Thank you so much for playing and for the detailed review! :)
The visual aspects suffered the most in this game out a lack of time, since the main focus was the characters and story. There is a lot to be done after the judging period to refine that (so many cringy defaults, haha)
As for Dog, you actually can go through the story without returning home even once, but it's hard to do. In Peeps house in a jar there is some food for him, you can feed it to him away from home once. He cries after a certain number of steps, and then runs after an equal number of subsequent steps. You just have to get him out of the garden if he runs. He was intended to add the aspect caring for a dependent.
Thank you again, you're review is greatly appreciated! :)