Picard's new body was adapted from his DNA in some way, it would probably smell the same. Really?
In any case, I do hope we're not completely done with Number One the dog just yet, even if recasting is needed.
The dog seen in the show wasn't Patrick Stewart's dog - I don't believe he owns a dog of his own, but rather fosters a succession of rescue dogs while they wait for a permanent home. The dog chosen to appear on the show was a rescue dog - and thus was not, as you say, a professionally trained acting dog, which is why they had trouble with it on set.
Regardless, it's not a professional acting dog and how it acts around Picard on screen is going to be an extension of how it acts around Patrick Stewart in real life. And since it's likely familiar around Stewart, it will continue to act familiar around Picard. Unless they do recast, in which case give me advance notice so I can be the one who starts the inevitable thread debating about which dog is canon.
That’s a perfectly reasonable explanation. Too bad the writers didn’t give enough of a shit to explain that to the audience. Either that, or the writer who made Spot female had forgotten or just never knew that the previous writer had made him male. But you’d think that the script editors would have flagged something like that. Of course, in my experience with editors, I’m probably giving them too much credit.
Dogs are way better people than actual people. Of course the goodest boi in the alpha quadrant would accept and love synthetic Picard
Picard returns to the vineyard. Laris, Zhaban and Number One greet him. Picard: "Laris, Zhaban, good to see you again. And, Number One, how have you been, boy?" Picard attempts to pet Number One. Number One sniffs and turns and walks away. Picard: "Well, I see this is going to take some explaining." Number One: "Indeed it will." In a flash of light, Number One becomes Q. Q: "What have you done to yourself, mon capitaine?" Q notices Laris and Zhaban staring at him with confused and surprised looks. Q: "And don't think this changes anything as far as you're concerned. I quite enjoyed it when you scratched me behind the ear." Laris: "I certainly won't be doing that anymore!" Q: "Not you! Him!" Q points to Zhaban.