Re: Dogs Dead. Need help.
It's the same whether you have a dog or not. I do not have Knothole Island.
When you are given a clue by the archaeologist and you have a dog, the dog will run to that spot ONLY IF YOU ARE IN THE CORRECT MAP.
If your dog is dead, then as long as the Archaeological Quest is active, a trail will appear instead but ONLY IF YOU ARE IN THE CORRECT MAP.
In other words, the trail does not span from one map to another like the previous quests. It only appears when you are in the area indicated by the clue. Hopefully, you have already been to these places so you should have some idea of where they are.
The only thing you will no longer be able to do when your dog is dead is find random buried treasure or chests that are not tied in with a quest.