Talk:GetPlayerTeammateCount
From GECK
I have read that Dogmeat uses up one "companion slot" in Fallout3, and once he is dead, you can then have two companions instead of one.
That would lead me to think that Dogmeat is marked as a companion from the start, and hence this function will return "1" until dogmeat dies, then "0" (assuming you don't pick up any other companons on the way).
Just a guess, though - not tested.