... but now do I pick up the dog in the first village? I see it getting picked up in the speedruns to throw onto the statue for an easy lifestock, but every time I interact with it, I talk to it.

You have to be on a specific position to work, not to close or you will talk to the dog and not to far or you will swing your sword. It's pretty tricky to get it.

Btw, if you are learning the game them good luck on it and have fun :D

Thank you :D

Yeah, I am planning on learning the game at some point soon. I was going to use the Switch or WiiVC version, but I noticed that many of the systems the game was on is not listed. I may just wait for the Genesis Mini to come out. Who knows :D